typical cultural features found in daily life of the community in the series little house on the prairie by laura ingalls wilder from the perspectives of language – culture

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES  CHU THỊ THU HUYỀN TYPICAL CULTURAL FEATURES FOUND IN DAILY LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY IN SERIES THE LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE BY LAURA INGALLS WILDER FROM PERSPECTIVES OF LANGUAGE-CULTURE (CÁC ĐẶC TRƯNG VĂN HOÁ TIÊU BIỂU TRONG ĐỜI SỐNG HÀNG NGÀY CỦA CỘNG ĐỒNG QUA TÁC PHẨM “NGÔI NHÀ NHỎ TRÊN THẢO NGUYÊN” – LAURA INGALLS WILDER DƯỚI GÓC ĐỘ VĂN HOÁ-NGÔN NGỮ) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Hanoi - 2013 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES  CHU THỊ THU HUYỀN TYPICAL CULTURAL FEATURES FOUND IN DAILY LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY IN SERIES THE LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE BY LAURA INGALLS WILDER FROM PERSPECTIVES OF LANGUAGE-CULTURE (CÁC ĐẶC TRƯNG VĂN HOÁ TIÊU BIỂU TRONG ĐỜI SỐNG HÀNG NGÀY CỦA CỘNG ĐỒNG QUA TÁC PHẨM “NGÔI NHÀ NHỎ TRÊN THẢO NGUYÊN” – LAURA INGALLS WILDER DƯỚI GÓC ĐỘ VĂN HOÁ-NGÔN NGỮ) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Supervisor: Dr Ngô Tự Lập Hanoi - 2013 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and certify the best of my knowledge This thesis contains no materials that have been accepted as part of requirements for any other degree or diploma in any educational institution nor previously published is written unless the reference to the material is made Signature Chu Thị Thu Huyền i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like first and foremost to thank Dr Ngo Tu Lap, my thesis supervisor, for his critical comments and valuable instructions without which this thesis could not have been completed My indebtedness is also to my beloved family members whose help and encouragements contributed greatly to the completion of my study Last but not least, I am grateful to my colleagues and my friends for their support throughout the process of writing this thesis ii ABSTRACT The end of nineteenth century in America is considered the ―Frontier time‖, which had great impact on American culture and history Taking inspiration from this period, this study is an investigation into American culture of the Frontier time through the series The Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder Basing on the Frontier Theory of F.J Turner, the study focuses on analyzing Frontier Spirit expressed in the Westward movement tendency, the Self-provision activities, Self-reliance attitude and the Evolution in attitude toward Native Americans of the main characters in the series Through the study, the author would like to suggest that teaching literature is inseparable with teaching culture; moreover, culture will be more accessible for students through studying literature work iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Part 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale 1.1 Language and Culture 1.2 Literature as Verbal Manifestation of Language 1.3 The Little House on the Prairie – a Typical Literary Work of the Frontier Time in American History Aims of the Study Scope of the Study 4 Methods of the Study Outline of the Study Part 2: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: MAJOR CULTURAL FEATURES OF THE SOCIETY IN FRONTIER PERIOD ACCORDING TO TURNER‘S FRONTIER THEORY 1.1 Frontier Period in American history 1.2 Fredrick J Turner‘s Frontier Theory 1.3 Frontier Spirit in Turner‘s Frontier Thesis 11 Chapter 2: LAURA INGALLS WILDER AND HER LITTLE HOUSE SERIES 15 2.1 Laura Ingalls Wilder 15 2.2 The Little House Series 16 2.3 Reviews on The Little House Series 19 Chapter 3: EXPRESSIONS OF THE FRONTIER SPIRIT IN THE LITTLE HOUSE SERIES 21 3.1 Expression of the Frontier Spirit in the Westward Movement Tendency 22 3.2 Frontier Spirit Expressed in the Self-provision Activities 26 3.3 Expression of the Frontier Spirit in the Self-reliance Attitude 29 3.4 Expression of the Frontier Spirit in the Evolution of the Racial Problems 32 Part 3: CONCLUSION 40 3.1 Issues Addressed in the Study 40 3.2 Implications of the Study 41 3.3 Suggestions for Further Studies 42 REFERENCE 43 iv Part 1: INTRODUCTION Rationale 1.1 Language and Culture Language, our primary tool of thought and perception, is at the heart of who we are as individuals Language is constantly changing, sometimes into entirely new verbal varieties, leading to subtle differences in how we present ourselves to others Understood as particular sets of speech norms of a particular community, language is also a part of the larger cultural spheres of the community that utilize them Languages not differ only in pronunciation, vocabulary, or grammar, but also through having different "cultures of speaking." Humans use language as a way of signaling identity with one cultural group and difference from others Even among speakers of one language, there are different ways of using language