So Big

by Edna Ferber

Characters:

Dirk - the son nicknamed as So Big
Selina - mother of Dirk
Pervus De Jong - Selina’s former husband
Julie Hempel - school friend of Selina
Dallas O’mara - girl artist-illustrator
Roelf Pool - a one-time student of Selina

The Novel:

Selina had a happy school days life at Miss Fister's school based in Chicago but soon ended when her father died.  She finished her studies and became a school teacher in a Dutch farm community of High Prairie. There she learned and became a nature lover.

Selina met Pervus de Jong, a vegetable farmer whom she married. She then forgets the city life, all the luxuries and city has to offer. Instead, she focuses herself in the farm, take care and serve her husband and their workers. Sometimes she also works in the field to harvests.


Selina's husband Pervus dies because of pneumonia. She manages the farm and gives her son Dirk, also named So Big a good education. With her harvests, people and vendors don’t want to buy from her because they are not used to buy vegetables from a woman.  As an alternative, she sells her products from house to house but authorities prevent her to sell. Fortunately, she met an old classmate Julie Hempel Arnolds, she offers to money which came from his father loan to help Selina. This help Selina make her farm grow big and turn into triumph.

Selina's son Dirk became successful in bonds selling though graduated as architect at Cornell University. Dirk falls to Dallas O’Mara, a brilliant illustrator who instead married a former student of Selina, Roelf Pool. While daughter of Julie, Paula fall in love with Dirk, but the young man take her for granted. So Paula decided to marry a millionaire. So Big always dreams big and when he fails he charge his self for it unlike her mother Selina, contented with what she have and do things that she can only reach.

Comment:

This story mirrors a strong and responsible mother to her child and family. Though challenge by many problems and trials in life, she never give up until she reach her dreams to be successful in life.