The Frontier: Place of Opportunity or Barbaric State?
The theme of the American frontier is a focal point in both “Letters from an American Farmer” by J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur and A New Home, Who’ll follow? by Caroline Stansbury Kirkland. Despite sharing a similar premise, both works differ in their description and presentation of the frontier. In Kirkland’s novel, she uses a series of anecdotes and personal accounts to reveal various social and cultural norms. Furthermore, in de Crevecoeur’s piece, he discusses the frontier from an outsider perspective, providing the reader with observations and opinionated remarks. When discussing the frontier, it is evident that Kirkland and De Crevecoeur most greatly differ in their discussions of the structure of this society, individualism and community, and the industriousness of the frontier.
Kirkland, a professed resident of Michigan, discusses in depth of the community she lives in and of the many groups of people that she interacts with on a regular basis. The anecdotes that she provides allow the reader to understand what everyday life is comprised of. One aspect in particular that she emphasizes is the reputable, genuine nature of her Michigan community. Kirkland talks highly of many of her neighbors and friends, who all lead structured and respectable lives. One of her stories involves a woman, Mrs. Doubleday who “is possessed with the neat devil”(1054) and keeps a highly organized house. Furthermore, Kirkland tells the reader of another woman, Mrs. Skinner, who stops by Mrs. Doubleday’s house “all drest in her red merino to make a visit” (1055). As Kirkland continues her narrative, she discusses a situation in which Mrs. Doubleday was called upon to care for another woman’s baby. As part of the camaraderie and sense of community that is shared in this Michigan town, Mrs. Doubleday accepts, caring for the child as if her own. These anecdotes give the reader a snapshot of everyday life in the...