Mrs. Cindy Adams
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O
Pioneers Study
Guide
A Viewing Guide
for the 1992 Hallmark Film
O
Pioneers
is a novel by Willa Cather. O Pioneers is a story of the character
Alexandra Bergson, the strong and determined daughter of a Swedish immigrant
left to carry on her father's struggle against the harsh prairie lands of the
West. She fights to keep her family together and sacrifices her youth and beauty
to a lifetime of hard labor.
1.
When and where
does the story begin?
2.
Where does a flashback take the audience to? (and when?)
3.
Why does Carl teach himself to climb tall poles?
4.
Why is Alexandra concerned about her father’s health?
5.
Describe young Marie in the general store.
6.
Who is Emil? What has gotten
away from Emil?
7.
What type of home do the homesteading Bergsons live in, in 1883?
8.
What important promise must young Alexandra make to her ill father?
9.
What does John Bergson make Alexandra promise?
(3 things)
10.
What is Carl’s talent, besides climbing poles?
11.
Who is Ivar? When we first
meet him, what are some of the first words out of his mouth?
12.
Carl Linstrum’s family packs up and abandons their farm. Where does
Carl go?
13.
How is Carl like the seagull on Ivar’s land?
14.
What decision does Alexandra make after making a trip to the “river
country” ?
15.
Who returns in a red dress once again? Describe her.
16.
Who has Marie married? What
clues do you have about that marriage?
17.
Characterize the relationship between 21 year old Emil and 21 year old
Marie?
18.
When Marie playfully calls out, “Forgive me, Emil…forgive me,” what
does Emil answer?
19.
Observe the people at Alexandra’s dinner table/
What does this indicate about her farm?
20.
Where is Carl planning on traveling to after visiting with Alexandra?
Why is he going there?
21.
What are Alexandra’s brothers, Oscar and Lou, worried about?
What motive do they think Carl has for visiting?
22.
“Wild things—they are much too happy to kill.”
When and why does Marie say this?
23.
Marie always seems to be wearing red. What does that color symbolize, and why is it an appropriate
color for Marie?
24.
Why does Frank Shabata think people are laughing at him behind his back?
25.
What does Frank mean when he tells Alexandra, “She hides what is in her
heart.”
26.
Who does Marie blame for the “good times” being over?
Why?
27.
Why does Emil decide to leave Nebraska? Where is he going to?
28.
Alexandra tells Carl that “people have to snatch happiness when they
can.” How does this relate to her
or anyone else in the story?
29.
What happens when the lights go out at the church festival?
30.
What does Frank go looking for after the lights come back on?
What does he find?
31.
What happens to Emil’s best friend, Amedee Chevalier?
Why might this make Emil think about “snatching happiness”
32.
A procession of men in the area are riding to the crossroads to meet the
church bishop coming for a rare visit. They will welcome him and escort him to the church.
Why does Emil go with them?
33.
Where does Emil find Marie? What
happens?
34.
Frank returns home and spots Emil’s horse.
What does Frank look for in the house?
35.
What do you think Frank sees from the upstairs window?
36.
Frank grabs a gun and does what?
37.
What does Frank Shabata do after he uses the gun?
38.
What does Ivar say when he finds
Marie and Emil?
39.
Why does Alexandra decide to visit the prison at Lincoln, Nebraska?
40.
Why does Alexandra blame herself for what happened?
41.
‘Forgiveness heals. Blame keeps
hurts open.’ What is Ivar thinking when
he says this?
42.
What does Frank say as soon as he sees Alexandra?
43.
Why does Frank ask, “You can’t trap a free little bird, can you?”
44.
Why is Alexandra going to work to get Frank pardoned by the governor?
45.
When Alexandra arrives home, who is there to greet her ?
Why is he there?
46.
Will Alexandra ever leave Nebraska? Why? Will she
return?
47.
Why might Alexandra draw comfort from her words, “We come and go, but
the land is always here”?
48.
Why does Alexandra say, “I think when friends marry, they are safe.”
Do you agree?
49.
Ivar is portrayed as being a spiritual guide of sorts in the story.
Look at question #11 and its answer.
How do those words foreshadow later events?
Cather
published the story in 1913, but the novel’s setting is the 1890s in Nebraska.
The vast land offers possibility and peril for the pioneer settlers who
tackled the prairie and tamed it into rich farmland.
Elements
to look for in O Pioneers!:
·
Naturalism
and Realism:
patterns - seasons, romances, life and death, images
metaphors - birds, the land
Themes:
* carving an
identity/forging a nation
* the life cycle—hardness
of life
* romance/love—are we
destined to be with certain people?
* the land as a powerful
natural force that demands its own way
Structure:
watch for time shifts
Material on this page is copyrighted to Cindy Adams, December 2002 but may be used for classroom instructional purposes. Questions? Email: adams@studyguide.org
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