Neighbour Rosicky by Willa Cather review

“A dream does not become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work” (Colin Powell).

At the story Neighbour Rosicky written by Willa Cather, we see that how much work is important for Rosicky, who works hard during his life to have a happy family. Rosicky is a responsible man for his life and a 65 years old man who support his family all the time until his entire life. Rosicky’s past life influence his present working life as he follows the American Dream of becoming free by working on his land.

Rosicky told his sons that “to be a landless man was to be a wage –earner, a slave, all your life; to have nothing to be nothing”. At primary look, Neighbour Rosicky seems to be a short story about a farmer and his family; however, there is much more under the surface. Rosicky is a symbol of immigrants, in over-all. He is the essence of the “American Dream,” with small variations.

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The “American Dream” is thought to be about having a loving partner with 2 children, a little dog, and a white picket screen; however, people have added in means and larger houses to the original simple vision.

Rosicky preoccupied with his family, and feels himself to be of no use unless he is working. Cather writes about Rosicky as a sort of symbol for the human race which is becoming lazy and disintegrated. Modernist writers see that people have altered their “American Dreams” to be about greediness, and their lives are not simple, people are becoming more immoral, as a whole, and not consuming on the significant, modest things in life.

Rosicky is about the humbler things in life, he is about family, and hard work; he does not feel the need to be rich or get more belongings than his national.

I feel as though Rosicky is almost a picture of life before modernization came to life. Rosicky is joyful on a farm, living comfortably, and happily rather than in a big city, competing around and trying to “get ahead.” Cather appears to be taking a step back into a time when life was simpler and was about the better, humbler, and more important things in life. Rosicky and his family were well-known, by Dr. Burleigh “people as generous and warm-hearted and affectionate as the Rosickys never got ahead much; maybe you couldn’t enjoy your life and put it into the bank, too”. By reviewing this quote, it can be said that although Mr. Rosicky has a nice family and good life, working is so important for him that doesn’t allow him enjoy what he has. All the conversation between Dr. Burleigh and Rosicky is an evidence to support this fact that Rosicky has to stop working and enjoying his life with his family.

It give the impression to me that the upgrade way of life is about everything moving at a faster pace. The 20th century brings in technology, ideas of people needing to gain more wealth and more earthly possessions than the next person. Life is not simple, it becomes more complex, and people miss focus of the bigger picture, of family, values, and morals. However, Cather appears to family Rosicky as the opposite of the “typical” modern person; he does not care to gain more wealth than the next person or have a better job, he cares about raising a good family and having the land continue down in generations to come. Rosicky almost appears to emerge sacred, especially after Polly’s encounter with him. Polly, Rosicky’s daughter-in-law, finds herself through meets with Rosicky. Polly’s exposure looks to be about the hope of improvement. In additional words, it’s as though Polly is a representation of Americans, and her revelation is about hope, a hope of redeeming oneself, a hope for a better life and a better future ahead. Polly, who the author represent her depression through rosicky’s conversation with his son. He tells his children “polly ain’t lookin’ so good. I don’t like to see nobody lookin’ sad. It comes fur a town girl to be a farmer’s wife”. It can be understood from previous quote that Rosicky is aware of Polly’s condition, but he can’t do much because he cannot let her go back to the city and take his son with her. He wisely try to find a way that encourage Polly like this place and being happy of living in the farm. Rosicky start to help her with her housekeeping and lends them his old car while forcing them spend and evening in the town. All of these thing together make Polly understand how she I loved here and start to accept her new life style and duties. This quote show how much Rosicky care about his family special care about her daughter in law which cause Polly have sudden feeling that nobody in the world, not her mother, not Rudolph, or anyone, she can trust and love her as much as old Rosicky did. It perplexed her. It was as if Rosicky had a special gift for loving people.

At the end, Rosicky dies, and is give back to the earth. He is reverted to nature, and buried in the earth – a part of the land he loved so very much. Rosicky remains a part of life – neighbors and family will pass the graveyard on their way to town, his animals will eat the feed during the winter, and “Nothing could be more deathlike than this place; nothing could be more right for a man who had helped to do the work of great cities and had always longed for the open country and had got to it at last. Rosicky’s life seemed to him complete and beautiful”.