The document provides context and analysis of key scenes and themes in Willa Cather's novel My Antonia. It summarizes Jim Burden's encounter with a rattlesnake while walking with Antonia in the prairie, which symbolizes Jim's transition to adulthood. It also analyzes the inclusion of prairie owls at the exhibit entrance alluding to a predatory relationship in the novel. The document then examines major themes in the novel, including childhood vs adulthood, country vs city life, and the separation between immigrants and native Americans. It provides analysis of the famous sun and moon quote using imagery and symbolism. Finally, it summarizes details about characters Jim and Antonia and commends C

1. By: Jennifer Zhang, Brent Wu, and Malia Wenny

2. Writing Style
Antonia Setting Themes
Jim
Snakes and
Owls
Sun
Moon
Sun and
Moon Quote
Prairie
City
Snake!!

4. The rather unorthodox entrance to this exhibit pays an homage to a significant
scene in My Antonia. Jim Burden, while walking through the prairie dog town
with Antonia, encounters a large rattlesnake about four or five feet long that was
“a circus monstrosity….as thick as my [Jim] leg” (Cather 42). With a spade, he
beats the snake to death, much to the admiration of Antonia. As a result, she
begins to treat Jim as an equal, looking at him for advice. Before, due to their four
year age difference, she took on a superior tone, and Jim “resented her protecting
manner” (Cather 41). Jim’s fight with the snake was a symbolic transformation
from a child to an adult in Antonia’s mind. To properly represent this scene,
visitors were asked to defeat the snake at the entrance to symbolize Jim’s passage
into adulthood.
Another significant part of the entrance were the prairie owls at the foot of the
snake. In My Antonia, the rattlesnakes “pick[ed] up an easy living among the dogs
and owls, which where quite defenseless against them” (Cather 30). The owls had
no power to fight the rattlesnakes and were forced to live with them as they
devoured countless eggs and owls. This predator-prey relationship is mirrored
with the Shimerdas and Peter Krajiek. The Shimerdas, like the owls, are
vulnerable and unable to properly communicate unless through Krajiek. He,
knowing his power of them, takes advantage of them and lives in their dugout
barn. “ They kept him in their hole and fed him for the same reason that the prairie
dogs and the brown owls housed the rattlesnakes – because they did not know how
to get rid of him.” (Cather 31)

5. Themes
Childhood vs. adulthood is a theme stressed throughout
the entire story. Jim Burden and Antonia Shimerda grow up
together on the prairies of Nebraska, and they traverse many
obstacles together as well. Their past, or childhood, creates a
profound connection between. However, this connection is
tested when the lives of Jim and Antonio separate. Jim must
attend college while Antonia remains on the farm. When Jim
returns to his hometown of Black Hawk, Nebraska as an adult,
he visits Antonia. Although they experienced vastly different
adult lives, Jim and Antonia share the same past that they
carried with them throughout their adulthood. Jim expresses
this feeling by writing “Whatever we had missed, we
possessed together the precious, the incommunicable past”
(Cather 229).

6. Themes
The theme of country vs. city is relevant in My Antonia.
As Jim and Antonia travel between the country and the city,
their experiences greatly vary. In the prairie, they are not
judged be others, but rather can relax and be themselves.
However, the society of the city forces Jim and Antonia to
conform and they grow farther apart because of it; they begin
to live different lifestyles to meet the demands of others.
When Jim and Antonia look back upon the prairie on page
163, they see a sun setting on a plow. This image represents
both the nostalgia of the past, where they shared the best
times, and the need to move on from it.

7. Themes
In My Antonia, there is a distinct separation between
immigrants and native-born Americans. On the train ride to
Nebraska, the Shimerdas are said to be traveling in the separate
“immigrant car ahead” (Cather 14). While in the city, people scorn
the hired girls because they are essentially in a different class
than native-born Americans. The men risk “general
condemnation” for associating themselves with immigrant girls
(Cather 133). Throughout all of the setbacks involved with being
an immigrant, the hired girls are able to make a living in the world
and fight through adversity.

