Pursuing the American Dream in My Antonia by Willa Cather

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Pursuing the American Dream in My Antonia by Willa Cather In the novel, My Antonia, by Willa Cather, everyone seems to be trying to pursue the American Dream. While they all have different ideas of just exactly what the American Dream is, they all know precisely what they want. For some, the American Dream sounds so enticing that they have traveled across the world to achieve their goal. They work hard to fit in and succeed, but, as in the case of Mr. Shimerda, are not always successful. One girl who was chasing the American Dream was Lena Lingard, a small farm girl from a poverty-stricken family. Lena had one thing on her mind: money. To her the American Dream was wealth. She wanted freedom from worry about where her next meal would come from, or how she would pay for a new dress. Lena began her journey to wealth by becoming one of the many hired girls in the town of Black Hawk. There she was apprentice to a dressmaker and before long began to show great potential. She soon began making money with her newfound talent, and used this mon...

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