Summary Of My Antonia

The book My Antonia is written by Willa Cather. Willa Cather won the Pulitzer Prize for more than fifteen books. Cather was said to be one of the most remarkable writers in America during the early twentieth century. The story of My Antonia is set on the wide open plains of Nebraska. The story takes place in the late 1880s to the 1920s. The setting of how the characters are traveling by train, using horse and wagon to travel around gives the reader a pretty good idea that this was set in early years. Also, in the book than it describes some of the living condition of some of the families, how they live in sod houses and they struggle to stay warm in the winter. The narrator of the story is told by Jim Burden and how he goes through these …show more content…
Antonia moved with her family to Black Hawk Nebraska from Bohemia. The Shimerdas were the first Bohemian family to move to Black Hawk. Antonia was taught how to read by Jim and his grandmother under to request of Mr. Shimerdas. Mr. Shimerdas was also a character that played a role in the story in the first half. Mr. Shimerdas didn’t want to leave Bohemia, but for the safety and benefit of his family they moved to Black Hawk, Nebraska. Mr. Shimerdas was a very skilled man, however he made a decision to end his life early and committed suicide. This was hard for the family to cope with for a while and Antonia starts working in the fields to help her family survive in the new country. Another character that …show more content…
and Mrs. Harding. They are a wealthy family that Antonia works for. Also, they live next to the Burdens when they decide to live in Black Hawk. Charlie Harding is a businessman that travels around quite a bit. Jim has learned from him and that has helped him to want to go to college and get a good job. A couple other characters are the girls that used to live out in the country by Jim and then came to town to work to help their families survive the hard times of farming. These girls would alway go to the dances that were in town. One of the girls was Lena Lingard she used to live out in the country by Jim where she worked herding cattle for her father. Although she went to town and worked with the seamstress there to help make some money. Later on in the book then she is living in lincoln and has her own clothing business.
Furthermore, the style of this novel is a narrative, first person limited. The title is significant because it says that Antonia is Jim’s since the title is My Antonia. The title show Jim’s love for Antonia. The story starts out with Jim and Jake leaving Virginia after Jim lost his father and mother. They are heading to Black Hawk Nebraska by train to live with