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My thoughts, exactly. The world today is much different. We can not and must not apply our "morality" and "ethics" to those who lived then.
It is the same for being offended by the language used in Mark Twain's "Tom Sawyer" or "Huckleberry Finn". That really IS the way people talked back then. It is actually historically accurate.
Are we morally and ethically better than they were? In some ways, perhaps. In some ways not at all!
And this is why these are excellent books for analysis as classroom literature for ages tweens and up. Create a Venn diagram comparing the differences between then and now and what has not changed.
We don't have film, tape, mp4 files, instagram, or even photocopies that capture how life was back then and that location. We only have documents, mostly hand-written and all we can do is to dissect them to paint a picture of how people lived. Laura doesn't mention in her books that the family lived illegally on land, but a poster on here mentioned that they did, presumably that is known after researching deeds and other land records. We don't know for sure the reasons for Pa to have made that decision, who influenced him, or how much of it he was aware of. That would be speculation and would make a great research project for middle school students. The kids could also research newspapers, articles, published works from that same era that supports the same position depicted in the stories of how Indians, Foreigners, African-Americans, disabled people were viewed. Seems pretty barbaric today. And yet, the family remained intact. When times got tough, Pa didn't abandon the family, except to find work temporarily. Not all men at that time did that. Not all men do that now. Pa didn't beat his wife. Fairly common back then. Men made the big family decisions. Yet, he listened to his wife and promised her that the children would attend school. That was pretty progressive for the times too. Children at that time were considered to be laborers for the family.
There isn't anything in the books that bother me. I've actually been skimming through them again the last few days, trying to choose one as part of my daughter's homeschool curriculum this year.
I actually have a new appreciation now as an adult of how Wilder approaches the many harships the family faces---illness, disability, the weather, financial hardship, etc. I find Wilder to be very matter of fact about the crises they face, without sugarcoating or being overtly melodramatic.
Also Wilder points to the many times that Laura feels jealous, angry, disobedient, etc. in a way that a child can relate to. Mary is set up as the "good" daughter, while Laura more frequently gives in to normal human temptation. Whether this reflects reality or is a convenient literary construct doesn't really matter...it is effective.
My favorite part of each book is always the sections about Christmas. The way Wilder captures the childrens' joy with the simple gifts they receive is a beautiful reminder of the spirit of Christmas.
My favorite book of the series is "These Happy Golden Years".
I don't remember the name, but I found what I think is the first book in a bunch someone gave me. I was just looking thorough it when I turned back to the beginning and read the whole thing.
It was fascinating. This book is about her as a small child. And yet, for us, she doesn't seem it. She knows about the bad things, like sickness and death, but she sees them as part of life. She's a practical kid. She isn't the innocent we see kids as today, but she's still a kid. Just one who lives within a very different world than we can imagine.
Today people introduce these books to their kids when they are school age and sometimes near teens. The common themes in them are often past what we like our little ones to read. I wonder what they'd say of parents who raised them in a way I think those of old would see as irresponsible.
I read them as an adult because I'd missed a few growing up. There are a lot of facts in Pioneer Girl. I'm not a fan of Rose. One book I picked up told all about her and her politics, etc. But there is much information all over the internet about the real Ingals family. Pictures and all. Ma was not a looker. Pa wasn't handsome. In his later years they left their farm and took a house in town where he did carpentry work for people to support them. He left the farm because he couldn't do the farming any more.
He died first and Caroline took in boarders to support herself. They said she was a very shy person.
None of the kids had children except Laura I believe. I thought that was strange. She and Almonzo moved to the Ozarks, and I got the impression she never went back to visit. I read that Almonzo had some sort of club foot but it wasn't clear if he'd always had that or something happened later.
Lots of info all over the net with pictures, etc., very interesting. Yes, some of the writing in her books would not fly today, but back then yes that was the way things were.
Well it took a few months, but I am now reading Little House in the Big Woods (got it on kindle from the library). It is very interesting to me as a simple chronicle of day to day life and so descriptive. No real drama or controversy as discussed in the thread here which got me interested enough. I guess I have my work cut out for me and will look for more of the books to read.
I appreciate this discussion as it got me to seek it out.
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I read them all as a child, and am having a little bit of difficulty sorting through what was on the TV show vs. what was in the books.
The tv show seemed much more light-hearted and frankly, viewed the time with rose-colored glasses.
Even as a child, a few things stood out to me. Of course, I could be wrong on these memories and they were from a different book besides the Little House series.
1. They needed a barn cat to rid the property of vermin so Pa paid 50 cents for a not quite yet weened kitten. Fifty cents then was a kings ransom, and why in the world would you pay THAT MUCH for something that even now is free? Some neighbor's brood of barn cats has yet another littler, maybe make them up a batch of cornbread or trade a dozen eggs for one of the many kittens? I remember thinking was that really true - were kittens ever at a premium?
2. There was an adopted girl or maybe stepchild in Laura's school. It became a fad for the girls to have some kind of name card things printed at the Olsen's store, and Nellie was the first to start the fad. Many girls joined in and got namecards, except the adopted girl who cheerfully said I don't need any, I'll just enjoy looking at yours. And that got the approval of everyone, because this girl clearly knew her place and was grateful she wasn't on the streets. That seemed so typical of the time - that a child who had no control over her circumstances and ended up losing their parents dare not ask for anything besides the most meager subsistence and should be cheerful and appreciative.
