Comparative Essay

Books written in the Gilded Age are most usually an accurate representation of the lives led by those characters represented in them. They give us an in depth and up close and more personal look at the difficult and fast-changing times back then. Although Maggie and O Pioneers! differ in geographical terms, they both make me feel like I actually understand what it was like to live back then. When you compare them side by side you can see that both sides of life affect the personalities and characterizations of people depicted.
In Maggie, it lets you peer into the life of a girl that lives in the slums with an unsupportive and unkind family yet she still seems able to remain hopeful despite all of her disadvantages. Maggie’s mother is an alcoholic, her brothers are aggressive and nasty, and her father died early on. She somehow is able to move forward with a sort of naiveté that warmed my heart. The book O Pioneers! gives you an inside look at what life would be like on the prairie and the difference in morals and values when people have to actually work for and make an effort for every single thing that they want in life. The characters all have a resolve that is very unlike any in Maggie.
The role of women and mother and daughters in each book differs exponentially. In O Pioneers! women starting from a fairly young age were expected to contribute to most aspects of the farm life. The book even starts out with Alexandra and her brother being in town to pick up some goods that they needed on their farm. They travelled all the way from their farm in a horse and cart and then all the way back in the dead cold of winter. The fact that the parents expected them to do that without complaint shows a lot about the morals and roles of wom...

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...at “The small frame of the ragged girl was quivering. Her features were haggard from weeping, and her eyes gleamed from fear” (Crane, 13). The only act of true violence in O Pioneers! was when Frank shot and killed Emil and Marie out of jealousy of their newfound relationship. It is not even really a reflection of the times they lived in, jealousy has just always done weird things to people. Even though Frank killed her brother, Alexandra still had the decency to try and bail him out of his crime.
In conclusion, I would like to say that if I were given the opportunity to choose between living in either the city or on the prairie, based on these books I would definitely have to choose life on the prairie. You were raised with a strong work ethic despite what gender you were, and the morals and qualities of people seemed to have a generally more positive connotation.