The influence of Antonia on Jim begins when they both migrated to the Nebraska prairie. After Jim's parents died, he moved to live with his grandparents. In adapting his new home, Jim felt abandoned. "Between that earth and that sky I felt erased, blotted out."(p.7) The Shimerda family is the neighbor of the Burdens and Mr. Shimerda wanted Jim to teach Antonia English. They became friends quickly and Antonia gave her ring to Jim as a gift. The first influence Antonia made on Jim is that she made Jim wanted to be like the "big men." Although they were good friends, since Antonia is f

Although Jim went to Lincoln and study for a law career, Antonia's influence on Jim did not fade at all. When Jim was in Lincoln preparing for Harvard, Lena came to him and they had a little affair but Jim's professor Cleric persuade him to go to Harvard. So Jim left Lena and went to Harvard. After he graduated and got a job and earned good amount money and became successful. He suddenly felt that he was lost. He always thought about the days he and Antonia spent together. He finally decided he should revisit Antonia. He found out from Frances Harling that Larry Donovan deceived Antonia. He was disappointed to see his Antonia became everybody's tragedy story. Everybody was telling Jim "poor Antonia!" But later he saw the picture of Antonia and her baby; he realized again that Antonia still had not lost her fire. He went to meet Antonia and felt that he found himself with her. He told Antonia "I'd have liked to have you for a sweetheart, or a wife, or my mother or my sister-anything that a woman can be to a man. The idea of you is a part of my mind; you influence my likes and dislikes, all my tastes, hundreds of times when I don't realize it. You really are a part of me."(p.152) When Jim walked again on a familiar road from his childhood; he believed a boy and a girl just ran by laughing, just like he and Antonia did before. He told Antonia "I'll come back!"(p.153) After Jim left, however, not after twenty years until he would visit again although he had written letters and sent pictures. He was afraid that he would be disappointed again. But he found out he is empty and lonely without Antonia. He came back again and saw Antonia married to Anton Cuzak. She had lost teeth and skin become yellow, but she still had the fire in her eyes. Jim was impressed. He was introduced to Anton and her children and had fun with them. He promised to come back more and hunt with them. On the way leave, he walked on the road that he and Antonia first got off the train at Black Hawk. He felt a sense of coming home and

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Approximate Word count = 1356
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)