Examples Of Sacrifice In My Antonia

Immigrants constantly face racial prejudices unknown to the privileged. These immigrants are only trying to have a life for themselves and/or for their children. My Antonia by Willa Cather entails the trials and tribulations of those who seek success told through the perspective of Jim Burden. The novel consists of people out of the country wanting a better life for themselves; That's what they want most of all. The immigrants that Jim comes to know go through hardships that they overcome to finally become successful in the end.

The Sacrifice, written by Katheen Benner Duble, is a historical fiction novel that takes place in Massachusetts. During the year, 1692, people were fearful of witchcraft and the main characters, Abigail and her sister, Dorothy were just two of the many unfortunates who were accused. Throughout this novel Abigail and many others learn to not let fear take over your actions, especially because those actions can really hurt others. This is the theme of the novel and it sends a powerful message that can apply to everyone. This theme can be seen through the setting, plot, and characters throughout this novel. Additionally, Duble used juxtaposition, foreshadowing, metaphors, similes, situational irony, and many more literary devices to develop

      Willa Cather's novel My Ántonia dramatizes the effect the frontier has on both native-born people and immigrants that come to the West in search of new beginnings. The story centers around two families living in a remote area of Nebraska from completely diverse backgrounds. This tale suggests that regardless of where a person comes from, the trials and tribulations of living under such tough conditions will ultimately impact his/her future existence. Cather's characters, no matter the age or heritage, are continuously re-defined, as if reborn, into a new life by surviving the harsh realities of the frontier. Much of the creation of these characters takes place in the very

Lena Younger, the head of the family, and the mother of both Walter Lee and Beneatha encounters many struggles while attempting to achieve her American Dream of living an improved lifestyle with her family. Lena wants to own a house with a garden. She says; “I always wanted me a garden like I used to see sometimes at the back of the houses down home.” (I.i.53) The Younger family lives in an apartment where Lena is unable to have a garden of her own since she does not have a front or back yard. The Younger family is in financial turmoil, and they cannot afford to invest in a house. While talking to Travis, Lena says; "you know that money we got in the mail this morning...Well—what you think your grandmamma gone and done with that money...she went out and

The setting of the story has tremendous impact on the characters and themes in the novel "My Antonia" by Willa Cather. Cather's delicately crafted naturalistic style is evident not only in her colorfully detailed depictions of the Nebraska frontier, but also in her characters’ relationship with the land on which they live. The common naturalist theme of man being controlled by nature appears many times throughout the novel, particularly in the chapters containing the first winter.

My Antonia, by Willa Cather, is a novel about Jim Burden and his relationship and experiences growing up with Antonia Shimerda in Nebraska. Throughout the book Jim reflects on his memories of Nebraska and the Shimerda family, often times in a sad and depressing tone. One of the main ways Cather is able to provoke these sad emotions within the reader is through the suicide of Antonia’s father, Mr. Shimerda. His death was unexpected by everyone and it is thought that homesickness is what drove him to take his own life. Homesickness was surely felt by Mr. Shimerda, as it was by many, but it was the failure to adequately find a way to provide for his family that sent Mr. Shimerda into a

      Lena Lingard is the best example of a non-domestic central character which appears amidst the domesticity of My Ántonia. Often the sections which feature Lena instead of Ántonia are seen as confusing divergences from the plot line of a novel that purports to be about the woman named in the title. However, since Lena appears in the novel almost as often as Ántonia, and more often than any other character except Jim, she is a central character. Lena is a working woman who refuses to accept the constraints society places upon her. Even when society predicts that by becoming a dressmaker instead of marrying she will fail and become a "loose" woman, she disrupts their expectations

The epic drama that really seems to focus on the origins of human sacrifice would be “A Raisin in the Sun.” One of the main characters was named Mrs. Younger. Mrs. Younger was a woman in her late 20’s that lived within the Southside of Chicago with her in-laws. She had a son named Willy and a husband named Walter. Mrs. Younger lived her life like most mothers do. She tried her best to provide and nurture her family members. Mothers usually have to give up a lot for their families, and in “The Raisin in the Sun”, this was no different.

Lena enjoys dancing and kissing but is merely having fun. When Frances Harling teases Lena about a suitor who the town thinks Lena will marry, she responds, "I don't want to marry Nick, or any other man,' Lena murmured. 'I've seen a good deal of married life, and I don't care for it. I want to be so I can help my mother and the children at home, and not have to ask lief of anybody." (Cather 105). It seems impossible for the town to believe that a beautiful girl would consider working, but Lena goes against the conformity and shows that women can live self sufficiency.

Lena Younger doesn’t have materialistic things and good wealth but, she walks high, displays pride, and carries herself. Her children’s are her pride and joy and would do anything for her children’s. With no important dreams of her own, for even her dream of having a house is interested only by her aspiration to make living conditions better for her family. She says, upon receiving the $10,000 insurance check from her husband death. I think her American Dream is to have a house so, her family can live in a better environment. Lena is belittling by some of her family member because they want to use the money for something else. “Big Walter used to say, he’d get right wet in the eyes sometimes, lean his head back with the water standing in his eyes and say, "Seem like God didn’t see fit to give the black man nothing but dreams but He did give us children to make them dreams seem worthwhile." He stating that he makes sacrifices for his family even though he has dreams for himself.

Willa Cather’s My Antonia and Mary Austin’s The Land of Little Rain are two literary works that effectively recreate the landscape of the stories they are telling. Their writing styles have a few similar characteristics, such as their word choice and their usage of visual elements; however, they take advantage of various writing elements that make their writing styles distinct, such as the use of figurative language, emotion, and rhetorical questioning.

   In her novel, My Antonia, Cather represents the frontier as a new nation. Blanche Gelfant notes that Cather "creat[ed] images of strong and resourceful women upon whom the fate of a new country depended" . This responsibility, along with the "economic productivity" Gilbert and Gubar cite (173), reinforces the sense that women hold a different place in this frontier community than they would in the more settled areas of America.

In the melodramatic novel, A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, the author uses the theme sacrifice. He shows that sacrifice is important in his story because some of his characters must give up their lives for another. Miss Pross dedicates herself to Lucie because she wants Lucie to have a brighter future than she did. Then, out of his love and devotion for Lucie Manette, Sydney Carton sacrifices his life to save a life she loves. The sacrifices Miss Pross and Sydney Carton make express that mankind will give everything for what they love and believe in.

Throughout history, man has fed the notion that gods demand sacrifice for their blessings to the earth. From ancient Hebrew legends to Greek mythology, peoples from all over the world took part in sacrifice. Whether or not blood was shed, as long as the sacrificial object was meaningful to the people and the process had consent behind it, the sacrifice was deemed valid. In Mary Renault’s novel The King Must Die, the protagonist Theseus discovers the meaning of each sacrifice and the cost of each one. Thus, modern readers may feel renewed by the sacrificial rituals from the book just as Theseus did when he encountered them.

Lena, Walter, Ruth, and Benaetha all live under one roof, but they all have different dreams. As Lena dreams that the dreams of her children should come true by using the money of their father’s life insurance and her family must be united in whatever economic and social circumstances they have to face. Walter Lee dreams of a liquor store. He thinks that having a liquor store; he can make his family’s economic condition good. Ruth dreams to have a wealthy and fine family, so that they don’t have to be worry for minor things. Beneatha