Throughout the novel, I feel that Antonia's passion is the love she has for her family. When Antonia's father died, she stepped up and helped her family through this tough time. She did this by helping out in the fields and taking on the male-like figure of the family along with Ambrosch. Antonia worked for the Harling, and she always took some time out of her day to play with the children. She has a love for children, and she treated the Harling children just like they were her own siblings. By playing with them and helping to provide for their family, she then realized that she would like to have a family of her own. Antonia met Larry Donovan and the night before their wedding, he ran off to Mexico. His friend told Antonia not to wait …show more content…
After talking to Tiny and Lena, Jim begins to go to Black Hawk. When he arrives, he is greeted by two of Antonia's boys who show Jim inside. At first Antonia did not recognize Jim, but she finally did. Joy overcome her, and she could not believe that Jim had come to visit her. She then introduced Jim to all of her children, and informed him that her husband was on a trip with her oldest son. They spend the rest of the night catching up, and talking about old time. Antonia brought out a box of pictures and went through them with Jim as the kids all gathered around to listen. Jim slept with the boys that night and he lays awake thinking of Antonia. When Cuzak returns home the next day, he tells them all about their trip. They eat a nice supper that night and listen to stories told by the children, and the next day Jim heads back to town. This short time at the Cuzak's home Jim achieves a state of happiness that he was not able to achieve before. Jim no longer has any family of his own, so getting to spend time with Antonia's family was a nice change. With the help of the Cuzak family, Jim was able to achieve a happiness that he has not been able to feel in a long
In the Lilies of the Field by William E. Barrett, Homer and Mother Maria both display straightforward, hardworking, and stubborn character traits. Firstly, Homer and Mother Maria both display a straightforward personality by being brutally honest about their opinions. For example, when Mother Maria asks Homer to build a chapel, Homer speaks his mind by telling her he does not want to build it. Mother Maria shows her straightforward behavior during Homer’s stay at the convent. One morning, when Homer sleeps in late, Mother to becomes extremely upset and is not afraid to show how she feels about him. Secondly, both Homer and Mother Maria display a hardworking spirit. Homer is a hardworking man because after finally agreeing to build the chapel,
Strength is a human trait that can be lost and given up to hopelessness just as easily as it was gained. Giovanna Sienna fought through unimaginable struggles her whole life, but her unwavering strength guided her through her life. Giovanna Costa Pontillo Siena from Laurie Fabian’s book Elizabeth Street is portrayed as the stories strongest person. Her determination to get her beloved daughter, Angelina, back and her lack of fear of the kidnappers who blackmailed her for money, reinforce the conception that Giovanna’s tenacity was unable to be matched. She had connections to powerful people in powerful positions, which help her gain a foothold on getting through to the kidnappers. Her love for her family, primarily her daughter, kept her constantly searching for her daughter and any way to get
As Jim attends school with other children of his social stature, Antonia is forced to manually work in the fields. A division between the two characters is immediately created. Antonia develops resentment towards Jim; "I ain't got time to learn. I can work like mans now. My mother can't say no more Ambrosch do all and nobody to help him.
Our lady of Guadalupe is the most venerated and respected by the Catholics. The appearance of the Virgin caused a great commotion in the Catholic Church. Ever since the Virgin's first appearance, Catholics have respected and acquired so much faith to the Virgin. The lady of Guadalupe has so many faithful followers that believe in her without any hesitation because of the miracles that she has made for the people that were once suffering and were miraculously helped by her. Because of the help that she has provided for those who were suffering people never forget her and they celebrate the day of her appearance every year by doing parties in her honor. The Lady of Guadalupe’s appearance certainly changed the belief of Catholics and, I believe
Randall III, John H. "Intrepretation of My Antonia." Willa Cather and Her Critics. Ed. James Schroeter. New York: Cornell University Press, 1967. 272-323.
He is apprehensive about seeing Antonia, fearing that she will no longer be the idealized person who exists in his memory. Jim is not let down when they meet, as even though she is now a “battered woman … but she still had that something that fires the imagination, could stop one’s breath for a moment” (226). Age has not dampened the spirit that Jim was drawn to throughout his youth and now his adulthood. He speaks about her through a lens of true love and respect, telling her children that he “couldn’t stand it if you boys were inconsiderate [towards Antonia] … I was very much in love with your mother once, and I know there’s nobody like her” (222). Jim refers to Antonia as a “rich mine of life,” and it is clear that Antonia’s type of richness is more valuable in Jim’s eyes. Through her, he is able to realize that tangible fiscal wealth is far less precious than the impalpable beauty of emotional connection and
When comparing Helen of (Sparta) Troy and Marilyn Monroe they have many parallels and differences. Mutually both of these women had a coarse childhood with many hardships. Both women had a turning point when they did something that caused people to change their opinion of them. Helen and Monroe’s Beauty has luminously inspired artist for decades. When comparing Helen of troy and Marilyn Monroe, one can see many similarities between both historic individuals.
