Essay
American Unseen Passage (A-Level English literature)
- Module
- American Literature
- Institution
- OCR
Two full essays of American unseen passage analysis. Both given an A*.
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Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the PrairieThis passage is from a novel published in 1935, and seems to focus on a rural, idealised illusion of the
American west. Nature is abundant, the land is ‘vast’ and rippling green’ and wild animals are
thriving. This depiction illustrates the way the West was mythologised, and how the west was
painted as an illusion; in the American imagination, the rugged, vast landscapes of the west are
dotted with cowboys on horseback. Within this passage, we see a family settling into the lifestyle of
the West, living on a quaint house on the Prairie. With an emphasis on imagination and emotion,
portraying a positive outlook on life, it can be assumed that this novel is a form of romanticism.
Throughout this passage, it is evident that the novel is preoccupied with the importance of nature
and land. This is a prominent theme within American literature as a consequence of the American
frontier and its myth of the West - in which the West became romanticised and idealised into a vast,
open land of unlimited opportunity. Within the passage, we are shown an Eden of greenery –
identical to the myth of the Wild west as an agrestal, astonishing natural grandeur. Sensory imagery
is used through the sounds of ‘squirrels chattering’, the air that ‘smelled faintly like baking bread’
and the ‘hot’ ground under their bare feet. This allows for a vivid portrait of the scene to be
imagined, which heightens this illusionary vision of the west as a land with ‘sprays of berries faintly
pink’ and ‘petals hung down’. The alliteration of the land ‘rippling green and gold’ create a sense of
luxury and splendour, further serving to showcase the importance of the land. The way that nature
is portrayed in this passage reflects the importance of land within American literature, which reflects
the ideas of Jeffersonian Agrarianism. This is a way of living that is intricately tied to one’s love and
respect of land. This connection to the land can be evident in Steinbeck’s ‘grapes of wrath’, in which
the Joads hold a strong connection to the land and fall apart when removed from it. This illusion of
the West is evidently not realistic as we can see through the weather within this passage, as despite
this land is vast and green, the weather is dry and severely hot. The passage states that the ‘wind
was hot’, the ‘sunshine pierced’ and ultimately left the grass ‘parching’, and thus this shows the
realities of the Wild West is not as imagined as this overbearing heat could have made it impossible
to grow crops or work. This mirrors the dust bowl of the 1930’s, in which food was scarce as crops
couldn’t grow, which led to economic struggle. Therefore, this mystical wild west is a myth as it the
realities fail to live up to these expectations.
A second thing that is illustrated within this passage is the gender roles and traditional male roles
within the family that is evident within America during the late 19 th century. Within this passage we
can see that Pa holds a great deal of power and dominance over the rest of the family, evident
through his imperatives and his overall stance. We can see that he controls the family as whilst Ma
objects to seeing the Indian’s tents, he overrules her by calling on the girls to ‘come on’. This
imperative asserts his dominance and his sense of manhood that calls on him to control and provide
for the family. Furthermore, we can see that he has a role in protecting the family as well, as when
exploring the girls ‘stayed close to PA’, suggesting his role as the protector and provider of the
family. This reflects the gender roles and the representation of masculinity evident within American
literature during 1880 - 1940. Within this time contextually, men have always traditionally defined
their principal roles as being providers and protectors. They dominate their family and have ultimate
say, and any threat to this poses a direct threat to their sense of manhood and masculinity.
This idea of imposing onto land reflects the idea of the frontier and the pioneers that migrated west
to join. American history is written and built upon a profound sense of patriotism, and thus they held
upon the belief that they were the first people to claim this land, despite the fact that this land was
run by natives. Therefore, this idea of visiting a land not native to you reflects this acknowledgement
that this land belongs to someone else, or lack thereof. However, we can see from this the idea of
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