existing, and each is used to signal affiliation with particular subgroups within a larger culture Culture, on the other hand, is the humankind‘s treasure that individuals inherit from their ancestors (including experience like knowledge, skills, values and norms), develop them, and then pass onto future generations In his book Language Shock – Understanding the Culture of Conversation (1994), the American linguistic anthropologist Michael Agar declares that ―Culture is … what happens to you when you encounter differences, become aware of something in yourself, and work to figure out why the differences appeared Culture is awareness, a consciousness, one that reveals the hidden self and opens paths to other ways of being‖ (Agar, 1994, p 20) Culture and language have a long history and constantly develop throughout the flow of history Since ―cultures spread across languages and likewise languages spread across cultures‖ (Risager, 2007, p.153), for many years, authorities have been engaged in exploring the relationship between the two entities and have concluded that the study of a language cannot be separated from culture studies and vice versa 1.2 Literature as Verbal Manifestation of Language Among various language manifestations, literature is undoubtedly the most sophisticated ―Language is the medium of literature as marble or bronze or clay are the materials of the sculptor‖, whereas ―the literature fashioned out of the form and substance of a language has the color and the texture of its matrix,‖ – says Edward Sapir (1921) They are complementary as they enrich and glorify each other Also, literature and culture have a reciprocal relationship Literature takes its inspiration from the daily life and the social context; therefore culture affects literature what to write and how to write, while the product of this writing process will be used to interpret culture Language of literature works, therefore, has been the subject of many studies by linguists because it presents particularly the relation of language and culture Socio-cultural background should be taken into account when analyzing a literary work; vice versa a literature work, more or less, always reflected the social condition of its time Therefore, a literary work can help readers widen their knowledge of a certain historical period When referring to the West of American in the second half of the 19th century, enormous popular attention in the media often focuses on the "Wild West", symbolized by wars and treaties, cowboys and the gold rush Nevertheless, fewer people know that this period is a remarkable milestone in American history, known as the Frontier time Since knowledge about this period still somehow insufficient, this paper hopefully provides more information about that time 1.3 The Little House on the Prairie – a Typical Literary Work of the Frontier Time in American History This study is an investigation into American culture of the Frontier time through the famous series entitled The Little House on the Prairie written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, with which many Vietnamese people may be more familiar thanks to its adaptation The Little House on the Prairie drama television series This series, often known as Little House series, is based on decades-old memories of Laura Ingalls Wilder's childhood in the Midwest region of the United States during the late 19th century As Wilder noted in 1937, she wrote the series to show children who had grown up in a post-frontier age "what it is that made America as they know it." Although these books are classified as children‘s books, they still provide a ―real‖ picture of America at that time, a kind of historical chronicle offering both a detailed record of how the pioneers lived and an illustration to the values that built America As Wilder declared, in her own life, she "represented a whole period of American history", and it was through the details of her own life that she wanted to tell the story of the frontier experience Aims of the Study The aims of the study are to investigate some major cultural features of American society in the Frontier time of the nineteenth century, and to show how these features are reflected in the series The Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder To realize these aims, answers for the following research question are sought out: What are the major cultural features of the American society in the Frontier time of the nineteenth century? How are these features reflected in the series The Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder? Scope of the Study This study will focus on expressions of the Frontier Spirit in Laura Ingalls Wilder‘s series through four main points: the west-wards movement, selfprovision activities, self-reliance and the evolution of racial problems However, within this minor M.A thesis, the author will not analyze the whole nine-book series The second book in the series, Farmer Boy, which focuses on the childhood of Laura's future husband, will be excluded in order to keep the mainstream of the whole story (focus on the life of Laura only) Methods of the Study In the research process, both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed Generally the study relies on the qualitative analysis of cultural features, while ―Then why doesn‘t God tell us?