Willa Cather

Name: O Pioneers! — The Wild Land, I
Author: Willa Cather

O Pioneers! — The Wild Land, I (1913)

Summary

“O Pioneers! — The Wild Land, I”, published in 1913, is a work by Willa Cather. It explores elements such as kitten, Emil and Carl.

Quotes from O Pioneers! — The Wild Land, I (Willa Cather)

Willa Cather, O Pioneers! — The Wild Land, I (1913)

“ He was afraid to stop any one, afraid to go into the store and ask for help, so he sat wringing his long sleeves and looking up a telegraph pole beside him, whimpering, "My kitten, oh, my kitten! Her will fweeze!" At the top of the pole crouched a shivering gray kitten, mewing faintly and clinging desperately to the wood with her claws. The boy had been left at the store while his sister went to the doctor's office, and in her absence a dog had chased his kitten up the pole. The little creature had never been so high before, and she was too frightened to move. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Willa Cather, O Pioneers! — The Wild Land, I (1913)

“ She stabbed him with a glance of Amazonian fierceness and drew in her lower lip--most unnecessary severity. It gave the little clothing drummer such a start that he actually let his cigar fall to the sidewalk and went off weakly in the teeth of the wind to the saloon. His hand was still unsteady when he took his glass from the bartender. His feeble flirtatious instincts had been crushed before, but never so mercilessly. He felt cheap and ill-used, as if some one had taken advantage of him. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Willa Cather, O Pioneers! — The Wild Land, I (1913)

“ But the great fact was the land itself, which seemed to overwhelm the little beginnings of human society that struggled in its sombre wastes. It was from facing this vast hardness that the boy's mouth had become so bitter; because he felt that men were too weak to make any mark here, that the land wanted to be let alone, to preserve its own fierce strength, its peculiar, savage kind of beauty, its uninterrupted mournfulness. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Willa Cather, O Pioneers! — The Wild Land, I (1913)

“ Catch me if I fall, Emil," he called back as he began his ascent. Alexandra watched him anxiously; the cold was bitter enough on the ground. The kitten would not budge an inch. Carl had to go to the very top of the pole, and then had some difficulty in tearing her from her hold. When he reached the ground, he handed the cat to her tearful little master. "Now go into the store with her, Emil, and get warm." He opened the door for the child. "Wait a minute, Alexandra. Why can't I drive for you as far as our place? It's getting colder every minute. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Willa Cather, O Pioneers! — The Wild Land, I (1913)

“ Carl came in, wearing his overcoat and carrying a wooden box with a brass handle. "Come," he said, "I've fed and watered your team, and the wagon is ready." He carried Emil out and tucked him down in the straw in the wagonbox. The heat had made the little boy sleepy, but he still clung to his kitten.
"You were awful good to climb so high and get my kitten, Carl. When I get big I'll climb and get little boys' kittens for them," he murmured drowsily. Before the horses were over the first hill, Emil and his cat were both fast asleep. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Willa Cather, O Pioneers! — The Wild Land, I (1913)

“ When a drummer had been knocking about in little drab towns and crawling across the wintry country in dirty smoking-cars, was he to be blamed if, when he chanced upon a fine human creature, he suddenly wished himself more of a man? ”

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Source: Wikisource

Willa Cather, O Pioneers! — The Wild Land, I (1913)

“ His forefinger, projecting from the sleeve of his coat, pointed up to the wretched little creature on the pole.
"Oh, Emil! Didn't I tell you she'd get us into trouble of some kind, if you brought her? What made you tease me so? But there, I ought to have known better myself." She went to the foot of the pole and held out her arms, crying, "Kitty, kitty, kitty," but the kitten only mewed and faintly waved its tail. Alexandra turned away decidedly. "No, she won't come down. Somebody will have to go up after her. I saw the Linstrums' wagon in town. I'll go and see if I can find Carl. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Willa Cather, O Pioneers! — The Wild Land, I (1913)

“ They were all delighted with her, for they seldom saw so pretty and carefully nurtured a child. They told her that she must choose one of them for a sweetheart, and each began pressing his suit and offering her bribes; candy, and little pigs, and spotted calves. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Willa Cather, O Pioneers! — The Wild Land, I (1913)

“ He lies and counts on his fingers all day. I think he is trying to count up what he is leaving for us. It's a comfort to him that my chickens are laying right on through the cold weather and bringing in a little money. I wish we could keep his mind off such things, but I don't have much time to be with him now."
"I wonder if he'd like to have me bring my magic lantern over some evening?"
Alexandra turned her face toward him. "Oh, Carl! Have you got it?" ”

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Source: Wikisource

Willa Cather, O Pioneers! — The Wild Land, I (1913)

“ Alexandra seemed actually cheered. There is often a good deal of the child left in people who have had to grow up too soon. "Do bring it over, Carl. I can hardly wait to see it, and I'm sure it will please father. ”

Willa Cather

Summary

Quotes from O Pioneers! — The Wild Land, I (Willa Cather)

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