Research Paper on:
Symbolism of Man and Nature in Willa Cather's O Pioneers

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
the land, and spiritually enriched by that land. Cather, in her use of this perspective, is obviously arguing many things about the power of the land and how people need  to understand their deep and spiritual connection to that land. We see this with the character of Alexandra who is symbolic of the perfect relationship between nature and man. She  is a woman who struggles hard, loses a great deal of womanly beauty in the process, and yet is rewarded with love. We also see the deep and spiritual connection  between man and nature in the fact that Cathers indicates the connection has been there since the beginning of time. And, lastly, we see characters who represent the negative, the  ignorant, and the evil selfish connection that man has with nature. In the following paper we discuss Alexandra, ancient man, and ignorance in Cathers book as it relates to nature  and man. Alexandra As mentioned previously, Alexandra is a woman who is deeply connected to the land. She works hard and is spiritually satisfied with what she does  and how she relates to the land. However, in the process she essentially begins to look like the land itself, losing what society would consider her feminine beauty. But, she  has not lost beauty, only become more spiritually connected with the land as she takes on the guise of earth. This is because she has toiled, and not been interested  in frivolous behavior. She has used her body, and essentially watched as others somehow remain young. We note her age in the following: "As she lay alone in the  dark, it occurred to her for the first time that perhaps she was actually tired of life. All the physical operations of life seemed difficult and painful. She longed to