‖ Laura wanted to know ―Because,‖ said Pa, ―we‘re not animals We‘re humans, and, like it says in the Declaration of Independence, God created us free That means we got to take care of ourselves.‖ Laura said faintly, ―I thought God takes care of us.‖ ―He does,‖ Pa said, ―so far as we what‘s right And He gives us a conscience and brains to know what‘s right But He leaves us to as we please That‘s the difference between us and everything else in creation.‖ ―Can‘t muskrats what they please?‖ Laura asked, amazed ―No,‖ said Pa ―I don‘t know why they can‘t but you can see they can‘t Look at that muskrat house Muskrats have to build that kind of house They always have and they always will It‘s plain they can‘t build any other kind But folks build all kinds of houses A man can build any kind of house he can think of So if his house don‘t keep out the weather, that‘s his look-out; he‘s free and independent.‖ In short, natural and social disasters are also the barrier, the frontier that the pioneers must overcome during their journey One cannot rely on anyone, anything except themselves to survive that harshness Then, their self-reliance is one of the most important attitudes of the pioneers 3.4 Expression of the Frontier Spirit in the Evolution of the Racial Problems In the Little House series, as discussed earlier, Laura Ingalls Wilder tried to draw a truthful picture of a period in American history Beside the lively portrait of 32 American Frontier life, these books also involves a very complicated issue in American history, it is the racial discrimination against the Black and Native Americans Long considered to be a work celebrating traditional pioneer values, Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books, like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, have in recent years come under increasing attack for its stereotypic racial representations and attitudes As the most prominent novel in the Little House series featuring Native Americans, the third book Little House on the Prairie has become the center of numerous controversies over the issue of racism However, the series seems to demonstrate progressive evolution of the issue: the gradual overcoming of Racism The series‘ first reference to Native Americans comes in The Little House in the Big Woods, in which Pa told his daughters the story of his childhood: "I began to play I was a mighty hunter, stalking the wild animals and the Indians I played I was fighting the Indians, until the woods seemed full of wild men, and then all at once I heard the birds twittering 'good night.' It was dusky in the path, and dark in the woods.‖ (p.54) Berkhofer in his book The White Man’s Indian: Imagine of the American Indian from Columbus to the present (1978) identified this description ―wild men‖ as one of the oldest stereotypes of Native Americans The word ―wild‖ can be used for people, country and undomesticated animals In this short story, the adjective ―wild‖ used twice seems to separate the Native Americans apart from the world of ―civilized folks‖ and even link them to the animals It suggests an attitude of the young Pa that Indian are wild, just like wild animals, so as a ―mighty hunter‖ he was able to hunt them like he was hunting animals In The Little House on the Prairie, the phrase ―wild men‖ is used seven times Laura inherited her father‘s 33 view when she asked him to tell about the Indian: ―Pa knew about wild animals, so he must know about wild me, too.‖ In the Ingalls family, there is a general critical consensus that Ma is clearly the most racist As Romines notes, "For Caroline Ingalls, Indians become a code for everything that seems to threaten the settled, white life she wants for her daughters" (1997) Additionally, Wolf suggests that Ma ―perceives them as inferior to the white folks because they look different and live differently‖ (1996) Revealing Ma's racism before any actual encounters with Indians, the text shows how Ma's beliefs reflect a more general cultural signification of Indian culture as inferior to Anglo-American culture Ma's position towards the Indians is evident from the onset of the Ingalls's journey When Laura announces her curiosity to "see a papoose," Ma quickly answers, "Mercy on us! Whatever makes you want to see Indians? We will see enough of them More than we want to." Ma's predetermined feelings, coloring her ability to see the Indians in any way other than inferior, shape her actual meetings with Indians throughout the text Also the images of the Indians in the "Indians in the House" chapter clearly demonstrate how Ma's racism has shaped her and her daughters' ideas of Indians ―First she saw their leather moccasins Then their stringy, bare, red-brown legs, all the way up Around their waists each of the Indians wore a leather thong, and the furry skin of a small animal down in front The fur was striped black and white, and now Laura knew what made that smell The skins were fresh skunk skins.