... in Santa Fe. Their experiences in these stunning yet uncultivated surroundings cause dramatic changes in both men as they experience the westward movement of the agricultural frontier. The central characters of Father Vaillant, and especially Father Lour, represent the heroic ideal in that they are unmistakably viewed as enjoying a lofty status, yet they still feel genuine ... Professor's House, has called that work "two inconclusive fragments" (223), "an unsymmetrical and unrealized novel" (229), These critics and others like them treat as failures some of the central features of Cather...

• Word Count: 7335
• Approx Pages: 29
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... search for light because he has none of his own to emit. Without this element, he cannot find his true identity and survive the world he is living in. The central theme behind many stories is the loss and regaining of identity. Patrick has no identity of his own, and his only way of gaining a temporary one is through light. "And ... the Don River Valley just after World War I and the digging out under Lake Ontario of the municipal Toronto water intake tunnel in the 1930s. But although those events are central to the story, this is a novel about fictional people -- downtrodden characters...

• Word Count: 3985
• Approx Pages: 16
• Grade Level: High School