The first fifty pages of the novel are set, most prominently, in two starkly different landscapes. In the beginning of the novel, the Bergson family is portrayed as one that is forced to endure tremendous hardship. For example, “One winter [Bergson’s] cattle had perished in a blizzard. The next summer one of his plow horses broke its leg in a prairie-dog hole and had to be shot”(Cather, 8). Despite the initially barren agricultural seasons, the farm did cultivate a strong, wise, independent woman. After demonstrating John Bergson’s trust in his daughter, Cather tells, “Before Alexandra was twelve years old she had begun to be a help to him, and as she grew older he had become to depend more and more on her resourcefulness and good judgment”(9). Both Alexandra’s strong will and independence, along with her father’s trust in her, echoes Adams’ claim that, “The old life was lonely and hard, but it bred strong individualism”(Adams, 409).
Later, the novel jumps 16 years in advance, and both the farm’s physical and cultural landscapes have changed. Where the land was once crude and lifeless, now “The rich soil yields heavy harvests; the dry smoothness of the land make labor easy for men and beasts”(Cather, 29). Further, Alexandra, with her newly acquired wealth, has also changed the layout of her house, “The table was set for company in the dining-room , where highly varnished wood and colored glass and useless pieces of china were conspicuous enough to satisfy standards of the new prosperity”(Cather, 37). Although Alexandra’s character has not completely shifted along with her newly acquired wealth, as can be exhibited in her protection of Ivar, it is hard to tell if the same can be said for Emil. In the coming readings, we shall see if Adams’s prediction that, “[The consumer], like the rest of us, thus appears to be getting into a treadmill in which he earns, not what he may enjoy, but what he may spend…”(Adams, 408) comes into fruition.
Ultimately, if Cather is trying to critique the American Dream by showing the Bergson family’s demise at the hand of their newly acquired wealth, then why is the reader not shown the 16 year interim? Although the abrupt nature of the change does call the reader to focus on the family’s emotional change, could the transition period not too have provided ripe ground for criticism?
America is fond of the rags to riches stories. O Pioneers introduces a poor Swedish immigrant family that farmed on frontier. They attempt to cultivate their land in a way that will make them wealthier. However, the family does not have the ability to grow on the lan. Eventually, the daughter of the family makes cunning decisions after her father’s death and is able to make her land profitable. Alexander’s journey to success represents a fundamental American Dream tale. The story also underlines the ideology of meritocracy which is the belief that success is achieved by those who work hard. Although the 3 oldest children were not able to attend college, they sent their youngest brother to college as wealthier adults.
Meritocracy disgraces those who are not successful because according to the belief they deserve to be poor because those individuals were not hard workers. Ivar lives in Alexander’s household because he became too poor and old, and Alexander decided to house him. People in the community look down on him because of failure and disabilities. (39)
When the children are grown and wealthier, they encounter their childhood friend as adults. The friend, Carl, parted from their community to seek better employment opportunities in cities. However, he did not achieve the same success as his friends. He admits to lying about his success because he did not want to seem like a failure.
On the flip side, the family prides their youngest brother who is described to be an “American boy.” He attends college and was fortunate to not work as hard as his siblings.