Bravery In Willa Cather's Of Plymouth Plantation

American literature Final Exam essay

What is bravery? Bravery is showing a courageous behavior or character. "We could never learn to be brave if there was no fear in our life"(Helen Keller).In of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford, the settlers did not know what to expect when coming into America and what their voyage was going to be like. In the narrative The Life of Olaudah Equiano, the young boy and his sister were separated and Equiano watched a lot of harsh things happen. In O Pioneers by Willa Cather, Alexandra put dedication into the land and took the role of leadership and this brought her to success. Having courage to take risks in life is important because it gives the people the opportunity to face the unknown, face their

Settlers show bravery in lots of cases in the novel. First, on their journey they just committed themselves to the will of God because they knew if everything on the ship, Mayflower, was okay they could trust in God. When they got to shore they had no friends to welcome them, no one to entertain or refresh their bodies, and no place to go but they never gave up. They would look up to God and say, "Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean....." (Bradford 61). The voyage went another two months because of the weather conditions they were facing and everyone continued to stay calm and not worry too much about it. Bravery is also shown in the harsh conditions where we see that people were dying, suffering from starvation, and infected with diseases. After settlers on the ship saw this happen to others, they would try and do whatever it took to stay healthy and alive. In the end since they stayed brave through the whole journey and never gave up, they gathered small harvest and were able to have their first Thanksgiving

Alexandra shows bravery through the dedication she puts into the land. She gives up her youth and chance to be happy because she has a vision of the future that requires hard work and dedication. This is a huge role to take on but nothing is stopping her from doing what her father wants her to do. She takes the role of leadership on the farm because her brothers Oscar, Lou, and Emil do not show any interest . "I want you to keep the land together....I want no quarrels... must be one head (Cather 16). This quote shows that Alexandra is motivated to keep the farm no matter how much debt they have. By her choice of keeping the land she takes risks by buying more land, while her brothers decide to move to the city. She makes a brave decision on keeping the land and not letting go, even though her brother's disagree. She wants to reach the American Dream and never can give up if this is what she wants, so she goes off and does it on her own. "Alexandra drove off alone. The rattle of her wagon.... into the dark country (Cather 12). This quote shows that since she is traveling forward into darkened it strikes fear in everyone else. In the end, by her taking the risk of putting a lot of her dedication into the land to make her father happy and to help Emil by giving him a good life, this shows