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
1. Rationale ............................................................................................................. 1
1.1. Language and Culture .............................................................................. 1
1.2. Literature as Verbal Manifestation of Language ..................................... 2
1.3. The Little House on the Prairie – a Typical Literary Work of the
Frontier Time in American History ................................................................ 3
2. Aims of the Study................................................................................................ 4
3. Scope of the Study .............................................................................................. 4
4. Methods of the Study .......................................................................................... 4
5. Outline of the Study ............................................................................................ 5
Part 2: DEVELOPMENT.................................................................................... 7
Chapter 1: MAJOR CULTURAL FEATURES OF THE SOCIETY IN
FRONTIER PERIOD ACCORDING TO TURNER‘S FRONTIER THEORY .... 7
1.1. Frontier Period in American history ........................................................ 7
1.2. Fredrick J. Turner‘s Frontier Theory ....................................................... 8
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
1. 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 do 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.

1

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.

2


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.

3


2. 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:
1. What are the major cultural features of the American society in the
Frontier time of the nineteenth century?
2. How are these features reflected in the series The Little House on the
Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder?
3. 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).
4. 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
4


the quantitative method is applied in forms of statistics when required to
demonstrate and support the arguments.
The theoretical background in chapter 1 relies on the published literature on the
Frontier Theory by Frederick Jackson Turner, which supplies the framework for
the whole study. Moreover, a brief introduction to the social background, the life
of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her Little House series is also included.
5. Outline of the Study
The study consists of three main parts.
Part 1: Introduction
This part comprises the rationale, scope, aims, methodology, and design of the
study.
Part 2: Development

This is the main part, consisting of three chapters.
Chapter 1: Major Cultural Features of the society in Frontier period
according to Turner’s Frontier Theory
This chapter includes an overview about the 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
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 including articles and book
concerning the study‘s issues to help the analysis of the author clearer and easily
accessible.

6


Part 2: DEVELOPMENT
Chapter 1: MAJOR CULTURAL FEATURES OF THE SOCIETY IN

FRONTIER

PERIOD

ACCORDING

TO

TURNER’S

FRONTIER

THEORY
This chapter will be devoted to a review of issues most relevant to the thesis's
topic: the Frontier period, the Frontier Theory by Frederick J. Turner and the
cultural features of the American society according to the theory.
1.1. Frontier Period in American history
Frontier, as widely understood nowadays, is the border separating two countries.
Besides this current meaning, both Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries define the
Frontier, as used in the past in the United States, as a border between the settled
land where people live and the wide land.
Thus, the Frontier period is a term referring the second half of the nineteenth
century in the Unites States, when the new nation grew very rapidly in population
and area, as pioneers pushed the frontier of settlement west. The process finally
ended around 1890-1910 when the last major farmlands and ranch lands were
settled.
As defined by Hine and Faragher, "frontier history tells the story of the creation
and defense of communities, the use of the land, the development of markets, and
the formation of states". They explain that "It is a tale of conquest, but also one of
survival, persistence, and the merging of peoples and cultures that gave birth and

continuing life to America‖ (2000).
7


The term Frontier period is associated with the Frontier Theory developed by
Fredrick J. Turner.
1.2. Fredrick J. Turner’s Frontier Theory
Many sociologists have tried to found a theory on the relationship between
American culture, society and history. Max Weber, for example, in his book The
Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905), proposes the ideas
that ascetic Protestantism was one of the major "elective affinities" associated
with the rise in the Western world of market-driven capitalism and 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 or Frontier Thesis of historian Frederick Jackson Turner is
arguably one of the most influential interpretations of the American past ever
espoused, which laid the foundation for modern historical study of the Unites
States in general and the American West in particular.
Turner most coherently expressed
his idea in The Significance of the
Frontier in American History,
which he first delivered to a
gathering of historians in 1893 at
Chicago, then the site of the
World's Columbian Exposition, an
enormous fair to mark the four-hundredth anniversary of Columbus' voyage.
8

