Chapter 2 - Missouri Summary and Analysis

The voyage through Missouri lasts about one week. The tone of the journal changes completely after the party passes into Missouri. Everything up to Missouri is described factually as Wilder experiences it. Across the Missouri State Line, however, Wilder views the world through rose-tinted glasses. Descriptions become longer and more superlatives are used; everything in Missouri is better: "Exactly at 2:24 ¾ P.M. we crossed the line into Missouri. And the very first cornfield we saw beat even those Kansas cornfields" (p. 71). When inquiring about Mansfield—their predetermined destination—a man calls it "one of the finest countries in the world" (p. 71). Liberal, one of the first towns in Kansas, is declared the nicest small city of the trip. While all this may be true, it is interesting to see how Wilder's portrayal changes in fundamental...