My Antonia, A Book Review by Difan Li

 My Antonia

Book Review by Difan Li

My Antonia by Willa Cather is the story of immigrant life on the beautiful but harsh land of the Nebraska prairie. It follows the life of Jim Burden, a young boy who is sent to Nebraska after the death of his parents, and his relationship with the Shimerdas, a family of Bohemian immigrants, and especially the eldest daughter, Antonia. As Jim grows up with Antonia, the two share a bond of youth and friendship on the prairie that, despite being put to the test through time and separation, has the strength and promise to last through a lifetime. Along the way, Cather introduces a variety of characters, from a pair of Russian farmers with a bloodied past, to the townsfolk who look upon the hired immigrant girls with a sense of superiority, setting them apart on the basis of class distinctions and social status. In fact, the novel explores various themes of social injustices, from gender roles to the rigidity of marriage, both of which are displayed in their various forms and different perspectives through Jim, a member of a family of wealthy settlers and townspeople, and Antonia, an immigrant who works for the townspeople as a hired girl. This book follows a slight autobiographical trend as the author, Willa Cather, draws from memory of her own youth on the Nebraska prairie for the setting and vivid descriptions within the novel. I found these descriptions to be the most interesting and beautiful part of the novel. Ranging from the bitterness of a harsh winter to the warmth of new spring, various emotions are weaved throughout the story, establishing a sense of time and progression of age. The reader feels as if they are growing along with the characters, discovering more about the world as they travel outside the borders of the prairie, into town life, and eventually the world beyond. The entire story evokes a sense of nostalgia and longing for the past that the author purposefully enhances through the use of her vivid imagery. By the end of it, I felt as if I too had gone through a journey of childhood and adulthood, experiencing the losses and joys that each had brought, and the book itself was a memory recounting the path I had taken along with Jim and Antonia.