O Pioneers!

by Willa Cather

O Pioneers!: Genre 1 key example

Part 1, Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis:

O Pioneers! is a work of literary realism. Realism became popular toward the end of the 19th century and was often framed as a reaction to sentimental fiction. Sentimental fiction, such as Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin and William Hill Brown's The Power of Sympathy, depicted highly dramatic situations and characters' over-the-top reactions to them. All this drama served to stir up the reader's emotions as well. By inviting the reader to sympathize with the plight of characters in dire situations, authors of sentimental novels often hoped to persuade readers into alignment with certain social and political causes. In the case of Uncle Tom's Cabin, for instance, Stowe hoped to turn readers against slavery. The idea behind using sentimentality for political purposes was that human emotions (especially sympathy) are universal. Social issues that seemed distant to many middle- and upper-class readers could come to seem more relevant if only these readers got excited about them.