Farming On The Divide Chapter 1 Summary

What does Alexandra do to make her farm and family successful? When Alexandra’s brothers, Lou and Oscar, insist they sell the farm to leave the Divide, Alexandra protests they keep the land. She is convinced she can find an alternative way to farm the Divide. Alexandra explores the river country because of her interests in learning new farming methods to save her father’s farm. Unfortunately, Alexandra becomes disappointed when she discovers the river country is no more flourishing than the highlands. She resolves to keep farming on the Divide, but she tries to apply her new farming techniques in hopes one day the land will repay her for her effort. Alexandra suggests to her brothers,
“I want you boys to go down yourselves and look it over. Nothing will convince you like seeing with your own eyes. The river land was settled before this, and so they are a few years ahead of us, and have learned more about farming. The land sells for three times as much as this, but in five years we will double it. The rich men down there own all the best land, and what little old corn we have, and buy the Linstrum place. Then the
The author uses Alexandra as a model of the American pioneer, and Alexandria displays the struggles the pioneers faced on a daily basis such as facing droughts and problems with their farming techniques. Carter’s choice of a woman protagonist for “O Pioneers!” explains the hardship women dealt with during the turn of the 20th century. Women in the 20th century were not considered equal in power or intelligence. Therefore, Alexandra’s portrays the situations women faced trying to succeed in a male-dominating generation. Alexandra plays the role of a strong independent woman who will not let anything stop her from completing her dreams of making her father’s farm successful on her