answer the followup questions (in bold) about the attached essay

I especially like your observation about the possible relation between Emil’s economic status and the novel’s subplot: you write that because of Alexandra’s success, Emil was not “poor anymore and that was the reason that made Marie changed [her] perception about him thus forsaking her husband who was so much more addicted to rural life.” I don’t think this is limited to the idea that Emil was wealthier than Frank; I also think that, as you suggest but don’t say outright, Emil was more *interesting* than Frank. Emil had seen more of the world; his knowledge and experiences and interests were much wider than Frank’s; etc. O Pioneers! is a pretty short novel, and Cather doesn’t really give us much in the way of detail about Marie’s and Emil’s conversations, but one can easily imagine that they would be a lot more interesting to Marie than her conversations with Frank.

From a literary theory perspective, the larger point is that economics is never just about economics. Changes in the economic system produce changes in family and social life, as we see in the case of Emil and the fascination his life experiences held for Marie. Some other economic system might not have been very conducive to bringing sophisticated people into contact with isolated farm women; this is something that only happens under certain kinds of economic and historical conditions.

Changes in the economic system also produce changes in the broader culture, as we see in the case of Willa Cather writing a novel about the ways in which people experienced the economic development of the High Plains. New economic conditions lead to new kinds of novels. This idea that “economics is never just about economics, it’s also about personal experience and about culture” is really the fundamental insight of Marxist criticism.

For your followup question, let me ask you to think about some of the economic changes going on in the United States right now. The economic background of O Pioneers! is a combination of several historical developments: the arrival of wave after wave of immigrants from various European countries, the rapid growth of the cities, the extension of railroad lines to more and more parts of the frontier, etc. All these elements (and of course many more) provide the basic building blocks for Cather’s novel.

One could also consider the historical and economic elements that underpinned not the plot and theme but also the *readership* for Cather’s novel, e.g., the existence of more and more educated people who, like Cather herself, lived in the cities but had roots on the farm — that is, a mass of potential readers eager to read a novel that could feed their nostalgia for farm life.

So, what would you say are the key economic and historical developments that critics of contemporary literature ought to be aware of *today*?

Do you need a similar assignment done for you from scratch? We have qualified writers to help you. We assure you an A+ quality paper that is free from plagiarism. Order now for an Amazing Discount!
Use Discount Code "Newclient" for a 15% Discount!

NB: We do not resell papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.