Turner elaborated on the theme in his advanced history lectures and in a series of
essays published over the next 25 years, published along with his initial paper
as The Frontier in American History. Although almost totally ignored at the time,
Turner's theory eventually gained such wide distribution and influence that
Faragher has called it "the single most influential piece of writing in the history of
American history" (1999, p.1). Faragher even emphasizes that "The frontier thesis
became the most familiar model of American history, the one learned in school,
extolled by politicians, and screened each Saturday afternoon at the Bijou" (1999,
p.1).
Before Turner, many Americans did not think there was much American history
to study. Turner proposed a framework for studying the uniqueness of the Unites
States through examining the character of America's pioneers. Turner's point of
departure for the theory was that in the published report of the 1890 federal
census, it was reported that the United States no longer had a discernible frontier a line of demarcation dividing, as they said then, "civilization" from "savagery."
This led the historian to muse upon the importance of the frontier in American
history. As for Turner, this "closing of the frontier" was taken as an opportunity
to reflect upon the influence it had exercised.
The Frontier Thesis shares Turner‘s views on how the idea of the frontier shaped
the American being and characteristics. He writes of how the frontier drove
American history and why America is how it is today. Turner reflects on the past
to prove his point by noting human fascination with the frontier and how
expansion to the American West changed people's views on their culture.
Turner's emphasis on the importance of the frontier in shaping American
character influences the interpretation found in thousands of scholarly histories.
9


More than a century after he first delivered his Frontier Thesis, historians still
hotly debate Turner's ideas and approach. Although widely popular at the turn of

the century, Turner‘s thesis became less credible in the eyes of later historians.
Some oppose Turner's assumption that the frontier is the key to American history
as a whole; they point instead to the critical influence of such factors as slavery
and the Civil War, immigration, and the development of industrial capitalism (as
in Pierson‘s, 1942). Others have criticized Turner‘s unawareness of cities as an
integral part of western expansion like Chicago and San Francisco which came
first, before the pioneer cowboy. Urban historian Richard C. Wade challenges the
Frontier Thesis in his first asset, The Urban Frontier – The rise of Western Cities
first released in 1959, asserting that western cities such as Pittsburgh, Louisville,
and Cincinnati, not the farmer pioneers, were the catalysts for western expansion.
More recently, Glenda Riley has argued that Turner‘s thesis ignored women. She
disputes that his context and upbringing led him to ignore the female portion of
society, which directly led to the frontier becoming an exclusively male
phenomenon. The exclusion of women, later, became one of the central debates
around his work, particularly referred to by New Western Historians. Last but not
least, the idea of a frontier of "free land" has long been disputed. Obviously,
Turner's formulation ignores the presence of the numerous ―Indian‖ native
peoples whose subjugation was required by the nation's westward march, and
assumed that the bulk of newly acquired lands were actually democratically
distributed to yeomen pioneers.
Despite these limitations, the Frontier Theory has tremendous influence on the
viewpoint of American history, and it still has great impact on American culture
nowadays. It tells Americans they are unique and separates them from other
Anglo-Saxon peoples. A decade after Tuners speech, the Frontier Theory was the
10


bedrock for American history, it helped explain who Americans were as people
and why they considered themselves extraordinary. This thought of what an
American is and what the West was has led to the perpetuation of this idea. In

Hollywood's westerns starting in the 1930's, the cowboy personified the frontier
myth, this imagine still popular until today.
1.3. Frontier Spirit in Turner’s Frontier Thesis
1.3.1. Frontier as the Key Term
Although Frederick Jackson Turner was inaccurate in some descriptions of the
West, in a broader and more fundamental way, his thesis 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 the developmental stages of the emerging industrial order of
the 1890's. ―The frontier is the line of most rapid and effective Americanization.
American social development has been continually beginning over again on the
frontier‖ (1893, p.2). Then, American people, to Turner‘s viewpoints always try
to pass that frontier in order to have a better, more ―civilized‖ life.
1.3.2. Geographical Frontier and the Westward Movement
The very first frontier that Turner mentions is the geographical one. He believes
the existence of the frontier between the cultivated land and the wild-west land
serves as a ―safety valve‖ for the discontents of the society and that the existence
11


