Jonny writes:
After reading pages 68 through 96 I thought it would take a miracle in order for Jim and Antonia to reconnect. I guess that miracle happened in book two. After the party and dancing the chapter ends with Jim and Antonia walking home together. Prior to the death of Antonia’s father, her and Jim never really had a relationship more than a friendship. Does this reconnection mean more than just a friendship? If it isn’t I am still glad the story that was getting rather depressing swung back into being the relaxing story it was in the first few chapters.
Adding on.... even though the two have reconnected Lena's entrance into the story makes me wonder if she will have any effect on the relationship between Jim and Antonia. And why were the two so excited to leave the party. There are a lot of pieces to these chapters that I believe will come back to mean more later in the story. I am excited to see where the relationship between Jim and Antonia goes from here.
The move into the town seems to place Jim in a more familiar state that the reader can connect to. This is because life on the prairie was described in so much detail that it was hard to believe that the descriptions were true. Where as in the town many things seemed more common because the details didn’t seem as far fetched.
ReplyDeleteAlso the relationship changes between Jim and Antonia when they move to the town. It seems like the town almost mirrors their relationship. The town is lively. What happens in the town is not what Jim is used to it is more of a reality, more adult. For example we meet a new character Lena. She is an attractive young woman and is described like that. Jim notices her more than he would if he was in the prairie. This is seen in the descriptions of the girl that are supposed to be Jim’s thoughts.
The addition of Lena affects Antonia because she seems to get jealous of her maybe for what Jim sees in her or the attention she gets from other older boys in the town. However, Antonia’s dislike of Lena could lead to a closer bond between her and Jim. For example when they leave from the man playing the piano together, they spend the time before they go home together talking.
I think that eventually Antonia will realize she has deeper feelings for Jim than just a close friendship. She will see him as more of a man and less of a boy. I also believe that Jim might grow away from Antonia because of his societal role to go to school and do well in order to be successful. I believe their relationship will end much like the how it ended for the characters in the short story The Beast in the Jungle.
Interesting connection to "The Beast in the Jungle"...
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