Jim Burden's Development in My Antonia
Throughout My Antonia, Willa Cather uses nature as a tool through which she can better connect the audience to the inner meanings of her writings. The setting and background are constantly being emphasized, as Cather believed it to be a vital part of the Midwest lifestyle. Two particular scenes seem to stand out because of their placement in the novel and due to what they represent. One of them is at the beginning of the story when Jim was getting accustomed to Nebraska. The other is placed further along the plot when Jim was preparing to leave for college. Jim ventures out one day with his grandma to dig up some potatoes in their garden. It is early in the story, and Jim has been in Nebraska for only a short while. He follows his grandma there in reluctance, not having much interest in being there at all. He sensed the desolate area and thought he was at the end of the world for all that was left were the sun, the sky, and the ground. He decided to stay longer than his grandma in the garden. Cather's word choices and associations at this point become very deep and symbolic. "All about me giant grasshoppers, twice as big as any I had ever seen, were doing acrobatic feats among the dried vines." This suggests that Jim is feeling
very small compared to his surroundings in the environment. Also, it seems that Jim is witnessing things almost in slow motion, attributed to the gracefulness of the grasshopper. Everything is slowing down, becoming very clear in his mind. Another scene that Cather uses to employ her literary techniques is when Jim was preparing to leave for college. He agrees to meet Antonia, Tiny, Lena, and Anna down by the river one Sunday afternoon for one last reunion. The setting is once again the main focus of Cather: "The country was empty and solitary except for the larks that Sunday morning, and it seemed to lift itself up to me and come very close." This suggests that Jim is feeling alone, yet quite close to the landscape. "For the first time it occurred to me that I should be homesick for that river after I left it." Jim realizes that he is departing this place soon and understands that he will be leaving behind many people and things that he has learned to appreciate. "Charlie Harling and I had hunted through these woods, fished from the fallen logs, until I knew every inch of the river shores and had a friendly feeling for every bar and shallow." Jim is already reminiscing about the good times he had in Nebraska before he even left. He is leaving something that he was com
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Approximate Word count = 863
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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