Willa Cather Research Paper

Improved Essays
Willa Cather

“The fact that I was a girl never damaged my ambitions to be a pope or an emperor” (Willa Cather Quotes). This is a famous quotes from a very well-know American author from the modernism writing period, Willa Cather. She has received a lot of recognition for her novels that are written about life on the Great Plains. Some of her most famous pieces of work included O’Pioneer (1913), The Song of the Lark (1915), and My Antonia (1918). A lot of her work was inspired by her childhood and her life. Many of the characters in her stories were people that she had met in her childhood. In her novel My Antonia, the main character “Antonia” is inspired by a childhood friend Annie Sadilek while in The Song of the Lark, Thea Kronborg was portrayed by another childhood friend, Olive Fremstad. Cather's childhood and all-American upbringing made her a relatable and authentic storyteller (Willa Cather Biography).

Willa Cather was born in Back Creek Valley in Virginia on December 7, 1873. Her parents were Charles and Mary Virginia Boak Cather (Willa Cather Biography). Willa had six younger siblings: Roscoe, Douglass, Jessica, James, John, and Elsie (Lewis).
…show more content…
Her work did not go unappreciated. She earned several awards such as the Pulitzer Award, the Prix Femina Americain, and a National Institute of Arts and Letters gold medal (My Antonia). Cather made a giant impact on what we know today as “American Literature.” She wrote about her childhood and living on the frontier. With having some of her own personal experiences and childhood friends, her readers were able to relate to her work easier than others. She also tested the social norms of the time by being a transgender lesbian when that was not a popular idea. Even though Willa Cather is no longer here with us today, her impact on literature will continue on for many years to

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Society is predominantly patriarchal. It is expected that men are the successful breadwinners and women are the housewives. Looking at a piece of Literature with a gender lens requires the reader to focus on how a work reflects or distorts these gender norms in society. In My Antonia the gender lens can be applied to reveal the overarching theme of self reliance. More specifically the gender lens can be applied to reveal the self-reliance of pioneer women such as Lena and Antonia.…

    • 1086 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Daniel Hale Willams By; Erica Lamb Daniel Hale Willams was a man ahead of his time. He performed the first known open heart surgery in the United States, and also founded a hospital with an interracial staff during an extremely racial time in history. Daniel Willams was born Jan. 18 1856. He was born African American.…

    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    On October 1, 1892 Caroline Lavinia Scott Harrison was born. She had grown up with two sisters with the names of Elizabeth and Mary, and two brothers by the names of John and Henry. Her father was a professor at the Miami University in Oxford. He wanted to make sure that her and her sisters had a good education as her brothers did.…

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    The shelves White House Library are filled with volumes and novels ranging from historical novels to in-depth biographies. The question arises, however, of how such a vast collection of literature came to be. The existence 0of this library can be attributed to Abigail Powers Fillmore, First Lady of the United States from 1850 to 1853. Through her passion for knowledge, Fillmore became a quiet but strong figure both in and out of the White House.…

    • 1295 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Gender Roles In Antonia

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Antonia’s character purports the system of reversed gender roles set up in the novel. This is something that Cather likes about her. In the story, Antonia calls the shots, does the field work, strengthens the muscles and keeps her life rolling. For instance, Mr. Harling prohibits Antonia from attending the e weekend dance. Antonia consequently chooses to leave her family so that she is able to lead an independent life.…

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Diversity Hero Kickbusch

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Her stories were a bit self-congratulatory and the quotes she used did not connect with me either. I was happy to pass the book along after I finished it to someone who, found the author an inspiration and wanted a copy of the book for herself” (Oct,…

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Paul Revere's Life

    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Paul Revere was born on the 1st of January, 1735 to Deborah Hitchborn and Apollos Rivoire. When Paul Revere was born the family lived in Boston, Massachusetts and actually lived there for their entire lives. Furthermore, Paul had a total of siblings, 2 brothers, Thomas and John Revere, and 4 sisters, Deborah, Mary, Elizabeth, and Frances Revere. During Paul’s younger years his father, Apollos, was an artisan whilst Paul’s mother, Deborah Hitchborn, stayed at home and cared for the kids.…

    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Doreen Ketchens is the leader of the group called Doreen's Jazz New Orleans. Their reason for having a band is to spread the culture and the traditional music of New Orleans all over the world. This is what music should be all about. Doreen has a special way to express emotions in her music which touches the hearts of her fans. She is called many things such as "Clarinet Queen", "The female Louis Armstrong", and “Lady Louie”.…

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Neumeier 1 Sam Neumeier Professor Mamary Intro to Liberal Arts 25 September 2016 Jeannette’s Identity Could the dysfunction of the Walls family have promoted the amazing resilience and strength of Jeannette through various daily challenges? One could argue that the unusual and destructive behavior of Rex and Rose Mary forced her into a few unique situations that resulted in surprisingly her acting as a resilient and successful adult. In moving back to Welch, Virginia, Jeannette lost what minimal sense of security she may have enjoyed while living in her grandmother’s home in Arizona. The culture and climate (both socially and geographically) along with an increased awareness of her and her family’s poverty resulted in a significant loss of…

    • 873 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dorthea Lynde Dix cared for the health and welfare of others, she fought for the rights of those who were mentally ill, and she established dozens of asylums in the world. Dorthea Lynde Dix was born on April 4, 1802 in Hampden, Maine. Dix was the eldest of three children and when she was twelve years old she went to live with her grandmother in Boston, Massachusetts. After that she lived in Worchester, Massachusetts with her aunt. Dorthea Dix was a bright student even when she was a young girl because she started teaching school at the age of fourteen.…

    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley are some of the most known poets around the world. But back in the 1600’s they weren’t considered a poet, let alone a contributor to society. But both of these women became a powerful threat to the men once they both became educated and had an interest in poetry. Bradstreet was a white Puritan who related greek beliefs to her lifestyle and human society as a whole. Wheatley was an African American poet who was a slave, but she wasn’t like the others, she was educated.…

    • 884 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    I think that Willa Willa Sibert Cather admired Antonia's indomitable spirit. Although many rigor came her way, she was never discomfited . Her defeats were temporary worker blow - her father's last , her pregnancy and abanpreceptor ment, her situation at the Harlings. Although Antonia is impulsive, Cather seems to admire this.…

    • 221 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Wendell Wilkie once said, “I believe in America because we have great dreams, and because we have the opportunity to make those dreams come true”. By saying this, Wilkie described what makes America special, the “American Dream”. The American Dream is the set of ideals that have been instilled into our country since our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. Although many claim that the American Dream is merely that, a dream, many people, from a family member to a celebrity known world wide, have fought their way to success in a way that can only be described as living the American Dream. The American Dream is the mindset that all Americans have the opportunity to create success through hard work, no matter their background.…

    • 420 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Wilks Research Paper

    • 232 Words
    • 1 Pages

    The Wilks episode is comical because of the exaggerated acting of the king and the duke. “They bent over and looked in the coffin, and took one sight, and they bust out a-crying so you could ‘a’ heard them to Orleans, most; and then they put their arms round each other’s necks, and hung their chins over each other’s shoulders; and for three minutes, or maybe four, I never see two men leak the way they done. ”(Page 163). They over-exaggerate every part of their “sadness”, which is really funny. It’s like a soccer player getting tapped by someone…

    • 232 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Muriel Rukeyser said "The universe is made of stories, not of atoms", it 's true. Perharps it 's not true for scientist, but Alice Walker has proved the power of stories. I believe we can know it from her stories, "Everyday Use" and "The Color Purple", and also her autobiography. They are very impressing for readers.…

    • 1121 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays