On The Land Ethical Consciousness In O Pioneers!

Willa Sibert Cather (1873—1947) is one of the greatest American novelists of the twentieth century. O Pioneers! is the first novel of her well-known "plains trilogy" by which her literary status in America is established. This novel extols gracefully the American Midwest pioneers’ resolute character and persistent spirit while at the same time probes deeply into the relationship between man and nature.With the deterioration of environment, the ecological connotations in Willa Cather’s works are attracting critics and researchers’increasing attention. The thesis is to study O Pioneers! from the perspective of the land ethic. It endeavors to analyze the land ethical consciousness embodied in the novel and to reveal Cather’s profound thinking over human-land relationship through interpreting the main characters’ eco-ethical thoughts as well as the land’s multiple ethical meanings in this novel. In a world where severe ecological crisis threatens all the living things on the earth, analyzing this novel from the viewpoint of the land ethic is helpful in improving the ecological ideology of people nowadays, and which can encourage us to respond to the nonhuman world more ethically and humanly.Besides introduction and conclusion, this thesis is divided into three chapters. Chapter One demonstrates land’s independent identity in the novel. On the one hand, it analyzes the new image of the land as well as its important role in the novel; on the other hand, it contrasts the pioneers’ different imagination of the land as well as the land’s reaction to them. And it manifests the ethical consciousness of treating the land as an independent member in the ecosystem. Chapter Two explores Alexandra and Ivar’s attitude of treating the land equally as well as other pioneers’ ethical thoughts of the land. Such exploration reveals that human beings should realize and appreciate the intrinsic value of the land and ponder over human-land relationship ethically, and only in this way can they truly respect and protect it. Chapter Three mainly expounds Alexandra’s continuous growth in the process of getting along with the land so as to illuminate Cather’s deep thought that human beings would benefit from the ethical treatment of the land and thus to enjoy a well-balanced life.Based on the above analysis, this thesis aims to demonstrate the land ethical consciousness embodied in O Pioneers!. Human beings belong to the land and draw nourishment from it; human beings’ continuous development is impossible without the healthy development of the environment. Land not only shapes our character while at the same time it bears witness to our destiny. It is just the very home for our soul. Thus, human beings should take the responsibility to love and respect the land in making use of natural resources, and pursue self-improvement to become better ones, like Alexandra who draws nourishment from the prairie soil and finally realizes her self-fulfillment. This is a profound comprehension of the relationship between humanity and nature.