of the frontier means that any American dissatisfies with his or her life can
always ―go west‖ and start a new life. ―So long as free land exists, the
opportunity for a competency exists, and economic power secures political
power‖ (1893, p.6). The time of this theory, 1893 was the beginning of a
depression, it was a time of immense immigration, it was a time to worry about
the closing of the frontier. Therefore, Turner hints that we might need to find new
frontiers: ―Movement has been its dominant fact, and, unless this training has no

effect upon a people, the American energy will continually demand a wider field
for its exercise.‖ The westward movement in American history reveals the
American‘s desire to break any frontiers and advance a happier, more satisfied
new life.
1.3.3. Westward Movement as a Character Forging Factor
The most significance of this theory lies on the belief that the force of westward
expansion forged the American character. "The frontier," Turner claims, "is the
line of most rapid Americanization. This perennial rebirth, this fluidity of
American life, this expansion westward with its new opportunities, its continuous
touch with the simplicity of primitive society, furnish the forces dominating
American character....‖ (1893, p.2). He believes the American character,
including such traits as democracy and materialism, 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 democracy as
the most important effect of the frontier. During the process to pass the frontier,
12


the pioneers had to face many difficulties. And it was when each one had to prove
his ability to survive and succeed.
1.3.4. Racism as a Social-Cultural Frontier
Frontier also exists in the field of attitudes and thoughts: in religion, gender,
varied language use and other frontier. Among those, racism is undoubtedly the
most important. Although the United States can be considered as a single country,
it is also one originally made up of the Native Americans and of immigrants who
arrived not only from Europe and Asia, but also forcibly as slaves from Africa
and. Its population is the most radically and culturally diverse in the world and

for that reason is often referred to as a ―Melting Pot‖. Nevertheless, the racial
diversity has also brought a serious problem to the USA since its foundation: the
racial discrimination.
Racism far exceeds just Black, Hispanic and Asian Americans, who once
forcedly or voluntarily immigrated to the USA. Often forgotten, there is an entire
other race who originated in America but have still experienced racism on every
level without a real sense of justice, it is the American Indians or Native
Americans. They are subjected to 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 primary objective of obtaining resources of Native
Americans. Through wars, massacres, forced displacement (such as in the Trail of
13


Tears), and the imposition of treaties, land was taken and numerous hardships
imposed on the life of Native Americans.
The racial discrimination also rooted in the colonizers‘ mind. They considered
themselves as civilizers, while the Natives were ―merciless Indian savages‖, as
described in the United States Declaration of Independence 1776. Throughout the
US history the European settlers attempted to assimilate American Indians and
forced them to adopt cultural values of the whites. Then, prejudice against Native
Americans is such a huge frontier that hardly to overcome.

14

Chapter 2: LAURA INGALLS WILDER AND HER LITTLE HOUSE
SERIES
2.1. Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Ingalls Wilder is one of the most
influential

children‘s

authors

in

the

American history. According to Wadsworth
(1997), Anderson (1992) and Zochert
(1976), Laura Elizabeth Ingalls was born on
February 7, 1867, in Pepin, Wisconsin. She
was the second of five children born to
Charles and Caroline Ingalls. Like other
families in the frontier West, Charles and
Caroline worked very hard for their family‘s
survival.
Wilder once described her early years as "full of sunshine and shadow." As a
young girl, she moved with her family from place to place across America's
heartland. Since 1874, the family had moved westward several times and
overcome several harsh times before finally settled in what would become De
Smet, South Dakota, which remained Charles and Caroline's home until they
died.
Laura attended regular school whenever possible. However, because of her

family's frequent moves, she was largely self-taught. In 1882, at the age of
fifteen, she received her teaching certificate and worked as a teacher for three
years. Laura's teaching career and her own studies ended when she
15


