Another proof is when Laura feels bored one Sunday. On Sunday, they are not allowed to do something, like cooking, knitting, doing chores, and for children, playing.
Usually “[t]hey must sit quietly and listen when Ma read Bible stories to them...” 1971:85. One Sunday Laura plays with Jack, then she runs and shouts, and Pa
reminds her as in the following citation. Pa told her to sit in her chair and be quiet, but when Laura sat down she began
to cry and kick the chair with her heels. ‘I hate Sunday’ she said. Pa put down his book. ‘Laura,’ he said sternly, ‘come here’ 1971: 86.
Every family has its own rules and it is the parents’ duty to guide children in the purpose to meet the standard. In this case, Ingalls’ family live in the culture in which
Sunday is the day for God. They use Sunday to read Bible and discuss the stories in it. When Laura ‘forgets’ this rule, Pa as a father has to remind her. At the first time, Pa
just tells her to sit on the chair, but after she is angry, Pa calls her, in the stern voice. This calling means that Laura does something bad and her father has to tell her about
her mistakes. In addition, Pa is described as character that gives a standard and provides a
judgment of what is good or what is wrong, and also gives reward when children meet the standard. Pa as the source of this standard is described as the main character where
the children try to put themselves in the base of being good children. Whenever the children follow the rules and standard, he will give a reward for this behavior.
One of the examples can be seen when Pa explains to them why he came home without bringing any venison. Pa says it is not because there were no deer in the woods.
Pa saw a doe with her yearling and that made Pa did not want to shoot them. After that
Laura says, “I’m glad you didnt shoot them” and Mary says, “We can eat bread and butter” 1971: 236. Then he says that Laura and Mary are his good girls. Pa calls them
good girl because they support what Pa did. According to Pa, they are able to understand his decision, so they get reward to be called as good girls.
Besides, if the children do not obey or do not meet his rules or standard, he has rights to punish or to give sanction. Sometimes, he only warns them like what Laura
does on Sunday but sometimes he whips his children when they do very bad mistakes like physical harassment.
Then she heard Pa say, ‘Come here, Laura.’ She went slowly, dragging her feet. Pa was sitting just inside the door. He had seen her slap Mary.
One day, Mary and Laura get into trouble when they both collect chips for the fireplace. They fight because they feel jealous each other. Mary is jealous because
Laura grabs the biggest chip and Laura is offended because Mary says that Aunt Lotty likes Mary’s best. That fight ends with Laura slaps Mary’s face. A quotation below
shows what happens after that.
‘You remember,’ Pa said, ‘I told you girls you must never strike each other.’ Laura began, ‘But Mary said—‘
‘That makes no difference,’ said Pa. ‘It is what I say that you must mind.’ Then he took down a strap from the wall, and he whipped Laura with the strap
1971:
183-184. Actually not only Laura who is punished, Mary is also punished to fill the chip pan all
by herself. Pa, as the good father, also explains to her daughter why she is punished. In the end of the day, Pa calls Laura and calms her down, and gives her an explanation
about the difference of physical appearance between her and her sister.
Pa only punishes his children. This is the reason why he does not punish Charley. Charley is Pa’s nephew. In discussing about Charley, Pa puts the standard by
telling the story about his childhood. At home, Pa had said to Ma that Uncle Henry and Aunt Polly spoiled Charley.
When Pa was eleven years old, he had done a good days work every day in the fields, driving a team. But Charley did hardly any work at all 1971:
203. It can be said that indirectly Pa states the standard about being a boy. The right thing to
be a boy is to be like himself. Charley does not do any work at all and therefore he does not meet Pa’s standard. According to Pa, naughty boy must be punished as he said
The other characteristic of Pa is that he is depicted as the source of comfort for children. The comfort that Pa provides for the children comes through his answers of
the questions, his presence and his being a role model for the children. “if
he had been Uncle Henry, he would have tanned that boys hide for him, right then and there” 1971: 205. But, because Charley is not his own boy, so that he just can said, “It
served the little liar right’ 1971:211 when he knows Charley is stung by yellow-jacket bees.
