My Antonia Sympathy Quotes

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

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.

“Few of our neighbors were Americans…I Grew fond of some of these immigrants—particularly the old women, who used to tell me of their home country. I used to think them underrated and wanted to explain them to their

In this novel, there are multiple themes laced through the text. Some noticeable at first read, while others are quite difficult to comprehend. One of the many themes in My Ántonia is nostalgia. The characters all seem to have a personal connection to the past. It's as if this connection triggers memories and emotions the characters felt while they were in that position. Connection to the environment is also another theme, but it is less nostalgic. These characters not only miss the memories and emotions, but they miss the surroundings. This theme is more symbolic as the environment is reflecting the character’s personality or emotion. For example, Jim, one of the main characters,

Ántonia is caught between her natural optimism and cheer and the extremely difficult circumstances that she faces after her emigration from Bohemia and her father’s suicide in America. She is also trapped by the cultural differences that make her feel like a perpetual outsider in Nebraska and lead, in part, to her inability to love Jim as more than a brother: the Shimerdas go hungry, and their poverty forces Ántonia to work as a servant girl; certain members of the Black Hawk community judge her harshly for her love of dancing; her fiancé betrays her and leaves her to raise a child alone.

After Antonia’s father kills himself, “ She wore the boots her father had so thoughtfully taken off before he shot himself, and his old fur cap”(Book 1, Section XXIV). This served as a representation of his presence in her life, despite the fact he couldn't be there physically, and only as a “spiritual guide”. She shows this same quality later in life when she saves her wedding photos, “Ántonia brought out a big boxful of photographs; she and Anton in their wedding clothes, holding hands” (Book 5, Section I). Regardless of who it is, her husband or her father, she materializes the people she loves in the most precious

In Willa Cather's novel My Antonia, thatt takes place in Nebraska when the immigrants are moving.Their are many different origins of people in these small farming town communities who all learned from each other. The main character Jim Burden learns manners and to respect others, from Mrs. Harling. Mr. Shimerda a boheimean immigrant also taught Jim to be open hearted and giving even in the worst of times. Jim's grandmother taught him morals and life skills.

My Ántonia by Willa Cather is a novel set up in Black Hawk, Nebraska during the early 1900’s. It is a glimpse into the past about about two kids living opposite lives on the frontier. The book portrays a young orphan boy, Jim, who has moved in with his grandparents. The Shimerdas, a Bohemian immigrant family, recently became Jim's neighbors. Jim is a brilliant boy with a bright future ahead of him. Jim’s grandfather keeps him on a tight leash to ensure a successful future. They later move to the city to further Jim’s knowledge at school. Mr. Shimerda has asked Jim to teach his daughter, Ántonia, English. This is the start of a beautiful friendship. Ántonia lives with her parents and several siblings. Her eldest brother, Ambrosch, is a rude

In the beginning Antonia learned much from Jim. Antonia learned to speak English from Jim despite her mother’s disapproval. You can see Mrs. Shimerda’s disapproval when she states, “Mrs. Shimerda grumbled, but realized it was important that one member of the family should learn English.” Jim gave lessons to Antonia, after which they would have adventures, such as going to dog town and eating watermelons. As Antonia began to learn more English, it became clear she was smart and had many opinions. “Antonia had opinions about everything, and she was soon able to make them known.”

Willa Cather’s My Ántonia begins with the protagonist, ten year old Jim Burden, on his way from Virginia to a farm outside of Black Hawk, Nebraska, to live with his grandparents. Black Hawk is a small prairie town sometime during the end of the 19th century. Jim’s arrival at Black Hawk coincides with the arrival of a Czech family, the Shimerdas. The Shimerdas hardly speak any English at all, so Jim teaches one of their daughters, Ántonia. The Burdens and Shimerdas live out life on the prairie along with their neighbors from across the world, all coming to the United States in search of a better life. Mr. Shimerda, never really coming to terms with leaving his old life and homeland, eventually commits suicide, leaving his impoverished family

The concepts of love between Jim and Antonia, social role in American’s culture, and the longing to the past within the immigrant of the American land are Cather’s valued ideas that she frequently used through her work. Jim and Antonia were the main characters she created in the tale to exhibit the connection with numerous insights and occurrences, which are very important to the society of the author’s time. The concepts of love between Jim and Antonia, social role in American’s culture, and the longing to the past within the immigrant of the American land are Cather’s valued ideas that she frequently used through her work. Jim and Antonia were the main characters she created in the tale to exhibit the connection with numerous insights and

When the narrator of My Antonia, Jim Burden, visits Antonia in her later years she has many children and a husband who treats her much better than her previous fiance. She seems happy and even tells Jim she

She could have spent the rest of her life regretful of her mistake but she made the best out of her bad situation. She saw the bigger picture. She saw what kind of love and happiness a baby would bring into her life. When she became a hired girl and the Harlings tried to control her life outside of their house she wouldn’t stand for it. Dancing made Antonia happy and she knew that if she let them take that away that they would take away everything else that made her happy. “If it had n’t been for what Mrs. Harling taught me, I expect I’d have brought them up like wild rabbits. No, I’m glad I had a chance to learn; but I’m thankful none of my daughters will ever have to work out.

Jim’s view of the past is not bettered by horrifying experiences or tragic events. His remembrance of the past is a nostalgic trip, one where Ántonia is at the center of it. Ántonia is the first of many foreign girls that Jim, looking back, realized he idolized; these girls who immigrated to a new country, whether it was to find freedom or to live the American

Antonia wouldn’t understand Jim’s idea of happiness. Her life was so different from Jim. She didn’t know what he had been through to get his contentment. Jim had his own sorrow with the death of both parents. He is taken on a long, hard journey to Nebraska to live with grandparents he didn’t know. I can imagine the relief he had felt to have a home with people who loved him. He knew when the grandmother said to herself, “My, how you look like your father!” He remembered his father had been her little boy. To him, having the comforts of shelter and food wasn’t as important as knowing someone cared. These feelings hit him one day in the garden. His fears melted away with the warmth of the sun.