Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- To what extent do the narrator's direct characterizations illuminate or further obscure Alexandra's "hidden" personal life?
- What do you make of Alexandra's newfound "freedom" at the novel's conclusion? How does O Pioneers! conceptualize this freedom? What is this freedom opposed to?
- How do Alexandra's (sexual) fantasies figure in the novel? In what ways do they make the story of her connection to the land more complex?
- What is the novel's attitude toward sex and youth? Is love ever free (so to speak) in O Pioneers!?
- What is the point of a character like Ivar? Is he as crazy as people in the novel think he is, or does his relationship with Alexandra help us to better our understanding of her character's development?
- How can we interpret Cather's poetic epigraph, "Prairie Spring," in relation to the rest of the novel? Does this poem offer a viewpoint that differs from that of the novel, or does it simply set the tone for the rest of the story?
- In what ways is O Pioneers! an allegory for the struggle to write and find a medium for self-expression? Can Cather's biography help us read the novel this way?
- Is O Pioneers! nostalgic for the adventurous life of pioneering days long past? Or is it more in tune with the 20th century?
- What stance does O Pioneers! take towards political engagement and activism? How can you tell?