Analysis of My Antonia by Willa Carter Essay

Antonia knows the struggle firsthand since she has faced the harsh conditions of starting off in a new country since she is a Shimerda. Antonia tells Jim,“’ If I live here, like you, that is different. Things will be easy for you. But they will be hard for us’” (Cather 90). Antonia knows the racial difference between her and Jim. She has to work harder than the native speakers to be able to achieve what might come easily to them. Later on in the novel, Antonia goes off with a guy named Larry Donovan he informs her that his job has moved. This ended up being a lie. He leaves her whilst she's pregnant, so she becomes a single mom. Jim expresses his thoughts, “I was bitterly disappointed in her [Ántonia]. I could not forgive her for becoming an object of pity” (Cather 192). Jim expresses his dismay that Antonia has basically ruined her life by putting faith into a man of words. Antonia’s reputation fell drastically after this and it appears as though it would be hard to pick up. However, when Jim returns, he ends up being wrong. In the literary criticism, Anthony M. Dykema-VanderArk states, “She appears at the end of My Antonia as a figure who has tri­umphed over the hardships of her life through stal­wart struggle...ensuring an easier future for her children” (Dykema-VanderArk 211). Antonia has gone through a lot throughout her life. Her father’s death to ruining her reputation by being oblivious. Her race caused her to be inferior compared to the women that don't have to work in order to survive, but she still gives a good life to her children. Despite her hardships, she still kept to her strong attitude and doesn't sway away from it. That's success through the work she put

Antonia, despite having an enormous warmth about her, is too simpleminded and preoccupied with manual labor in order to have time to reflect on the meaning of happiness; nevertheless, she is always dissolved in the moment which allows her to unconsciously live by Jim's definition of happiness. She often finds herself completely submerged in her joys which predominantly come in form of her work, personal freedoms, and family. She said once, "'I belong on a farm. I'm never lonesome here like I used to be in town... And I don't mind work a bit if I don't have to put up with sadness'"(Book 5, Section1). Here it is evident that her work on the farm allows Antonia to forget her troubles and keep her from being lost in her negative thoughts. She was also found bragging to Jim about the

The central narrative of My Antonia could be a check upon the interests, and tho' in his fib Jim seldom says something directly concerning the concept of the past, the general tone of the novel is very unhappy. Jim’s motive for writing his story is to do to change some association between his gift as a high-powered any professional person and his nonexistent past on the NE grassland ; in re-creating that past, the novel represent each Jim’s retention and his feelings concerning his recollections. in addition, inside the narrative itself, persona usually look rachis yearningly toward the past that they need losing, particularly when Book I. Life in blackness Hawk, Jim and Ántonia recall their Day on the farm Lena appearance back toward her spirit together with her family; the Shimerdas and therefore the Russian mirror on their lives in their several home countries before they immigrated to the United Country .

Friendship is a gift that is given at life, but what we make of it and how we take care of it is all up to us. Friends are like flashlights in dark rooms and, bandaids on a bad bruise, they make the hard times in life easier to handle and get through. The novel My Antonia shows a prominent theme of friendship between a young country boy named Jim, and a shy Bohemian immigrant named Antonia. Jim and his family provide care and friendship to Antonia's family in order to make survival easier for them through hard times. The survival and wellbeing of an immigrant family in the mid to late 1800’s depended on the connection with neighbors and this can explicitly be seen through the intimacy between Antonia, and Jim and both their families. Despite

Willa Cather’s My Antonia is the story of a lifelong friendship that began between Jim and Antonia, two people who became friends when they were young and lived on the Nebraska prairie. Jim and Antonia encountered a large rattlesnake and a startled and, rather than yell out in English, Antonia speaks in her native Bohemian language. Antonia’s father, depressed and sad over missing his homeland, committed suicide and left the family to fend for themselves in a strange country. Jim’s grandparents decide that they are too old to run a ranch daily so they move to the closest town, Black Hawk.

