Little House on thr Prairie

Wilder herself had a particular vision in mind when she wrote this book, and she was clear about what she wanted to achieve:

I wanted the children now to understand more about the beginning of things, to know what is behind the things they see--what it is that made America as they know it (Spaeth, 1987, 1).

The family structure depicted in the book and the personality of the main character in particular serves to anchor the story in the American experience and to show young readers the way Wilder believes early settlers lived and the values that infused their lives.

Wilder is identified with the American vision of the importance and superiority of small-town life. She set five of her autobiographical novels around De Smet, South Dakota, a town she knew well and understood enough to convey her attitudes in her books:

Every house, every store, every place was associated with its own set of people and activities. People acted and interacted within a context heavily shaped

. . .
1950s is often cited as the touchstone for family values, but in a larger sense those values are reflected in the period of settlement and expansion in which the Wilder books are set. The family in the book is "Pa and Ma and Mary and Laura and Baby Carrie" (Wilder, 1935, 1). There is an extended family in Wisconsin that is evident in the first chapter as members help the main nuclear family of the story pack up and get ready for the journey: "The uncles helped him, hitch the horses to the wagon. All the cousins were told to kiss Mary and Laura, so they did" (Wilder, 1935, 5). The nuclear family thereafter is isolated, with only other members of the family to fall back on or from whom to seek support. The isolation of the family highlights the importance of family and the need for the development of values in the children that give them the strength and power to cope with the problems they will encounter in this harsh new world. Each member of the family has his or her tasks to fulfill, and each is ready to do his or her part for the whole. The story told in the series of books about this family is based on Wilder's parents and her own memories, though she was younger than the Laura of the book when the family moved west.
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Approximate Word count = 1672
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)