My Antonia Relationship Analysis

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

Like many immigrants, Ántonia faces difficulty with the language barrier. Upon their arrival, the Shimerdas only speak a few sentences of broken English. According to Jim, “They could not speak enough English to ask for advice, or even to make their most pressing wants known” (Cather 46). In the beginning of their friendship, Antonia is unable to communicate efficiently with Jim. For example, during one of Antonia and Jim’s adventures, they come across a snake that sneaks up behind Jim. Antonia, who only speaks little English, is only able to scream at Jim in Bohemian. Although Jim is able to kill the snake, he lashes out at Antonia for speaking Bohemian gibberish. While Ántonia’s ability to effectively communicate with Jim frustrates her, it also makes her more determined to learn English. It is this desire that pushes her to travel, by barefoot, to the Burden’s home daily to acquire new English phrases (Gerber 11). It is through her perseverance that she is soon able to speak English better than any of the other children in Black Hawk.

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

Although Antonia faces severe hardship, she remains strong and responding to her simple life that focuses on kid raising and family comforts. When Jim visits her after so many years, he realizes that she established a very happy life, a good marriage, and has a large family. Antonia bravery has qualified her to develop self-esteem and become a complete female of pride.Although Antonia faces severe hardship, she remains strong and responding to her simple life that focuses on kid raising and family comforts. When Jim visits her after so many years, he realizes that she established a very happy life, a good marriage, and has a large family. Antonia bravery has qualified her to develop self-esteem and become a complete female of

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 .

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.

As Antonia and Jim grow apart, there is a good amount of time that pass both characters. Both Antonia and Jim took different paths that were overshadowed by the past events of their childhood, it could be said that Jim had a much easier life than Antonia had, as Antonia said “Things will be easy for you. But they will be hard for us.” (Cather 159) Jim departs to go to college and to a high paying job, while Antonia remains in the prairie where there will continue to be difficulties for her and her family to survive and overcome the challenges. The Bohemian immigrant family has many hardship they must overcome. From homesickness to language barriers, the family seems to adjust accordingly and end up overcoming these hardships in their lives. After twenty years of not seeing Antonia, Jim is afraid she has changed and no longer is the vivid young girl she once was. When they reunite, Jim now gets to know Antonia as a grown up and is pleased to find out that she is still the vivid spirit he once remembered. Instead of having Antonia as a symbol of his pass, Jim creates a relationship with her new-found husband and children, and is happy with

This dialogue Ántonia says to Jim brings upon a huge change in his character. Until now, Ántonia has always treated Jim in a patronizing manner, which is based purely on age. He tries not to acknowledge or believe that he is inferior, and tirelessly tries to prove to her and consequently himself that he is her equal. However, now that he has demonstrated his strength and valor in a time of peril, she thinks of him highly rather than looking down upon him condescendingly. Jim “longed for this opportunity”, and now that he receives it, he feels pleased about this incident with the snake and “hails it with joy”, instead of feeling quite the contrary which is typical in such situations (Cather 35). Therefore, this leads him to gain some of the past self-esteem he has lost in the previous months, leading him to his development in such character. From this point on in the novel, Jim has more confidence and carries himself with pride, all due to how he overcomes one of his deepest internal struggles with himself. Although this incident is a time of great danger to his life, it further develops him into a mature young man and “a big fellow” (Cather 37).

Jim meets Antonia’s family and leaves the next day after catching yp with Antonia’s life. Jim realizes that a man’s life goes in a circle and, “ For Antonia and for me, this had been the road of Destiny; had taken us to those early accidents of fortune which predetermined for us all that we can ever be. Now I understood that the same road was to bring us together again.” (Cather 238) Jim and Antonia after catching up discovered that they both went in two different life paths. Jim wen to school and got married but had no kids, while Antonia did not go to school but got married and has eleven kids. Jim and Antonia are physically in different paths but destiny draws them together at the end. They will also meet up at the end when they have not met each other in twenty years. Jim and Antonia’s relationship is fate and is another reason why they have a strong bond.

From the time Antonia got on the wagon to head for Nebraska with her family it seemed her life was a hard one. When Antonia finally arrived in Nebraska she had to live in a cave with very little food for the family. The family had been living on corncakes and sorghum molasses for three days. Antonia spoke Bohemian and only knew a few words in English which made it hard for her to communicate at first but she took English lessons from Jim and learned quickly.

Jim feels the way he does about happiness because he has led a fairly charmed life. Even though he became an orphan and had to move to Nebraska to be raised by his grandparents, Jim had many privileges and support from them growing up and he tended to be able to set his sights on what he wanted and go after it with success. Antonia, in contrast, even with her wonderful soul, great strength and ability to keep moving forward with a positive attitude, had to fight hard for every bit of happiness that came her way. Antonia says to Jim, “Things will be easy for you. But they will be hard for us.” She and Jim had drifted apart some after her father committed suicide. She and Jim were sitting together watching an electrical storm on top of the chicken house and Jim asked her why she had changed. It was clear that Antonia could see that Jim had a promising future ahead because he was going to school and she was trapped having to take care of her family and wouldn’t be able to go to school.

Before she even knows Jims name she grabs his hand and explores with him. Though Antonia doesn’t speak English and Jim doesn’t speak Bohemian, they immediately hit it off. The language barrier between the two never stands in the way of them being happy together. Reading these passages, it seems as though they have already known each other for a long time. Jim is fascinated by her and is happy to follow her around, and so far this dynamic never changes.

To Jim, Antonia represent the freedom to be one’s self. Whilst not agreeing with every decision Antonia makes, Jim still compares all women to Antonia. Her impact is so great that it allows him to become more progressive in regards to women. Through the narration of Jim, we are able to see that he is a passive character and in contrast to Antonia. Even in early childhood, Jim was impressed by the labor done by the male workers, but had no interest in doing the labor himself.

He learns how to live and love life despite what others think, what they say or what happens. In Book 2 Chapter 12 he states “When you spun out into the floor with Tony, you didn’t return anything. You set out every time upon a new adventure.” He relies on his relationship with Antonia and her family to help him with things. He uses what he knows about her father and his family to help him write his graduation speech. “I thought about your papa when I wrote my speech, Tony. I dedicated it to him.” Antonia teaches Jim the meaning of life and perseverance. She shows him that it does not matter how much or little you have, happiness and fulfillment comes from within. Throughout the years, she always remained an influence on Jim. He states “… I think of you more often than of any one else in this part of the world…The idea of you is part of my mind; you influence my likes and dislikes, all my tastes, hundreds of times when I don’t realize it. You really are a part of me.” Antonia and her spirit, ways, and thoughts about life were always with Jim. Even when he is in a relationship, going to school, or working, what he has learned from Antonia has a direct effect on these

In My Antonia, there is several literary elements throughout the entire novel. One of the biggest elements in the story is that of Jim and Antonia and their growth from childhood to their adulthood. Both characters follow diverse paths to maturity, each with their own influences and complications.