Jim Burden and Antonia Shimerda form a special connection/friendship and they both learn from one another as they are essentially opposites. Jim Burden is very materialistic in how he views the world. An example of this is how he thinks that the women of Black Hawk are not deserving of marriage, but instead just intimate relations. His views seemingly changed as he was previously condemning this attitude. He changes because he was very easily discouraged, when learning that the world works differently than he had imagined. Antonia Shimerda is a free spirited person who believes that are many ways to go about bringing success into one’s life, whereas Jim and others, believe there is one rigid path that must be followed. A quote that captures Antonia’s beliefs is; “That is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great. When it comes to one, it comes as naturally as sleep.” However, her base convictions stay consistent throughout the entirety of the story.

Throughout My Antonia, the difference between immigrants and native lifestyles are shown. While neither Jim not Antonia is rich, Jim is definitely more well off than her. He knows the language and has enough that he can have more opportunities. Antonia realizes that her life is going to be more difficult and that she will have to work more because of her mother’s decision to move to America. She tells Jim that “if I live here, like you, that is different. Things will be easy for you. But they will be hard for us,” (90) and knows that her gentle personality might be at stake. This also foreshadows future events where Antonia struggles as an immigrant farmer. It adds obstacles to her life which might lead to them drifting apart in their friendship, even complete separation. This relates to the world in how immigrants had a harder time getting going in life. Antonia’s mother has already become changed because of poverty. She is grasping, selfish, and believes everyone should help her family. Jim’s grandmother defends her, knowing that, “a body never knows what traits poverty might bring out in them,” (60), though it is socially unacceptable. The pressures of helping her family led Antonia to not be educated and become a farmer. She is happy, but this leads to Jim being away, “twenty years before I kept my promise,” (211) as he is a successful lawyer and travels. They still have old connections, though being from Bohemia did change Antonia’s life and where it could have gone.

In the book My Antonia authored by Willa Cather, the main character Jim Burden, obtains lessons by his family, teachers, and neighbors. He learned very helpful and important details to how to live a good life. Mr. Shimerda, Jim’s neighbor, influenced Jim to find the art of education and start embracing it. Jim’s grandma played another huge part in Jim’s life. She acts as Jim’s mom since he lives with her and his grandpa. The last person that plays a big part is Gaston Cleric. He was Jim’s teacher who Jim really respected.

In My Antonia by Willa Cather, a character named Jim moves to Nebraska, also known as the Wild West, because his parents died. There, he meets his grandparents for the first time. He also notices an immigrant, Lena Lingard whom he meets outside of Black Hawk on her family's farm. Later in life, he moves to Lincoln University, to become a lawyer and is mentored by Gaston Cleric. Overall, Jim has been influenced and changed by the impact of befriending and meeting different people of different lifestyles.

In my Antonia a bohemian girl named Antonia and her family has just moved to the prairie land of Black Hawk, Nebraska. At the same time a boy named Jim Burden, whose parents had both died, was moving to Black Hawk, Nebraska to live with his grandparents. None of Antonia’s family could speak English, so the father, Mr. Shimerda, asks Jim Burden to teach Antonia how to speak English. Jim begins to give Antonia reading lessons, and eventually Jim and Antonia start to spend a lot of their time together.

In the book Jim teaches Àntonia to speak English, therefor furthering her education. During the immigration wave, and after education for foreign people became better. “Immigrants education rose 30% and 27% were going to go into business” (Shapiro, Vellucci). By having more immigrants educated it aloud unions to take place, and allowed their education to develop further throughout college. The inaccurate historical part of “My Àntonia” was how Jim treated Àntonia.

After meeting Jim and the grandmother, Antonia is able to start learning some new

"She was there," he says, "in the full vigor of her personality, battered but not diminished" This quote shows that Antonia is very admirable. She remains unbroken and she will keep fighting and overcoming the hardship. Both Jim and Cather admire her and learn from her.

In the years of becoming a young adult children learn the most important life lessons. The novel My Antonia depicts the life of a boy named Jim Burden, although the story is based on him the second main character Antonia is a very significant part of the novel. Her role is very significant. The author Willa Cather portrays the life of a immigrant family who endure many issues.

She even said "I ain't got no time to learn, I can work like mans now. " This quote describes Antonia's ability to work as well as a man in labor, this lacked the capability to continue her education. Jim also went out of his way to find people, who were from Bohemia. "My papa find friends up north, with Russian mans.