How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
John Bergson had the Old-World belief that land, in itself, is desirable. But this land was an enigma. It was like a horse that no one knows how to break to harness, that runs wild and kicks things to pieces. (1.2.5)
John Bergson's "Old-World" beliefs belong to the mindset of an immigrant to the United States, who fantasizes about the endless availability of land. Well, needless to say, those fantasies don't always come true. In fact, he's started to realize that the land might just be more than he can handle.
Quote #5
But for the piece of rusty stovepipe sticking up through the sod, you could have walked over the roof of Ivar's dwelling without dreaming that you were near a human habitation. Ivar had lived for three years in the clay bank, without defiling the face of nature any more than the coyote that had lived there before him had done. (1.3.22)
Ivar's house is practically part of nature itself. Well, that's kind of how we're supposed to imagine him, as well. But—is Ivar afraid to accept being a human being?
Quote #6
Like most of their neighbors, they were meant to follow in paths already marked out for them, not to break trails in a new country. A steady job, a few holidays, nothing to think about, and they would have been very happy. It was no fault of theirs that they had been dragged into the wilderness when they were little boys. A pioneer should have imagination, should be able to enjoy the idea of things more than the things themselves. (1.4.1)
Just when you thought Lou and Oscar Bergson were the bad guys in O Pioneers!, we catch the narrator defending them. What gives? Well actually, the narrator is drawing an important distinction here, not making a defense. Apparently there's a difference between true pioneers, who have "imagination" and a special connection to the land, and those people, like Lou and Oscar, who are run-of-the-mill types.