‖ (p.140) 34 The adjectives used to describe the Native America are shown in the table below: Table 4: Adjectives describing “The Indians” Appearance Adjectives to describe General appearance Tall, thin, fierce-looking, naked, wide, dirty, awful, mean Face bold, fierce, terrible, scowling Eyes black, still, glittering Smell horrible, bad Voice short, harsh, screeching It can be remarked that most of the adjectives describing the Native American are strong with the negative rather than positive meaning The Indians appear with the animal-like appearance with their ―bold and fierce‖ faces and ―black, glittering eyes‖ Their speech is also animalistic with its "harsh sounds" The unworthy Indians have no legitimate voice; all they can vocalize to Ma and the girls are incoherent noises 35 Table 6: Words/ phrases expressing attitudes towards the “Indian” Part of Whole phrases/ sentences speech Verbs - “Indian!” Mary whispered… - Laura was shivering… - she screamed, in a whisper… - Mary was almost crying… - Then Laura began to shake all over - She stood still and trembled… - Her heart jumped into her throat and choked her with its pounding - Ma sighed a long, long sigh… - Ma… hugged Laura and Mary tighter, and trembled… Adjective - Laura was frightened… - Laura whispered, hoarsely… - there was a queer feeling … and the bones in her legs felt weak… - she looked sick… Facing the Indians, Ma, Laura and Mary all shows their frightened feelings as if they were encountering dangerous and scaring creatures For Ma, the moment confirms, literally and symbolically, all her predisposed feelings so that after the encounter, Ma "trembled" and "looked sick" Ma's attitudes towards the Indians are clearly shaped by her predisposed racism that has signified the Indians as inhuman and threatening: 36 Unlike Ma who is a representative of the Anglo-Saxon immigrants, Pa seems to have the standards of both civilization and the wildness Pa's behavior towards the Indians seems to be reflective of his espoused frontier ideology Unlike Ma‘s strong react against the Indian, Pa showed a friendlier attitude When he comes home after the visit of the Indians, he tries to defuse the fear of his wife and his children: ―So you‘ve seen Indians at last, have you, Laura? I notice they have a camp in a little valley west of here Did Indians come home to the house, Caroline?‖ In this conversation, the Native Americans are just strange visitors so Ma had no need to fear However he confirms distinctiveness of the Native: ―we don‘t want to make enemies of any Indian… the main thing is to be on good terms with the Indians.‖ However, Pa does not acknowledge the right of the Native Americans to their land In his mind, it is the act of settling that establishes the right to the lands He explained to Laura: ―When white settlers come into a country, the Indians have to move on The government is going to move these Indians farther west, anytime now That‘s why we‘re here, Laura White people are going to settle all this country and we get the best land because we get here first and take our pick‖ Pa‘s conflicting attitudes come out of his own concern about his family and the land he wishes to settle, which are pitted against his understanding of the injustices However, over the course of the text, Pa moves from an inability to recognize the Native Americans as legitimate settlers of the Plains to an acceptance of their cultural difference and territorial claims Pa's changing feelings help to explain why he decides to leave the family homestead at the end of the text 37 Laura seemingly eschews her mother's racism but has yet to understand the full implications of racist behavior Her beliefs reflect a middle ground between her mother's and father's positions From the beginning, she was affected by her father‘s story and the assumption that the Indian as wild as the wild animals It‘s when she reasoned ―Pa knew all about wild animals, so he must know about wild men, too." However, her naively insensitive equation of wild men with animals is mitigated, however, by Pa's own appearance as a "wild" man Laura further identifies the Indians with Pa, noting that they carry "a knife like Pa's hunting knife and a hatchet like Pa's hatchet" (138); perhaps more important, she equates the Indian hunter's motive in killing the panther with Pa's own motives in hunting it, thus attributing emotional as well as physical parity to the two cultures Her attitude towards ―the Indian‖ witnesses a remarkable change when she started to know about the ―bad Indian‖ – who wanted to kill the while people and the ―good Indian‖ – who fought against this idea At the end of the book Little House on the Prairie, when the ―good Indian‖ – the Osages tribe rides away, the whole family sees them leave without the