Pa is depicted as able to provide answer that will make the children understand and feel secure. For example, when Pa tells them about the sap from the maple trees,
Laura asks, “Oh, didnt it hurt the poor tree?” And Pa answers, “No more than it hurts you when you prick your finger and it bleeds” 1971:124. Another case is when Laura
feels so sorry about the bees whose honey is taken as seen in the quotation below. Laura was sorry for the poor bees. She said: ‘They worked so hard, and now
they wont have any honey.’ But Pa said there was lots of honey left for the bees, and there was another large, hollow tree near by, into which they could
move. He said it was time they had a clean, new home 1971:198.
Pa can comfort her by answering that the bees need new and clean home and he adds that he has found the hollow tree near there that can be used as the bees’ new home.
Another example of comforting children is Pa becomes a model to Laura. It means Pa becomes someone that Laura wants to copy. One day, Laura is jealous to her
sister because her sister has the golden hair. He also answers Laura’s worry about her discomfort of her brown hair. He says, “Well, Laura, my hair is brown.” Pa’s answer
shows that everything will be in a proper condition. Laura feels safe when she finds out that she has the same type of hair as Pa’s. Pa is the model for her, and also source of
secure feeling as it is depicted that the children feel safe whenever Pa is around. It is shown in Laura’s thought that says, “She had no thought of that. Pa’s hair was brown
and she thought brown was a lovely color” 1971:184-185.
b. Ma: The Perfect Mother
Ma is the oldest female character in the house. She is the mother of three children. Ma is characterized as a perfect female adult. In facing many problems in
their daily life, Ma is described as a character that is always safe from the harmful or dangerous situation. For example, she is brave enough to slap a bear 1971:114.
Parents in the story, Ma and Pa, are considered by their children as good adults. It can be seen by other character thought about them. It is described by Laura who
thinks, “Santa Claus did not give grown people presents, but that was not because they had not been good. Pa and Ma were good” 1971:79.
Ma is a good person. This opinion arises not only from the point of view of children but also in adults’ opinion as shown in the quotation above.
Then Pa looked at Ma and said, ‘Nobodyd starve to death when you were around, Caroline.’
‘Well, no,’ Ma said. ‘No, Charles, not if you were there to provide for us 1971:193.
Ma is believed by her husband as a character with the significant role in the house, the
one who manages the house. The physical appearance is one of the main focuses in the characterization of
Ma’s character. She is described as a beautiful lady as in the following quotation. They looked lovely, sailing over the floor so smoothly with their large, round
skirts. Their little waists rose up tight and slender in the middle, and their cheeks were red and their eyes bright, under the wings of shining, sleek hair. … Ma
looked so rich and fine that Laura was afraid to touch her 1971: 141-142. Not only the physical appearance, she has a good manner and attitude. She can
make herself to be a good looking and adorable woman. Her children are always amazed by how pretty she is. For example, in doing her duty at home, making hulled
corn. She is also described as a flawless character. It is said in the quotation below that she never splashes any drop of water on her dress.
Ma looked pretty, with her bare arms plump and white, her cheeks so red and her dark hair smooth and shining, while she scrubbed and rubbed the corn in the
clear water. She never splashes one drop of water on her pretty dress 1971:220- 221.
Ma is also the center of knowledge in the house. Because she spends time more
with children than her husband, she is asked many questions by her children. She is asked almost about anything. The children want to know things such as the story of
Adam from the Bible 1971:85. The answer that is given might be not answering the
question perfectly, for example when Ma is asked about johnny-cake, she does not really know the exact answer, but she tries to provide an answer for the question as she
always does. Laura always wondered why bread made of corn meal was called Johnny-cake.
It wasn’t cake. Ma didnt know, unless the Northern soldiers called it johnny- cake because the people in the South-, where they fought, ate so much of it.