8. “As we walked homeward across the fields, the sun dropped and lay like a great
golden globe in the west. While it hung there, the moon rose in the east, as big as
a cartwheel, pale silver and streaked with rose color, thin as a bubble or a ghost-
moon. For five, perhaps ten minutes, the two luminaries confronted each other
across the level land, resting on opposite edges of the world….I wished I could be a
little boy again, and that my way could end there” (Cather 202).
The image created from this quote in My Antonia is an example of both
imagery and symbolism. Not only is the language and writing style of this
paragraph beautiful and flowing, but there are also multiple possible
meanings to the words in this quote; perhaps the sun is Jim, pausing to rest
with the moon, Antonia, from “opposite ends of the world” (Cather 202) for
what seems like the last time. Or maybe the sun represents Jim’s childhood,
a “great golden” (Cather 202) thing, and the moon represents the “thin as
a bubble” (Cather 202) future that is to come. Either way, the imagery and
themes of Willa Cather’s My Antonia are something to be remembered.

9. Characters
Full of a very effervescent love of life, Antonia Shimerda is
a strong-willed and resilient character. An immigrant from
Bohemia, she is the first in her family to learn English.
After her father’s suicide, she is crushed, but she soon
bounces back to take his place behind the plow. Antonia
has an amazing ability to make something out of nothing
and to take opportunities when they arise. Although she
truly believes that success will come to those who work
hard, she never compromises her need to indulge herself.
She clearly exhibits this quality by choosing the freedom
to go to dances over a safe work environment. While
Antonia has many hardships over her lifetime, she always
manages to rebound and create something good out of
them.

10. Characters
Jim Burden is a well qualified protagonist of Willa
Cather’s My Antonia. He is intelligent, romantic,
and very observant of his surroundings.
Throughout the novel, he ages from a 10 year old
orphan traveling to live with his grandparents to a
well educated, prosperous lawyer. My Antonia is
primarily written as Jim’s memories, thoughts,
and feelings about Antonia, his childhood friend.
For Jim, Antonia will always represent a very
nostalgic past, as he treasures their shared
childhood.

11. “The red of the grass made all of the great prairie the color of wine stains, or of certain
seaweeds when they are first washed up.”(Cather 20)
“…the pale yellow cornfields … the smartweed soon turned a rich copper
color and the narrow brown leaves hung curled like cocoons about the swollen
joints of the stem.” (Cather 29)
“..a great black figure suddenly appeared on the face of the sun…exactly
contained within the circle of the disc: the handles, the tongue, the share –
black against the molten red.” (Cather 163)
“…but now his great frame, with big, knotty
joints, had a wasted look, and the skin was drawn
tight over his high cheekbones.” (Cather 33-34) “ the low sky was like a sheet of metal: the blond
cornfields had faded out into ghostliness at last; the little
pond was frozen under its stiff willow bushes.” (Cather
51)
“When the smoky clouds hung low in the west and the red sun went down behind
them, leaving a pink flush on the snowy roofs and the blue drifts, then the wind
sprang up afresh…” (Cather 121)
“…almost a giantess in height, raw-boned, with iron-gray hair, a face
always flushed, and prominent, hysterical eyes.” (Cather 144)

12. Willa Cather utilized heavy imagery throughout My Antonia to
describe the setting and characters in great detail. This allows
the readers to visualize the scene in their mind, to picture
Ambrosch with his “close-cropped, flat head, and a wide, flat
face “ (Cather 25) or the “ rough, shaggy, red grass” (Cather 20).
With descriptions like those, she created not only a book, but a
mural out of her story. Provoking the five senses, Cather
focused on the senses touch, sight, and sound. Using
commonplace language, she allowed the readers to connect with
descriptions and imagine the story. Other than the
introduction which introduced Jim Burden as an adult, My
Antonia was written chronologically. Starting from when Jim
was ten years old, it steadily progresses through his childhood
up until a few years before his current age. Throughout it all,
events are portrayed as they happen. Another part of Cather’s
writing style was to have the setting mirror events. For example,
during chapters of Mr. Shimerda’s suicide, the normally vibrant
prairie is hit with a severe blizzard, becoming cold and solemn.
Cather’s writing style placed an enormous emphasis on setting,
using it to tie together My Antonia.