frightened feelings as at first The description, in addition, became brighter and more optimistic: - A bright-colored blanket - It was a proud, still face - The pretty pony… - Their skin was out in the fresh air and sunshine… - Their black eyes sparkled with joy - the bright eyes of the little baby… While Laura Wilder had imbibed a certain amount of the racism prevalent during both the period she reflected and the time when she wrote, she struck a balance 38 between "good" Indians and "bad" Indians, showed both Indian haters and more tolerant settlers like Pa, and portrayed both Pa and Laura as finding much to admire in the Osage lifestyle As John E Miller points out, "if she was not always a model of advanced opinion on Indian-white relations, she went considerably beyond many of her friends and neighbors in her willingness to view Native Americans as a people worthy of respect and admiration." In brief, the gradual overcoming of the racial issue is another expression of the Frontier Spirit – the racial frontier in this case 39 Part 3: CONCLUSION The American Frontier Spirit passed more than one hundred years ago, however in the Little House series, the readers can recall that special period of the American history fulfilled with details about the life of the pioneers The Frontier Spirit is still influential and visible in the American society and culture Their daily life, their struggle against disasters and their undying Frontier Spirit: selfreliance, self-supplying, and the desire to move westward The dark side still existed like the discrimination against Native American, yet it had changed gradually; nevertheless the Little House books are always the eternal songs toward a better, happier life 3.1 Issues Addressed in the Study The study starts with an exploration on the American Frontier time, the Frontier Theory of Turner and the cultural features of the American society according to this theory The goals of this investigations is to look for a research framework and then, to build a social background for the study In the process of this research, both qualitative and quantitative methods have been used, among which the qualitative methods were more appropriate and therefore used more frequently The quantitative methods were used in the form of listing linguistic features and the qualitative one was used in the form of analyzing the cultural features As an investigation into the cultural features of American Frontier period throughout the series of The Little House, the study was based on the Frontier Theory of Turner in 1893 The study, therefore, aims at exploring the cultural features of America, specifically at the Frontier period at the end of nineteenth 40 century The Frontier Spirit, demonstrated through the tendency to move west, the self-provision activities, self-reliant attitude and changes in attitudes towards the Native Americans Additionally, the author has further investigated into the language used to illustrate these features The conclusion that the author arrives at in this study is the relevant answers to the two research questions in the first part of this thesis First, the series draws a ―truth-like‖ portrait of America at the Frontier period There are remarkable features during that time such as the westward movement tendency, their selfprovision life, their self-reliance attitude and their changes in attitudes towards Native Americans During the research, some linguistic expressions of these features are also demonstrated based o statistics and analyses 3.2 Implications of the Study With discussions and investigations concerning the cultural linguistic features of the language through a literary work, this research expects to be a useful reference for anyone who is interested in the series The Little House Moreover, this study hopefully contributes to the research of American Frontier period in particular and American culture and history in general Secondly, as regards to the language teaching and learning in literature and cultural study courses, the paper is also expected to be considerable importance As can be seen, through the analysis, readers can understand more clearly about certain cultural features of American society at that time like the Frontier Spirit or American stereotype about Indian people Additionally, the study suggests that to help students approaching American culture and history, teacher should introduce some literature works that are typical for this cultural feature or period If students 41 learn these features through literature works, the lesson will be more interesting and memorable 3.3 Suggestions for further Studies Due to the limit of time, the study cannot cover all the issues in The Little House series In the realization of this study, a number of issues were not investigated, including the followings: First of all, the Frontier Spirit, as revealed by Clyne (2002) and other authors, also includes the spirit of freedom and liberty that is considered typical for all Americans Secondly, further studies may