Lena Lingard is the best example of a non-domestic central character which appears amidst the domesticity of My Ántonia. Often the sections which feature Lena instead of Ántonia are seen as confusing divergences from the plot line of a novel that purports to be about the woman named in the title. However, since Lena appears in the novel almost as often as Ántonia, and more often than any other character except Jim, she is a central character. Lena is a working woman who refuses to accept the constraints society places upon her. Even when society predicts that by becoming a dressmaker instead of marrying she will fail and become a "loose" woman, she disrupts their expectations and succeeds.
At the beginning of the story Nora is very happy, and everything with her family is going great. Nora responds in joy when Torvald brings up all the extra money that he will bring to the family with his new job. But as the story goes on Nora says she is not just a “silly girl” as Torvald says she is. Torvald does not agree that she understands all the business details referring to debt that she incurred to take out a loan to preserve Torvald’s health. She thinks that if she knows all these things about business that she will think that Torvald will see her as an intelligent person that knows more than just being a wife. But the fact that she is willing to break the law just to show her courage for Torvalds health.
Unfortunately, the life in America is not as cheerful as Antonia taught it would be as she experiences lots of hostility, hardship, and misfortune. However, throughout all the predicaments and obstacles, Antonia preserves her beliefs and never succumbs to the values of a new, American culture in an attempt to shape her life. Antonia is a very positive, generous, hardworking, and exceptionally independent character. These innate traits of her personality follow her through the “thick and thin” as she swears by them under all the circumstances. For example, besides the language barrier and cultural differences, Antonia suffers the death of her father who committed suicide as the result of disappointment that he had experienced in America. Instead of scorning the meaning of life, she did whatever it took to provide for her family, which was experiencing an immense economics hardship. Everything that she earned, she gave to her family as she valued them over herself. Eventually, due to her wit and charm, Antonia got a job in the town where she found her passion for dance and made friends. Unfortunately, her passion for dance was viewed as inappropriate and her boss insisted that she chooses between her friends and the job. Unwilling to follow the orders and disappoint her friends, Antonia
Much of the earliest criticism of My Antonia focuses on the apparent failure of the narrative. Many critics take the title of the story and its introduction at face value. When the story says it is to be about Ántonia, it must be about her! Therefore, many critics see the stunningly crafted pieces of "variation from a theme" -- the stories of Peter & Pavel (the Russians and their wolves) and the sections of the novel dealing with the hired girls Lena Lingard and others-- as divergences which weaken the overall structure of the novel. In other words, these stories distract us from the real story, that of Ántonia and her relationship with Jim. Other critics talk mostly about the landscape of Cather's stories, the way the pioneer story and the struggle with nature is a vital piece of her work. This is partly why, I think, Cather has been viewed as a minor writer of "local color" for so long. Because she sketches her landscapes with such simplicity and yet detail, many critics do not look past the landscape to see the characters and the true drama that they play out.
Cather chooses to refer back to Jim’s past at the end of My Ántonia to emphasize how, even though the story ends, Jim will always remember Ántonia and their experiences together. Despite both of them growing up and leading very different lives, Ántonia and the recollection of his youth are so important to him that he still remembers the days of his childhood, travelling to a place he would call home.
Jim tries to model himself after a man who is crushed by the yoke of caring for his family. Since he has no paternal figure in his life, Jim is unable to decipher the emotional pain of Mr. Shimerda. At this point, Jim first starts to contemplate his romanticized view on life. The irony of this is when Mr. Shimerda promises to give Jim his gun after he becomes a real man. Antonia translates it into, “My tatinek say when you are big boy, he give you his gun” (Cather 32). Mr. Shimerda defines being a real man as being able to provide for your family, which he has been unable to do since they migrated to Nebraska. This causes a chain reaction in Jim and Antonia. Mr. Shimerda's death causes Jim and Antonia to sort of diverge paths with their decision making, and as Antonia begins to age. She takes on the parental role, or catalyst, that Jim needs to develop as a character.
Willa Cather’s “My Antonia” is a collection of fictional memories loosely based off Cather’s own childhood. Throughout the novel young Jim Burden encounters several characters and befriends men and women alike, but two female characters become very close; Antonia Shimerda and Lena Lingard. Antonia and Lena both aid Jim throughout his life; one through childhood and the other through adulthood. While both characters have minor similarities, the differences between them are pronounced.
As time passes on their friendship grows closer as they grow apart in their separate lives. Jim starts his college years, as Antonia maintains a job and gets engaged to Larry Donovan. He misses Antonia's loving motherly nature from which he grew up with so visits hope on an academic break to hear that Antonia is with child bolster and Larry Donovan abandoned her back in Chicago. Jim becomes heartbroken disappointed saying, "I could not forgive her being an object of pity...,"(Cather 193), in a compassionate manner. His love for her was so immense he could not bear to hear that she had to experience another hardship.