They called the Southern soldiers Johnny Rebs. Maybe, they called the Southern bread, cake, just for fun. Ma had heard some say that it should be called
journey-cake. She didnt know” 1971:226-227. Ma is described as a character who knows very well about her main duty in the
house. It is shown in “Ma used to say: ‘Wash on Monday, Iron on Tuesday, Mend on Wednesday, Churn on Thursday, clean on Friday, Bake on Saturday, Rest on Sunday’”
1971:29. Commonly, adult women do domestic chores, like cooking 1971:62;
processing crops 12, livestock 17-18, and dairy products 1971: 187, 189-190; making clothes and hats 38,170,215; mending 107, 174; and doing housework such
as washing, ironing, and cleaning. Generally Ma does all these tasks by herself. She knows what, when, and how to do those tasks as she is described as putting the
activities nicely in the song. The other important characterization of Ma which is closely related to her
function of answering questions in the story is her role as a source of order, rules, direction, and guidance for children. Like Pa, Ma is also described as a mother who
gives order and makes the standards. In this case, Ma deals with children in the case of how to act, how to become polite to other people, and how to behave. In applying those
rules, Ma usually gives commands or direct warning. Ma puts attention to the way her
children acts and speaks. She gives a direct correction whenever she finds any mistakes in what the children are saying or doing.
Ma is obeyed by her children. The children obey her in many things. For example, when Ma will go to milk cow and she says that Laura could carry the lantern,
Laura directly obeys her by putting on her coat 1971:103. Also when Ma tells Laura to walk back to the house, Laura directly does it as in this quotation, “So Laura turned
around and began to walk toward the house” 1971:105-106. When Laura is happy because she just gets a doll as Christmas present, Ma
reminds Laura to lend her doll to other children and Laura obeys her. Ma says, “Laura, aren’t you going to let the other girls hold your doll?” and then she adds, “Little girls
must not be so selfish” 1971:77. Another proof is when Laura asks her to go out to play. Laura begs permission by saying “Can’t I go out to play, Ma?” but then Ma warns
her, “’May,’ Laura” 1971:118. Laura obeys her directly by changing her word “can’t” into “may”.
Another case is when Laura and her cousin, Laura, debate about whose baby that the most beautiful is. Laura insists that baby Carrie is the most beautiful baby, the
other Laura does not agree with that. They come into a little fight until “Ma came sailing over her fine delaine and said severely, ‘Laura’ 1971:144. The reaction of the
two Lauras is they do not say anything more. They directly stop their debate. It shows that Ma has rights to warn children if they come into inappropriate way of attitude, and
the children will obey her without asking why.
It is also depicted in the story when the family goes to the town. There they meet the storekeeper who gives Laura and Mary a candy. Of course they have to show
their good attitude to the storekeeper. Mary thanks the storekeeper but what happens to Laura can be seen in the following.
Laura could not speak. Everybody was waiting, and she could not make a sound. Ma had to ask her: ‘What do you say, Laura?’ Then Laura opened her
mouth and gulped and whispered, ‘Thank you’ 1971: 171.
Laura says nothing after she is given candy. Ma as a mother reminds her to thank the storekeeper. After that Laura thanks the storekeeper.
Ma also has power to remind children also when her children make their own mistakes. Like when they are on the way home from the town, they take some rest in
the sea shore. There Laura and Mary pick the pretty pebbles but something bad happens to Laura because she takes too many pebbles. Her dress pocket is torn and the pocket
falls from her dress and she cries. Then Ma said to her, “Pick up the pretty pebbles, Laura, ... And another time, dont be so greedy” 1971:175. Then Laura reacts like this,
“so Laura gathered up the pebbles, put them in the pocket, and carried the pocket in her lap” 1971:175.
Another significant role of Ma is Ma is also described as a character that teaches the standard of what is good and what is not. There is a reward given to the children
when their behavior meets the standard. For example, Ma says Laura is good because she do something exactly as Ma tells her, quickly, and without asking any question. It is
what Ma says when she asks Laura to go back home quickly from the barn because of