be carried into other social issues like the dominance of men in the society, the gradual changes in women‘s role, or the feminism voice hidden in this series Last but not least, as the books for children, the language that Wilder used must be different from the one for adult readers An investigation into her writing style for children may worth considering Also studies may be implemented in the perspective of Critical Discourse Analysis to investigate how the author used language to portrait social problems like racism or feminism 42 REFERENCE Agar, M (1994) Language Shock: Understanding the Culture of Conversation New York: Morrow Aley, G (2007) A Republic of Farm People: Women, Families, and MarketMinded Agrarianism in Ohio, 1820s-18302 Ohio History 114(1) pp.2845 Anderson, W (1992) Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography New York: HarperCollins Anderson, W (1984) A Journey Through the Land of ‗Little Houses.‘‖ American History Illustrated 19(5) Berkhofer, R.F (1978) The White Man’s Indian: Imagine of the American Indian from Columbus to the present New York: Random House Clyne, M (2002) Lessons in liberty from Laura Ingalls Wilder National Affairs vol 12, pp.135-156 Fellman, A.C (2009) Little House, Long Shadow: Laura Ingalls Wilder's Impact on American Culture Journal of American History 96(1) Columbia: University of Missouri Press Faragher, J.M (1999) Rereading Frederick Jackson Turner Yale University Press Garrett, M & Pichette, E (2000) Red as an apple: Native American acculturation and counseling with or without reservation Journal of Counseling & Development, 78 (1) pp 3-13 Heldrich, P (2000) ―Going into Indian Territory”: Attitudes towards Native Americans in Little House on the Prairie University of Nebraska – Lincoln Hine, R & Faragher, J.M (2000) The American West: A New Interpretive History Yale University Press p.10 43 Holtz, William (1993) The Ghost in the Little House: A Life of Rose Wilder Lane University of Missouri Press Kane, S & McCabe, S (2013) Women in the U.S today Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4975 on November 11 2013 Kroeber, A.L & Kluckhohn, C (1952) Culture – a Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions New York: Vintage Books LaDuke, W (1999) All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life pp 2-3 Laura Ingalls Wilder Biography Retrieved from http://www.notablebiographies.com/We-Z/Wilder-Laura-Ingalls.html on October 13, 2013 Miller, J.E (2006) Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Woman Behind the Legend Columbia: University of Missouri Press Miller, J.E (2008) Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane Authorship, Place, Time, and Culture University of Missouri Press p 24 Morrison, D (1998) American Indian Studies: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Contemporary Issues, New York: Peter Lang pp 47-68 Peiss, K (1986) Cheap Amusements: Working Women and Leisure in Turn-ofthe-Century Philadelphia: Temple University Press Pierson, G.W (1942) The Frontier and American Institutions: A Criticism of the Turner Thesis New England Quarterly Vol 15 pp 224-55 Riley, G (1993) Frederick Jackson Turner Overlooked the Ladies Journal of the Early Republic, pp.216-30 Risager, K (2007) Language and Culture Pedagogy From a National to a transnational Paradigm Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Ltd 44 Risager, K (2006) Language and Culture: Global Flows and Local Complexity Multilingual Matters Romines, A (1997) Constructing the Little House: Gender, Culture, and Laura Ingalls Wilder University of Massachusetts Press Sapir, E (2001) Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech New York: Bartleby.com Snyder, (1996) ―A Visit to the ‗Little House‘ Author‘s Big House in the Ozarks.‖ Ozarks Mountaineer 44(4) The Missouri Historical Review (1969) “Missouri Women in History: Laura Ingalls Wilder.” 63(3) Tocqueville, A (1835) Democracy in America Chicago: The University of Chicago Press Turner, F.J (1893) The Significance of the Frontier in American History Retrieved from http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/gilded/empire/text1/turner.pdf on November 20, 2013 Turner, F.J (1920) The Frontier in American History H Holt p 293 Wade, R.C (1996) The Urban Frontier – The rise of Western Cities University of Illinois Press Wadsworth, G (1997) Laura Ingalls Wilder: Storyteller of the Prairie Minneapolis: Lerner Weber, M (1930) The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Unwin Hyman, London & Boston Wilder, L.I (1971) Little House in the Big Woods Harper Trophy Publishers Wilder, L.I (1971) Little House on the Prairie Harper Trophy Publishers 45 Wilder, L.I (1971) On the Banks of Plum Creek Harper Trophy Publishers Wilder, L.I (1971) By the Shores of Silver Lake Harper Trophy Publishers Wilder, L.I (1971) The Long Winter Harper Trophy Publishers Wilder, L.I (1971) Little Town on the Prairie Harper Trophy Publishers Wilder, L.I (1971) These Happy Golden Years Harper Trophy Publishers Wilder, L.I (1971) The First Four Years Harper Trophy Publishers Wolf, V.L (1997) Little House on the Prairie: a reader companion Twayne Publishers Zochert, D (1976) Laura: The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder Chicago: Regnery 46 [...]