My Ántonia

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…

My Antonia by Willa Cather has multiple main themes that heavily prevails throughout the book. The four most prevalent are human’s relationship to the past, their relationship to the future, their relationship to the environment and religion. These four themes shape and heavily influence the book. ( 1) A human’s relationship to the past was one of the biggest themes in this book as the reader can see various characters taking trips down memory lane quite a few times. (3) Quickly, the reader…

In My Antonia written by Willa Cather the story is told in the form of a memoir despite being fictional. The introduction is Jim Burden talking to a friend about a girl named Antonia that they were both acquainted with. Jim suggests the idea that they both write down every story about Antonia that they can remember and form it into a book. The friend agrees however never writes their half. The book My Antonia is the memories Jim Burden has written about his dear friend Antonia Shimerda. Jim has…

In the novel, My Antonia, is an upcoming of age story told from the eyes of Jim Burden. Jim reflects back on his childhood and remembers his dear friend Antonia. Willa Cather uses Jim as the narrative so he can relate the themes such female inequality, the immigrant experiences, and agriculture and farming. Female inequality was not something that Willa Cather had, but she added it in this novel to where women were actually seen as the strongest and the mean were the weakest. Willa Cather…

elaborated Willa Cather, while discussing her childhood to fellow writer Lewis Carroll. This statement is descriptive of a large element in Cather’s writing, especially in her novel My Antonia, where the protagonists living situation is eerily similar to the authors childhood environment. At age 9, her family moved to Nebraska where her father attempted to farm the land. Willa Cather knowingly or unknowingly inserts her experiences into the novels structure as well as its protagonists in order…

Willa Cather the author of My Antonia, in the beginning, introduces an immigrant family the Shimerda’s and the main character Antonia. Antonia goes through a few tribulations and sufferings that affects her in specific ways. She manages to pull through in every situation and make things work for her family. Antonia is known for being courageous, affectionate, and adaptive. Antonia has distinct character traits, but one that sticks out the most is how vigorous she is mentally and physically.…

The novel, My Antonia by Willa Cather is about a young immigrant girl and her experiences though life. Since Antonia is an immigrant, she has to mature quicker than the other townspeople. Considering she has to mature briefly, she learns copious life lessons. She has to learn that members of her society will try to take advantage of her trusting personality. In addition she learns that rising above challenges is how she will advance in life. Equally important she learns that she needs to work…

In My Antonia, Cather uses symbols from nature to express the essential aspects of the lives of the characters. Some symbols are of the land: the prairie, the grass, winter, etc. Other symbols are animals: badgers, wolves, rattlesnakes, larks, etc. Choose three symbols and discuss how they convey information about the daily lives of the characters, how the characters relate to each other and/or how Cather views life. In My Antonia, by Willa Cather, there are multiple examples of symbolism. Mr.…

In Cather’s book ‘My Antonia’, she writes through the eyes of Jim Burden. Cather, throughout the book, expresses her admiration for Antonia’s charisma and tenacity with Jim’s ongoing inquisition about Antonia. One characteristic that Jim writes about that expresses his admiration for Antonia, was her harmony with her friends and close acquaintances. Any person who got to know Antonia loved her willingness to work and care for the less fortunate. “I could not imagine Antonia’s living for a week…

Mr. Shimerda begs Jim to, "Te-e-ach, te-e-ach my Antonia", in the beginning of Book One. As the novel goes on, it is clear that Jim has learned much more throughout his and Antonia 's relationship. Although we have seen Antonia grow into an intelligent, confident, strong woman who has overcome many difficult obstacles, it seems that Jim has yet discovered the true cycle of life and how some memories are just more precious than others. Overall, I feel like, "My Antonia" is a coming of age novel,…