The Long Winter

In The Long Winter, the Ingallses and other families in De Smet survive for seven months of near constant blizzards, and many characters exhibit Self-Sacrifice for the Greater Good. Because fuel and food become scarce, everyone must sacrifice something so that the family and the community can survive winter. Often, it is through self-sacrifice that character growth occurs.

After a memory game between Laura and Mary, Laura feels ashamed for always having wanted to beat Mary at something. In that moment, she has an epiphany, and “for the first time Laura wanted to be a schoolteacher so that she could make the money to send Mary to college” (129). Laura’s parents have shown her repeatedly that maturity means self-sacrifice, and this passage suggests that Laura’s development lies in her willingness to set aside her own wants to help her family. When Christmas arrives and there is no train, Laura sets aside her only items of beauty—an embroidered picture and lace she knitted—for Carrie and Mary. Furthermore, Ma and all the girls contribute what little change they have to purchase suspenders for Pa. These smaller sacrifices for the family unit mirror the broader sacrifices in the novel that aid survival.