... House Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder This chapter is the heart of the study It illustrates how the issues of the Frontier Spirit reflected in the Little House series Part 3: Conclusion This part summarizes the main findings; then draws important conclusions and offers implications for culture teaching and learning as well as suggestions for further studies At the end of the study, one can find the references... Frontier period in American history, the Frontier Theory developed by F.J Turner, and major cultural features according to this theory Chapter 2: Laura Ingalls Wilder and her Little House series 5 This chapter supplies a brief introduction to Laura Ingalls Wilder s life, her Little House series and some reviews on the value of this series Chapter 3: The Expressions of Frontier Spirit in the Little House. .. to Laura the next year The commercial success of the Little House book series reached new heights during and after the 1970s due to the success of Little House on the Prairie, a long-running television series loosely based on the books In 1993 18 Little House on the Prairie was honored on a stamp by the U.S Postal Service as one of the top four classics of American children‘s literature 2.3 Reviews on. .. racism on the land that they have longtime called home Discrimination against Native Americans is the longest held racism in the United States It dates back to the arrival of the pilgrims and the subsequent invasion of the continent In an effort to obtain much of North America as territory of the United States, during the colonial and independent periods, a long series of conflicts were waged, with the. .. radical individualism; a vision of the free life that is also a vision of the good life Heldrich (2000) is more concerned about the racial issues in his article ―Going into Indian Territory”: Attitudes towards Native Americans in Little House on the Prairie Starting from the opinion that The Little House on the Prairie seems guilty of portraying racial prejudices and stereotypes, Heldrich analyzes the. .. rationallegal nation-state He emphasizes the importance of cultural influences embedded in religion as a means for understanding the genesis of capitalism and the success of the USA In Democracy in America (1835), Alexis de Tocqueville, on the other hand, believes that the republican democracy contributes mainly to the foundation and development of the United States Along with these theories, the Frontier Theory... account of her husband childhood in New York state, followed in 1933 Two 17 years later, Little House on the Prairie appeared on the shelves Nowadays, The Little House series are known with nine books as followed: 1 Little House in the Big Woods (1932) 2 Farmer Boy (1933) – about her husband's childhood on a farm in New York 3 Little House on the Prairie (1935) 4 On the Banks of Plum Creek (1937) 5 By the. .. captures the spirit of America; it is indelibly etched in American cultural psyche The key point in the theory is the ―frontier‖ According to Turner, the frontier means that every American generation returns "to primitive conditions on a continually advancing frontier line‖ Along this frontier, which he also describes as "the meeting point between savagery and civilization", Americans again and again recapitulated... appraises The Little House series as a song of liberty Based on the description of the daily life, the relationship with neighbors and community, and the attitudes when facing up the hardship, she concludes that these books help the rising generation assess a vision of freedom deeply rooted in virtue: a vision that posits a balanced ideal of ordered liberty between the extremes of overbearing government... deriving from the frontier experience Turner also asserts that the pressures of frontier living forces the immigrating populations to abandon their native customs and adopt a new culture – the American culture – adapted to the frontier environment: in the crucible of the frontier, the immigrants were Americanized, liberated, and fused into a mixed race…‖ Especially, he considers the promotion of individualistic ... investigation into American culture of the Frontier time through the series The Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder Basing on the Frontier Theory of F.J Turner, the study focuses on analyzing... American society in the Frontier time of the nineteenth century? How are these features reflected in the series The Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder? Scope of the Study This... Expressions of Frontier Spirit in the Little House Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder This chapter is the heart of the study It illustrates how the issues of the Frontier Spirit reflected in the Little House