Willa Cather was a woman who typically wrote about life on the prairie or life as a pioneer ("Meet" 519). In an excerpt titled "O Pioneers" Willa focused on the struggles many pioneers experienced throughout their lives ("O Pioneers!" 498). Portrayed in an almost upsetting way, Cathers showed the unhappy lifestyles these people went through, sharing that a steady job or simply a small period with not much to think about or worry about would have brought these individuals great joy ("O Pioneers" 498). In my opinion, this small passage definitely exhibited Realism, as well as its subcategories, Regionalism and Naturalism. Realism is shown through the way Cather expressed her ideas. Instead of lingering on the emotions or even mentioning the power of God, Cather focused instead on the actual lifestyle of the pioneers and the hardships they went through ("O Pioneers" 519). She stated facts of their everyday life, and did not try to blow things out of proportion for dramatic effect ("O Pioneers" 519"). Because of the simple, honest way she exhibited these realistic facts, Realism was obviously evident (Diamond.) I believe that Regionalism and Naturalism were also portrayed in this passage. Regionalism tends to focus on attributes common within a general area, and Cather definitely wrote about the culture, setting, and some dialect of the area (Werlock). Cathers focused a lot on the culture of pioneers, giving examples of their everyday struggles, such as having land taken away from them or having to move very often ("O Pioneers" 519). These traits make me believe that "O Pioneers!" is certainly a work of Regionalism. Naturalism is also evident in my opinion. According to James R. Giles, Naturalism portrays lower class individuals and how they struggle to overcome their problems. Although there is not necessarily a problem that is overcome, there is not really a "hero, the lower class is definitely exhibited for readers to see. One can easily understand the trial that each one of these pioneers had to go through, such as simply not being able to celebrate holidays because they were forced to work ("O Pioneers" 519). "O Pioneers!" demonstrates not only Realism, but also Regionalism and Naturalism.
"A Wagner Matinee," in my opinion, does not quite exhibit Realism as strongly as "O Pioneers!" did. Although I do think it could be considered Realism, emotions are more evident and involved, and the characters appear to be at a much higher level of wealth ("A Wagner" 522). Marie Josephine Diamond portrayed Realism as simply stating facts about situations and real life events, and the presence of God or petty emotions are not typically involved. Middle class individuals are usually the focus of this literary style as well (Diamond). While I think that that these story does actually exhibit Realism as it goes into depth about facts of the characters and basically describes the mindset of Cather that one could easily and realistically relate to, I do not think it is quite as strong of an example of Realism as the previous work of literature mentioned ("A Wagner" 526). Cather seemed to linger a little longer on the emotional ties between her and her aunt, and I think that, even though it does not focus too strongly on a spiritual being or the concept of love, the emotional despair takes away from the whole Realism mindset. In my opinion, I think that "O Pioneers!" is a much stronger example of Realism from Willa Cather.
WORKS CITED
Cather, Willa. "O Pioneers!" American Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 489. Print.
Cather, Willa. "A Wagner Matinée." American Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 521-526. Print.
Diamond, Marie Josephine, ed. "realism." Encyclopedia of World Writers, 19th and 20th Centuries. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= GEWW480&SingleRecord=True (accessed January 28, 2011).
Giles, James R. "naturalism." In Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds. Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, Volume 3. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAmL1255&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 9, 2011).
"Meet Willa Cather." American Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 519. Print.
Werlock, Abby H. P. "regionalism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gamshrtsty0581&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 13, 2011).
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