Great Plains

Definition

The Great Plains is a vast region in North America characterized by flat lands, grasslands, and rolling hills, stretching from Canada in the north down to Texas in the south. This region plays a significant role in literature, particularly in rural naturalism, where its unique landscape and harsh conditions influence the lives of the characters and their struggles against nature.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. The Great Plains cover approximately 1.3 million square miles across the United States and Canada, including states like Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma.
2. This region is known for its extreme weather conditions, including hot summers, cold winters, and frequent storms that can shape the landscape dramatically.
3. The Great Plains have been a central setting in many works of American literature, depicting the struggles of individuals against a harsh environment, which reflects themes of isolation and survival.
4. Agriculture is a key component of life in the Great Plains, with wheat, corn, and cattle ranching being major industries that impact both the economy and culture of the region.
5. The Great Plains have undergone significant changes due to industrialization, urbanization, and environmental challenges like droughts and soil erosion that continue to affect local communities.

Review Questions

• How does the environment of the Great Plains influence the characters and themes in rural naturalism?
  • In rural naturalism, the Great Plains serve as a backdrop that profoundly influences characters' lives and choices. The harsh environmental conditions often mirror the internal struggles of individuals, highlighting themes of survival, isolation, and resilience. Characters are frequently depicted as being at the mercy of nature, illustrating how their fates are intertwined with the land itself.
• Discuss the impact of events like the Dust Bowl on literary representations of the Great Plains during rural naturalism.
  • The Dust Bowl had a significant impact on literary representations of the Great Plains by emphasizing the vulnerability of farmers and settlers to environmental forces. It served as a stark reminder of how nature can disrupt lives and livelihoods. This event contributed to narratives that focused on despair, struggle for survival, and the connection between humans and their environment within rural naturalism.
• Evaluate how the concept of homesteading relates to themes of ownership and belonging in literature set in the Great Plains.
  • Homesteading embodies themes of ownership and belonging as settlers sought to establish their identities and roots in the challenging landscape of the Great Plains. In literature, this quest often reflects broader questions about land use, personal investment in one’s environment, and the struggle for stability amidst unpredictable natural elements. The complexities surrounding homesteading illustrate characters' connections to land while also addressing tensions between human aspirations and environmental realities.

Related terms

Rural Naturalism: A literary movement that portrays life in rural areas with a focus on the influence of environment and nature on human behavior and fate.

Dust Bowl: A period in the 1930s when severe drought and poor farming practices led to massive dust storms, devastating agriculture in the Great Plains.

Homesteading: The process by which settlers claimed land in the Great Plains under the Homestead Act, allowing them to cultivate and farm the land for ownership.