But Nebraska was not always a bed of roses. When the first settlers arrived, they found a harsh, unforgiving place, a vast treeless expanse of barren, drought-parched soil. And so, summoning up the dynamic pioneer spirit of hope and steely determination, they left. But a few of them remained and built sod houses, which are actually made of dirt. Think about that. You can't clean a sod house, because it would be gone. The early settlers had a hell of a time getting this through to their children. 'You kids stop tracking dirt out of the house!' they'd yell.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Barry describes early Nebraska settlers leaving due to harsh conditions and making jokes about building homes from dirt.
- In plain terms
- Settlers left Nebraska because it was too harsh but some stayed and made dirt houses.
- What can you take from it?
- Historical survival often involves ironic contradictions.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why do people stay in hostile environments?
- How do we remember history?
Another view
It trivializes the actual hardships faced by pioneers.
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