When you're living out on a desolate prairie, family is really all you've got to keep you company… unless you really like badgers. Or prairie dogs. Or, hey, locusts.
And even when someone's not related to you by blood, they quickly become your family because there's no one else to hang out with. The isolation of the prairie also has a way of magnifying all of the subtle aspects of family relationships. For example, Beret might not have had much of a problem with her husband's adventuring ways before moving to the prairie. But when her entire life becomes defined by her husband's whims, she gets more than a little annoyed by him. If you want a case study in what can go wrong (and sometimes right) with family relationships, then look no further than Giants in the Earth .
Questions About Family
- Do you think Per Hansa is a good father? Why or why not?
- Is Beret's reaction to moving to the prairie reasonable, or should she just suck it up for the family?
- How does the prairie landscape bring Per Hansa's family together? How does it drive them apart?
- What does Kjersti dislike most about her husband Tönseten? How does it relate to the theme of Family in this book?
Chew on This
In Giants in the Earth , we learn that hardship doesn't always bring a family closer together.
In Giants in the Earth , O.E. Rölvaag shows us that familial love will always triumph, whether people realize it or not.