O Pioneers by Willa CatherTheme: How does Willa Cather use figurative language, descripition, and symbolism?
...e gate, he wandered about the fields all night, till morning put out the fireflies and the stars” (Page 155). This type of figurative language is personification. Morning cannot literally blow out the fireflies and the stars. Another part of this quote is saying that it is a new day. But for Emil, he has wandered about all night and did not end his day, so therefore, he lives on the new day as if it was the old and not letting go of his feelings for Marie. Willa Cather has the ability to leave her readers foreshadowing what might happen. Everybody translates her writing into their own version, so this creates new ideas, new thoughts, and more knowledge. “It seems strange that now he should have to hide the thing that Amedee was so proud of, that the feeling which gave one of them such happiness should bring the other so much despair” (Page 109). What Emil is talking about is love. Amedee is in love with love while for Emil, love is the only thing holding him back, yet pushing him forward. He is confused of the irony of it, and is not sure what is the right thing to do. Willa Cather is trying to make the reader think about both sides of it and to compare and contrast Emil with Amadee. Cather is encouraging us to see the difference of different people. What is his perspective of life? What kind of decisions does he make? These are types of questions that will improve understanding of the characters and their personalities. A skillful writer like Cather pulls the reader back into the book, even once it has been put down. She uses a lot of figurative language to paint a picture in the readers’ mind. She also constructs her writing by using a lot of symbolism throughout the book. A page, followed by another, can get very dull when the literature is poor, has no mystery, has no unknown, or an “x”. Willa Cather puts a lot of symbolism in O Pioneers to put some zest and puzzles for you to figure out. Most of her symbolism lasts throughout the book, such as the color gray. From cover to cover, gray has been used to describe the icy cold winter, frozen deaths, loveless relationships, the sterile plains, and the loneliness of pioneer life. “…Huddled on the gray prairie, under a gray sky…the board sidewalks were gray with trampled snow” (Page 1). This is in the beginning of the chapter where everything was sorrowful, lonely, and fearful. This is also the time when John Bergson, Alexandra and Emil’s father, is lying on his deathbed. “ ‘My kitten, oh, my kitten! Her will fweeze!’ At the top of the pole crouched a shivering gray kitten, mewing faintly and clinging desperately to the wood with her claws” (Page 4). Gray signifies an indefinite situation because it is neither black or white (which are definite colors). Gray is somewhere in between. It also represents the uncertainty of the Divide because the land is so unpredictable. Another symbol that has reappeared many times is Alexandra’s brightness. “Her figure is fuller, and she has more color. She seems sunnier and more vigorous than she did as a young girl” (Page 60). “At last he seemed to see a ray of hope” (Page 6). This quote is describing the way Emil sees Alexandra as. But later on in the book, Alexandra represents a ray of hope to others as well. They way she manages her farm and holdings, brings prosper to all those who lives in the Divide. “A shabby little traveling man, who was just then coming out of the store, on his way to the saloon, stopped and gazed stupidly at the shining mass of hair she bared when she took off her veil; two thick braids, pinned about her head in a German way, with a fringe of reddish-yellow curls blowing out from under her cap” (Page 6). The way Alexandra had her braids put up resembled a halo like on an angel. Willa Cather uses a lot of symbolism in her writing because you can use it throughout the book and it contributes the main theme of the book. O Pioneers has a lot of symbols that represents pioneer life (hence the title). Symbolism gives the book originality, and depending on how well the author uses it, symbolism can improve the interest of readers and grasp their imagination. Without...