Pain and Determination of Settlers in My Antonia by Willa Cather - Essay Example

MY ANTONIA The grass, on the other side, is definitely greener; at least for those who toil to sustain its freshness with their grit and hard work. If one doesn’t see a stronger hue in an unexplored avenue, exchange of values will never take place. Humans nourish in them a quest for transcendence and the phenomenon won’t cease till man strides on the earth. Ambition seems to be one of the explanations why he chases opportunities and when this element is absent, he reduces himself to the status of other beings that occupy the same earth. If one sees it from the perspective of another cliché, without losing something one cannot gain anything. Every immigrant pursues a dream, losing in transit most of what is already gained and trying to acquire, in an alien land, promises that the future holds. It is this pain and determination of such settlers in America that Willa Cather captures in her classic work, My Antonia. The story also focuses on the dramatic change in the immigration pattern during the beginning of the 20th century when a large number of eastern Europeans began to come and settle in the United States. Antonia’s character portrays the strengths and passions of America’s early settlers; and she never allows her spirit to be crushed by materialism that remains the dominant feature of the society. The story is spun around Antonio’s life in Nebraska, with her arrival as a young girl and her evolution as a matured woman. Her family suffers right from their immigration to the new country. Mr. Shimerda has had to work hard to provide for his wife and kids. It becomes apparent that the family had lived in poverty. After Mr. Shimerda’s death, the funeral appears to have been conducted in a haphazard manner, and it lacked ceremony, ritual and there was no official to preside over. It suggests that the new settlers were unable to adhere to all the procedures and instead had to be content with what they had in the new place. As migrants they had to compromise some of their customs and traditions. After her father’s death, Antonia had to give up her education and start to work in the fields. Thus she has not only lost her cultural roots, but also shoulder the responsibility of fending for herself. Though initially people have been averse to the idea of accepting Antonia as a worker who could equal their abilities, she proved them wrong by establishing that she could deliver at par with them. Thus her productivity becomes her worth, and Antonia she breaks the convention that a woman cannot make same choices about life that a man can. She is no more the child exploring the country sides of Nebraska. She is now wiser and determined. The tough life in the Frontier has hardened her survival instincts. Perhaps if she were back in Bohemia she may not have faced the compulsion to assume a man’s responsibility, or undergone such a transformation. Another event that plays a significant role in Antonia’s immigrant life is her relationship with Jim Burden. Though there are instances in the novel that hint at Jim being queer, it can be said that Antonia’s life has been enriched by Jim’s true love that borders on spiritual bonding. In Bohemia she could never have met a man that fits into Jim’s frame. The reason for Jim’s deep emotional involvement with Antonia goes much beyond the exotic and aesthetic beauty he finds in her. She is not a simple lover for him; instead she even inspires in him a respect for femininity. Though they have never been sexually involved, Jim cherishes the bond with her, and his concept of love her transcends the idea of a normal relationship between a man and woman. He yearns for a bonding with Antonia as "a sweetheart, or a wife, or my mother or my sister; anything that a woman can be to a man” because he thinks she is so much a part of him. To be loved in this manner, perhaps, will be deliverance for any woman. Though Jim is infatuated with Lena, the relationship affects him only on a superficial level, sans the heart-felt intimacy with Antonia. Another major element that contributes to Antonia’s transformation is her failed marriage. The disgrace she suffered from her failed marriage secludes her from the society, but she overcomes her miseries by stint of her hard work and sense of purpose. Antonia possesses the imagination and grit to find a better destiny in an alien land by boldly facing the challenges of several hardships. The upbeat side of the story’s denouement, where Antonia is seen as a contented wife and mother, is the essence of the materialization of her dream. In terms of wealth Antonia may lag when compared to Lena Lingard or Tiny Soderball. But in an aesthetic sense of life, Antonia is on a much higher level. Her life, as Jim sees it towards the story’s climax, is of marital harmony and familial bliss. Jim comes to a full circle when he finds the old dirt road to his grandparents’ home; it symbolizes in a way, his reunion with Antonia, the earth mother. Antonia’s story of struggle and attainment will move any person, especially when seen in the context of a community that has been shifted from a land where it has its firm roots and relocated to a strange, new place where life itself becomes a challenge. The author uses several literary devices like setting, plot, theme, conflict, denouement, and resolution. But the strongest element that stands out is characterization, especially of the immigrants. The way Antonia displays the portrait of her illegitimate baby so prominently, illustrates her sense of freedom; a determination, again, that she will make her choices no matter what others think about her. Antonia finally becomes the real pioneer woman because she brings a new life to the land. Peter and Paval redefines the typical American household in the way they demonstrate how well two bachelors can gel together in the making of a home without the presence of women. The episode, where Jim kills the snake, reveals that it is not moral fortitude or bravery that enables him to kill the snake, but pure luck. He feels sick and panicky; and not proud after the deed. Perhaps it is the element of valor that Antonia wrongly attributes to him draws her to a more intimate relationship with him. Like in the case of Antonia, the pain and sufferings of the migrant can be traced in Mr. Shimerdas also. While Antonia thrives on the naturally endowed country side, frolicking with the grasshoppers and watching the sunsets in Jim’s company, her father is not able to connect to nature in any positive manner. This is not because he is averse to its pristine simplicity and beauty; on the contrary Mr. Shimerda is compelled to take advantage of nature for his family’s survival. Thus he must hunt rabbits and kills wild animals, albeit against his wishes. Here, his concern for family and the sense of responsibility take precedence over the love for nature. On the other hand, his generosity is evident, and his cultural difference with the American society is underlined in the episode where the gifts his gun to Jim who is unable to understand why Mr. Shimerdas would part with his expensive gun. Jim, raised in a capitalist society’s background, fails to perceive the meaning of Shimerdas’ loyalty. Imagery is a dominant feature that Willa Cather uses for a subtle representation of her characters’ moods and emotions. Jim, having come from an entirely different background, is fascinated with the new place and explores the country side with his grandparents and Antonia. The country roads in the frontier have been rendered as winding and they follow the land’s natural contours. There is an absence of fences or obstacles to block the roads. They pass through freely across the country side. They are used as symbol of freedom and vastness of the frontier. The free and uninterrupted country roads reflect Antonia’s sense of freedom. The story deals with several themes that characterized the society at that time. However, the most significant among them is the way how Willa Cather perceives the institution of marriage. Through illustrating the stifling experience of Mrs. Harling, Cather seems to question the validity of marriage as a divine institution. She rather tends to discount it as an inevitable destiny and purports that marriage should be a matter of personal choice. The contrast she makes between town girls and hired girls is an interesting perspective on the concept of social status and freedom. While the hired girls break free of their limitations the town girls, with higher money and respectability, are unable to do so. They stay home, tending to their husbands while the country girls are more economically independent and physically more attractive and acceptable to the male. But inevitably social status takes precedence, and ironically the town girls’ status quo ultimately triumphs. The elements of naturalism in My Antonia become evident by Cather’s portrayal of Jake and Otto as gruff, yet kind-hearted workers. The well rounded nature of these characters goes against stereotype of the cowboy as ruthless desperados. Their environment shapes their character. They may be innately good; but their circumstances and physical surrounding make them the way they are. Thus a reader will be amazed at the ease with which Willa Cather packs such a plethora of social themes into a single work. The books will definitely move any reader who possesses some semblance of aesthetic values. Read More