Scholarly Book Review

Review of Little House in the Big Woods

By Laura Ingalls Wilder

Laura Ingalls, a young pioneer girl living in the woods of Wisconsin, tells of her struggles, hardships, and joys, while living with her family in a little log cabin in the woods. Pa is the hardworking, yet gentle, provider for the family while Ma cooks, cleans, and takes care of the three children. The Ingalls’s family struggles through harsh winters, wild animal attacks, and hot summer days all in the attempt to provide for themselves. As Laura and her family endure these challenges, she learns and grows from each experience while surviving in the Big Woods.

Little House in the Big Woods is a classic American novel that takes the reader back to a humble chapter in American history, while highlighting important agrarian concepts that still hold true today. Wilder truly captures the importance of farming, the hard work required, and even how children contribute to the task of farming.

Throughout the novel, Laura describes small moments that showcase how farming enabled her family to thrive while living in the secluded woods. She describes the small garden that had been growing behind their house all summer. This garden was crucial for their survival in the months to come. She says, “Now the potatoes and carrots, the beets and turnips and cabbages were gathered and stored in the cellar, for freezing nights had come.” Laura and Mary would help gather and store the fresh produce in the attic for winter when food would be scarce. Laura was only five years old at the time, yet understood the importance of the small garden and how essential it was for her and her family. This is a stark contrast to modern farming and the responsibilities carried by children. Not only did the garden yield edible produce, but also herbs for cooking and medicine. This illustrates some of the first food preservation techniques and the role it played in survival for their family.

            Although the Ingalls did not live on a traditional farm, in addition to their personal crops, they also raised livestock. Laura describes her Pa butchering their pig, and Ma using every bit of the pig for something useful. Not only could they store and eat the bulk of the meat, but also use the scrapings of lean and fat meat to make headcheese, jars of lard, and white salt-pork. They also used their cow for milk to make cheese and butter. Laura and Mary would take turns churning the butter and loved helping Ma in the kitchen. Again, Wilder illustrates how children at a very young age were actively engaged in the farming and agricultural processes that their families performed. Each chapter, Laura describes working from morning until night, preparing food or clothing for the harsh winter. We see how this pre-industrial age of farming differs from modern farming in that the family only produced for themselves. Wilder shows how farming was more of a lifestyle than an occupation at the turn of the century.

            While winter was in full bore, fresh game and produce was scarce. But that didn’t stop the Ingalls from farming. She describes her Pa and Grandpa farming the maple trees in the woods. This scene illustrates extreme self-reliance; buckets and taps were fashioned by hand, and the sweet sap was then made into brown sugar. Their work was never done. Once the snow melted, it was time to plow and put in the new crops. Summer days were long and hard for Pa, but just as busy for the family at home. She says, “Ma was busy too. Laura and Mary helped her weed the garden, and they helped her feed the calves and the hens. They gathered the eggs and they helped make the cheese”. Wilder illustrates the cycle of farming season after season. Every member of the family had a unique role that continued that cycle in their home. Children were just as important to the process as the adults and within this theme we see how Wilder saw family togetherness as a key to their success on the farm.

Everyone Was Busy Now, 1932 Helen Sewell

            Towards the end of the novel, Laura describes how her Pa and Uncle Henry would be in the fields all day cutting the oats with cradles. She says, “It was hard work, walking around and around the field in the hot sun, and with both hands swinging the heavy cradles into the grain and cutting it, then sliding it into the piles.” This passage clearly depicts the struggles of the pre-industrial farmer. All steps of harvest were done by hand with no convenience of a modern machine. Extensive time and grueling labor was required for this process.

             The emergence of farming machinery is eventually seen when Laura tells of the “wonderful machine.” As Laura and Mary watched, she states, “… Pa told them that the big machine was called the separator, and the rod was called the tumbling rod, and little machine was called the horsepower.”  This machine separated the straw from the wheat, which allowed the crop to be further utilized than if harvested by hand. This illustrates how modern inventions propelled farmers into the industrial era.

            Although this novel is filled with numerous agricultural themes, Wilder incorporates entertaining and laughable stories throughout that help tie the themes together. The novel also gives us a taste of the pre-industrial age of and the movement into industrial farming. The Little House in the Big Woods continues to romanticize traditional American farming and gives us a glimpse into the actual world of early settlers.

Little House in The Big Woods, 1952 Garth Williams

Works Cited
Sewell, Helen. Everyone Was Busy Now. 1932, https://www.gutenberg.ca/ebooks/wildersewell-woods/wildersewell-woods-01-h-dir/wildersewell-woods-01-h.html. Accessed 19 Mar. 2017

Williams, Garth. Little House in the Big Woods Book Cover. 1952, www.pluggedin.com/book-reviews/little-house-in-the-big-woods/. Accessed 19 Mar. 2017.

      Wilder, Laura I. Little House in the Big Woods. 2nd ed., vol. 1, New York, Harper Collins Publishers Inc., 1953, pp. 1-238, 5 vols.