married Almanzo Wilder on August 25, 1885. She joined Almanzo in a new
home on his claim north of De Smet. They had only one surviving daughter.
Wilder‘s writing career started with when her journal of their travels through
South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas was publishes on the De Smet News. An
invitation to submit an article to the Missouri Ruralist in 1911 led to Wilder's
permanent position as a columnist and editor with that publication, which she
held until the mid-1920s.
Wilder began composing stories based on her childhood experiences after
encouragement from her daughter. Set in Wisconsin, Little House in the Big
Woods was published in 1932 followed by Farmer Boy (1933) and Little House
on the Prairie (1935). Her simple stories portraying the true warm side of life
engrossed her readers, and still continuing to charm them. Three days after her
90th birthday, Wilder died on February 10, 1957. She is buried beside her
husband at the town cemetery in Mansfield, Missouri.

2.2. The Little House Series
The process of composing the Little House series
is

specifically

described

on

the

website

. The Stock
Market Crash in 1929 which wiped out all her
investment, coupled with the death of her mother
Caroline in 1924 and her sister Mary in 1928,
seem to have prompted her to preserve her
memories in a life story called Pioneer Girl. As
16


she once shared ―I began to think what a wonderful childhood I had had. How I
had seen the whole frontier, the woods, the Indian country of the great plains…‖
This book was a first-person account of her childhood on the frontier from the
time she was three until she reached the age of eighteen. After Rose edited the
book, Wilder submitted it to various publishers under the name Laura Ingalls
Wilder. However, it received little interest because it favored on historical facts
about her childhood rather than the development of character.
Determined to succeed, Wilder spent the next several years reworking her
writing, including switching the title and changing the story to be told from the
first-person perspective, and the focus moved from the story of one little girl to
the story of an entire family's experiences on the new frontier. Wilder also
decided to direct her writing specifically at children. Although she sometimes
streamlined events, created or omitted others entirely (such as the birth and death
of her brother), and opted for happier endings, she wrote about real people and
things that had actually happened. The stories told in Little House on the Prairie
took place from 1869-1870 (when Laura was two-three years old). Because she

was so young, she did not remember many of the incidents she writes about in
this book. They were told to Wilder by her parents and her older sister Mary. She
also did a great amount of historical research into the time period to get the
details correct.
In 1932, at the age of sixty-five, Wilder published the first of her eight "Little
House" books, Little House in the Big Woods. It tells the story of her early
childhood years in Wisconsin and was a huge hit with readers. Farmer Boy, an
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 Shores of Silver Lake (1939)
6. The Long Winter (1940)
7. Little Town on the Prairie (1941)
8. These Happy Golden Years (1943)
9. The First Four Years (1971) - follows the earliest years of Laura and
Almanzo's marriage.
―The vivid details and realistic characters of the Little House series helped bring
to life Laura‘s experience on the American frontier for countless children around
the world‖ (Barnett, T.). Aside from having multiple libraries, reading rooms, and
elementary schools named after her, including those in her home towns of
Mansfield and De Smet, Laura‘s books can still be found on library and
elementary school reading lists all over the country. In 1954 the American

Library Association created the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for lasting
achievements in children‘s literature, and gave the first award 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 the Little House Series
Since its first publication, the series has been loved by many generations of
children and also a limitless inspiration for many critics. Some authors, like
Anderson, W. (1984), Sneyder, K. (1996), and Wadsworth, G. (1997), wrote
several articles based on the journey of Wilder‘s family through the prairie. Other
researchers, on the other hand, focus on the value of the series.
Clyne, M (2002) 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 and 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
attitudes of Pa, Ma and Laura towards the ―Indian‖, and then comes to the
conclusion that the Little House books "reflect the disparate and often conflicting

attitudes present in a nation undergoing radical change", and that these attitudes
should not be ignores while approaching the series because ―to silence the text
would be to silence an understanding of how writers like Wilder in the 1930s
19