Imperialist Discourse And Hybridized America In Willa Cather’s O’ Pioneers! And My Antonia

As a representative writer of American western literature,Willa Cather(1873-1943)is best known for her depiction of pioneer settlement and frontier life and respected for the historical authenticity that she aims to achieve in her writings.O’ Pioneers!(1913)and My Antonia(1918),published in the years of intense xenophobia provoked by the influx of European immigrants,are regarded as her masterpieces.In both novels,Cather features families of immigrants in Nebraska and the frontier life.A survey of previous studies shows that these novels have mainly been approached from the perspective of feminism,ecological feminism and eco-criticism.Cather’s advocacy of cultural and racial diversity and her envision of a hybridized America have largely been unexamined.This thesis investigates the interplay between localism and imperialism,cultural hegemony and multiculturalism.Through a careful examination of the social milieu in Cather’s times as well as a close reading of the texts,this thesis discusses how Willa Cather displays,criticizes and revisions America’s imperialist discourse in her writings to accommodate a more diversified and ideal America.Such attempts not only reveal the imperialist ideological representation of Manifest Destiny and pioneer myth in Cather’s times but also show Cather’s endeavor to explore the possible solution to rectify the imperialist discourse for correcting the irrational aspect of America’s national consciousness.This thesis focuses on Cather’s representation of and negotiation with imperialism respectively in O’ Pioneers! and My Antonia.It begins with an introduction to Willa Cather and her writings,particularly the two novels under study here.Then it proceeds to a detailed examination and analysis of the texts through foregrounding the pioneers’ myth-making based on the ideology of Manifest Destiny as well as America’s imperial mission of assimilating and integrating the immigrants.It argues through deconstructing the imperial dream of pioneer settlement constructed on the ideology of Manifest Destiny and the adverse effects of cultural homogeneity in the frontier,for instance,the collapse of family values and individual alienation,Cather unveils America’s moral superiority on the one hand,and on the other questions the rationale of America’s imperial discourse.Moreover,Cather is devoted to exploring the possible solutions to revision America’s imperialist discourse through negotiating the conflicting forces.In addition,this thesis also gives a critical comment on Willa Cather’s attitude towards multi-cultural identity that has been advocated by her to revision America’s cultural imperialist discourse.In O’ Pioneers! and My Antonia,Cather’s attitude does not remain all the same but experiences dynamic yet nuanced process of change in which her initial conservatism gives way to open advocacy.In O’ Pioneers! the immigrant culture is marginalized,and the Indian civilization and the Black culture are silenced as well,while in My Antonia not only are the bilingual communities built but also the Indian and Black culture are elevated.Such change to a great extent shows Cather’s determination of anti-America’s cultural hegemony as well as her definition of America’s national identity.