3. Laura was sent away to work as a teacher and was housed in a home that had some kind of really uncomfortable undertones. The specific complaint was a narrow bed that Laura was afraid of falling out of, but there was more to it - and I couldn't gauge exactly what. Something lurking below the surface. Like in Nancy Drew's Sign of the Twisted Candle, and The Bobsey Twins and Baby May, there was something lurking below the surface that I knew was more disturbing than was actually brought to light.
I read them all as a child, and am having a little bit of difficulty sorting through what was on the TV show vs. what was in the books.
The tv show seemed much more light-hearted and frankly, viewed the time with rose-colored glasses.
Even as a child, a few things stood out to me. Of course, I could be wrong on these memories and they were from a different book besides the Little House series.
1. They needed a barn cat to rid the property of vermin so Pa paid 50 cents for a not quite yet weened kitten. Fifty cents then was a kings ransom, and why in the world would you pay THAT MUCH for something that even now is free? Some neighbor's brood of barn cats has yet another littler, maybe make them up a batch of cornbread or a dozen eggs for one of the many kittens? I remember thinking was that really true - were kittens ever at a premium?
2. There was an adopted girl or maybe stepchild in Laura's school. It became a fad for the girls to have some kind of name card things printed at the Olsen's store, and Nellie was the first to start the fad. Many girls joined in and got namecards, except the adopted girl who cheerfully said I don't need any, I'll just enjoy looking at yours. And that got the approval of everyone, because this girl clearly knew her place and was grateful she wasn't on the streets. That seemed so typical of the time - that a child who had no control over her circumstances and ended up losing their parents dare not ask for anything besides the most meager subsistence and should be cheerful and appreciative.
3. Laura was sent away to work as a teacher and was housed in a home that had some kind of really uncomfortable undertones. The specific complaint was a narrow bed that Laura was afraid of falling out of, but there was more to it - and I couldn't gauge exactly what. Something lurking below the surface. Like in Nancy Drew's Sign of the Twisted Candle, and The Bobsey Twins and Baby May, there was something lurking below the surface that I knew was more disturbing than was actually brought to light.
I remember all of those episodes.
1. About the kitten, the point was that the territory the Ingalls lived in was newly and very lightly settled. Rodents were everywhere, and there were no cats to be had. When someone finally brought in a cat from the East and it had kittens, they were highly in demand. I would turn your question around--why give them away for free, when you could get a pretty penny for them?
2. I think you're misremembering this one. Ida, the adopted girl, stated that her adoptive father was a preacher and didn't approve of name cards because they were "vanity." I assume that if she'd been his bio child, he still would have felt the same way. After she leaves, the other girls (Laura and her friends) comment on how much they like Ida, but there is no undercurrent of "she knows her place." And Laura also feels that she can't ask her parents for money to buy something like name cards.
3. There was definitely something going on in that household; the wife was apparently mentally ill or possibly just very depressed about her living conditions. At one point, she threatened to stab her husband with a knife. But "Laura was sent away" gives the wrong impression--she didn't like boarding or even teaching, really, but she took the teaching job because she wanted to. No one sent her away.
It's very worth re-reading the books as an adult. I do agree that they are heavily fictionalized, so one shouldn't start off with the idea that they are history or gospel truth.
I think most of us have read the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder and if I had to bet, I'd say most people like them and think they are a positive influence in life.
However, there are many people today who are taking a closer look at the books. Obviously, some things in the books would never have made it to the printed page today simply because of the times these books were written in. But there are other, deeper things in the books that are starting to bother people.
What are some of the things that bother you, if any, in the Little House books? Come at it from any angle you like. You can take the books at face value, or allude to the real happenings behind the stories, or extend what you know about the Ingalls family after the last book was written. You might also take into account that Laura's daughter was said to have done a great deal of ghost writing the stories, and many of her opinions were put into the books.
Just as an example, when it comes to taking the books as they were written, the one thing that always bothered me about the Ingalls family was everyone constantly deferred to Mary just because she was blind. She always had a seat, she always had the warmest place at the stove. The whole family seemed to revolve around her. Granted, she was sick for a long time and her blindness must have been a shock to her family. Yet why didn't her parents encourage her to do for herself as a functioning family member instead of treating her as an invalid, even after she recovered from her illness?
I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on this and other things as well.
I would ask why don't you see that you are looking at the story from a completely different lense culturally. Even by todays standards, the girls were not treated as we would treat women today. It's not just about Mary and her blindness. It was the day and age.
I read them all as a child, and am having a little bit of difficulty sorting through what was on the TV show vs. what was in the books.
The tv show seemed much more light-hearted and frankly, viewed the time with rose-colored glasses.
Even as a child, a few things stood out to me. Of course, I could be wrong on these memories and they were from a different book besides the Little House series.
1. They needed a barn cat to rid the property of vermin so Pa paid 50 cents for a not quite yet weened kitten. Fifty cents then was a kings ransom, and why in the world would you pay THAT MUCH for something that even now is free? Some neighbor's brood of barn cats has yet another littler, maybe make them up a batch of cornbread or trade a dozen eggs for one of the many kittens? I remember thinking was that really true - were kittens ever at a premium?
I think it's important to remember that this was a very new town and settlement. Having a cat was probably a premium and a cat would command a fee. Why would there be cats when people hadn't been there before?
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