My Antonia Symbolism

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The natural landscape and climate both play a significant role in depicting the actions of the characters in Willa Cather’s My Antonia. Many of the characters introduced throughout My Antonia are dependent on the vast Nebraskan landscape for livelihood and happiness. The landscape in My Antonia creates the perfect setting for Jim and Antonia’s new beginning while also serving as a symbol of their youth. Throughout the novel, Jim Burden and Antonia Shimerda form a remarkable relationship with the natural world through their admirations toward the Nebraskan prairie. The characters of Jim and Antonia share a profound connection between nature and their childhood memories. The literal journey into the great prairie of North America serves as a symbolic quest to obtain desired childhood memories that connect Jim and Antonia through images of nature and landscape.
It is evident within the first few paragraphs that nature is a common theme in My Antonia. For example, in the introduction, Jim and his traveling companion “were talking about what it was like to spend one’s childhood in little towns like these, buried in wheat and corn, under the stimulating extremes of climate” (Cather Introduction 1). The characters in My Antonia, particularly Jim in this instance, hold intimate and distinct memories connecting the Nebraskan landscape to childhood. My Antonia begins with Jim’s “interminable journey across the great prairie of North America” (5). Orphaned Jim begins his journey traveling from Virginia to Nebraska to live with his grandparents. This journey symbolizes a completely new life and childhood for Jim. During the long drive to his grandparent’s house, Jim takes an exceptional notice of the open plains of Nebraska; he sees nothing ...

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...Jim has a profound and perhaps romantic relationship with nature. It is also evident that Jim sees a strong connection between his childhood neighbor, Antonia and the Nebraskan landscape that embodied his childhood adventures. Both Jim and Antonia have their own, personal relationship with nature that connects them to childhood. However, the two complex characters also connect the childhood relationships that they shared with one another to the land; The land that brought Jim and Antonia together will continue to spiritually connect them in the future, despite the miles that keep them apart. The characters of My Antonia, particularly Jim and Antonia are not just connected through memories; they are connected through the environment and natural world. The Nebraskan landscape constructs who the characters of Jim Burden and Antonia Shimerda are and what they symbolize.

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