Growth in character can happen when you least expect it. Ever have the experience of seeing something that you last viewed in childhood only as an adult, with “grown-up eyes?” Perhaps it was seeing a favorite play space or toy from childhood. The place or object, after not being seen for so long suddenly seems foreign and somehow smaller than what you remember. This happened to me recently when I reread the book, Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
I grew up reading the Little House on the Prairie series. My friends and I watched Melissa Gilbert and Michael Landon in the similarly named television show. I was captivated by the the difficulties of living during the pioneer age. I was also delighted that I could identify with some of the feelings of the main character, Laura.
And then, a few months ago, I heard a conversation about how horrible the book, Little House on the Prairie was. At first I was baffled- after all, wasn’t this the same Laura Ingalls Wilder story that I remembered from my childhood? I had even recently read Little House in the Big Woods aloud with my children. We had all laughed heartily at several scenes in the book, including the one where the pig ended up on the sled as the children raced down the hill. The storyline is a simple, yet warm story of family bonds. That thought didn’t jive with what I was hearing- could Little House on the Prairie really be so racially insensitive?
So, I reread the book with my “grown-up eyes.” What I read shocked me. In it, I discovered that indeed, Pa had knowingly lead his family to live in American Indian territory as squatters. When asked why, he informs Laura that, “The government is going to move these Indians farther west, any time 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.” No mention is made of the irony of his statement, due to the fact that if people are being displaced, he obviously did not get there “first.” Additionally, the phrase, “the only good indian is a dead indian” is also bantered back and forth several times in the story. I was dismayed to say the least by the de-humanization of the American Indians in this story.
I had to make a decision- do I back away from this story with its dehumanizing views? Do we still read it aloud? I chose the latter. I read it to my third and sixth grade children and what happened was nothing short of amazing.
Let me take this time to let you know that before I read any story aloud to my kids, I always read it first. This way, I can get a feel for when tricky parts are coming, or if I need to “edit” some words or situations for my kids. I did preread Little House on Prairie. Only this time, I did not edit.
So, what happened when I did not edit or sugar-coat what went on in the story? We had very interesting and intense discussions, is what happened. We tackled difficult topics such as: who had the right to live on the prairie and would there be a way to share the land? We had to dig deep and struggled with the idea that Pa was not a mean man, and yet he chose to live on a land that did not belong to him because he knew that the government would eventually force the American Indians to move. We discussed that this was a decision that was unfair to the people who already lived there. We looked into how the American Indians were described in the story. We noted that they were described as being “naked wild men” with faces that were ”bold and fierce and terrible” and “smelling awful.” We examined how word choice affects how we view and our opinion of characters.
Growth in Character can happen in unexpected moments
We discussed massacres (another topic mentioned in the story). We discussed that both sides (both the settlers and the American Indians) were guilty of this. We dug into the ugly side of history. We discussed cycles of violence. We also discussed the problems of looking at history with modern mindsets. We dove into the notion that people a long time ago thought very differently about the world. We discussed the way Laura viewed the American Indians as the tribe streamed past their cabin towards the end of the story. My third grader was confused and appalled by the fact that Laura wanted to take a papoose home for herself and said, “Pa, get me that little Indian baby!… I want it! I want it!” Actually, we all were confused and appalled by this. As my third grader asked, “Why would she want a baby? Did she think it was a doll or something?” My thoughts exactly. This prompted the discussion of the danger of viewing groups of people as being something less-than-human.
Did it break my heart a little to have to expose my children to these difficult topics? In a word: yes. But I also know that my goal is to raise compassionate human beings and that sometimes we have to expose prejudice and talk about the ugliness for what it is. My children, through looking at the topics in this book, grew in their ability to think critically about uncovering harmful mindsets. Their personal characters grew.
And yet through it all, we had to wrestle with the notion that Laura and her family were not terrible people. Pa was warm and funny and Laura was adventurous and we identified with her on many occasions. And yet their thinking and actions were simply not right. I think through this experience, my children were able to more clearly articulate that people are not all “good” or all “bad,” but instead more often than not, a muddled mixture of both.
If you would like to read aloud Little House on the Prairie with your bunch (I highly suggest doing this with older kids or children who have the maturity to handle some of these bigger ideas), check out this list of additional books that you might also want to read before or after finishing the book. Don’t be scared of big discussions- they bring big character growth in your own children!
Before reading, these nonfiction books provide good background information:
Daily Life in a Covered Wagon by Paul Erickson
This book takes diary passages from a pioneer family and discusses the challenges that faced the families that travelled the Oregon Trail.
The Bison are Back by Jean Craighead George
This book takes a look at the prairie habitat and the delicate balance of the ecosystem there. It also looks at the impact of the American Indians and the settlers that lived on that land.
After reading:
Cheyenne Again by Eve Bunting
This book is written from the perspective of a Cheyenne child who was forced to accept the ways of the settlers. It is good for sharing the perspective of the American Indian (since Little House on the Prairie is only from the settlers’ perspective.)
Encounter by Jane Yolen
This book is written from the perspective of a young Taino boy who encounters Christopher Columbus’ men on his island of San Salvador.