My Antonia question #1

The writing "My Antonia" by Willa Cather reveals a lot about the author's values and attitudes. I think a few of these would include family, as well as hard work. As I said, I think family is one of the main things that Willa values. I say this because this is what the majority of the plot has to do with, family and their struggles. There are two main families that this story talks about. These would be the Shimerdas and the Burdens. These two families go through a lot including moving, struggles due to the winter weather, and also family deaths. The Shimerda family had moved all the way from Bohemia. Their family must adapt and survive on their new farm land in Black Hawk, Nebraska. With the help of the Burden family, they are able to learn the ways of the farm, the English language, and also gain life-long friendships. Later in the book, they lose Antonia's father, and this tragic affair really brings the family closer together. "I knew it was homesickness that had killed Mr. Shimerda, and I wondered whether his released spirit would not eventually find its way back to his own country" (Cather, 64). Something else I think Willa valued was hard work. This is also a trend in "My Antonia". Life on the farm requires a lot of manual labor and hard work, which is exactly what Antonia steps up to do. The books talks about her strength and how she was able to work just as well as the men. Jim Burden is also a very hard worker and because of this he was able to move to town and learn more to better his life. The book "My Antonia" by Willa Cather is written in first person by Jim Burden. This story is from his perspective as an adult, looking back at past events and his childhood while growing up. I enjoyed this perspective and thought it was perfect for this type of writing.

Cather, Willa. My Antonia. New York: Barns & Noble, 2003. Print.