13. Presently Ambrosch said sullenly in English: “You
take them ox tomorrow and try the sod plough. Then you not
be so smart.”
His sister laughed. “Don’t be mad. I know it’s awful
hard work for break sod. I milk the cow for you tomorrow, If you
want” (Cather 91).
Life on the prairie was extreme in many ways. The land
was treeless, making conventional houses nearly
impossible. Six foot tall grasses could swallow up a person.
Endless heat combined with drought, rainstorms,
tornadoes and plagues of grasshoppers made the summer
unbearable. The winter, on the other hand, brought long
and deadly blizzards that could trap and livestock and
people under feet of snow.

14. The setting in My Antonia is used to bring together all the different themes
and events in the story. The two main settings, country and city, are used
to show the immense difference between Jim and Antonia’s lives in the
prairie and their lives in the city. Also, the two different settings show the
contrast between Jim’s childhood and his adulthood. The first setting, the
prairie, is described as open and free, yet so immense that one can’t help
but be overpowered by it at times. “There was nothing by land: not a
country at all, but the material out of which counties are made.” (Cather
15). The prairie is beautiful and full of life, mirrored by Jim and Antonia’s
carefree and lively manners. However, parts of the prairie are also
desolate. The Shimerdas’ dugout, for example, is always described as dingy
and “no better that a badger hole” (Cather 24). Their dugout shows the
Shimerdas’ meager existence and their struggle as immigrants. The
Burdens’ on the other hand, while not living in a mansion, are far better
off. Their house is comfortable and appropriate for living, showcasing their
more fortunate life, due to their American roots.

15. The second main setting is the town and city. While peppered with
moments of brilliance, the town and city are given a serious solemn tone.
This tone reflects how the characters in My Antonia must deal with
becoming adults and facing the perils of the world. The town, Black
Hawk, is “ a clean, well-planted little prairie town, with white fences and
good green yards about the dwellings, wide, dusty streets, and shapely
little trees growing along the wooden sidewalks” (Cather 102). This is in
sharp contrast to the prairie’s freedom and unpredictable land. The only
part reminiscent of the prairie is a river that was “my *Jim’s+
compensation for the lost freedom of the farming country (Cather 102).
Willa Cather uses the setting to echo the story’s events and the
characters’ emotions. As the tone of the story grew more serious, the
setting becomes bleak and darks. As the tone became cheerful, the
setting turns lively and vibrant. Throughout the entire story, the setting
connects the themes and emulates the different moods and tones.

18. After living in the countryside for many years, Jim Burden and his
grandparents decide to move into the town of Black Hawk. However,
their workers, Otto Fuchs and Jake Marpole, do not accompany them.
This is the first of many changes that occur when Jim migrates to the city.
When the Burdens arrive, they befriend their immigrant neighbors, the
Harlings. Antonia soon arrives in town as well, for she has been hired to
work for the Harlings. Jim and Antonia begin to reacquaint themselves
and they grow extremely close in the city; however, while Antonia
becomes increasingly carefree, Jim remains responsible to his
grandparents and focused on school. This creates a separation between
the two because Antonia spends most of her time dancing with her new
friends, such as Lena Lingard. Conversely, Jim resists the temptation to
dance out of respect for his grandmother. When Jim goes off to college,
they do not see each other for many years. Antonia must remain on the
farm to work for her family. However, Jim is finally persuaded to return to
Black Hawk by Lena. When he and Antonia meet, they begin to talk as if
they had been connected the entire time. In a way, they were connected
because their shared past gave them a relationship that would last for
their entire lives.

20. “…and sunflower-bordered roads always seem to me the roads to freedom.” (Cather 29)
In My Antonia, the legend of the sunflower-bordered roads was that Mormons,
escaping persecution in Missouri, planted sunflower seeds as they explored to
form a trail for their fellow travelers to follow (Cather 29). For Jim, the roads
symbolized freedom. In his mind, the Mormons had created these roads in search
of freedom. As they struggled through foreign terrain, the sight of the vibrant,
yellow flowers gave them hope. Fast forward through the years, the sunflower-
bordered roads gave Jim the same feeling. These roads are a crucial part to the
prairie’s theme. The prairie, independent and open, gave Jim and Antonia hope,
especially Antonia, who ended up living in the prairie while Jim was in the city.