Sydney writes:
In Willa Cather’s My Ántonia, the main character, Jim, is an exceptionally strong character. Jim is orphaned at a very young age and moves to a new house across the country, yet he portrays very little sadness. Instead, he is one of the most able characters and, despite his young age, he acts extremely mature. The story, however, is told in Jim’s perspective years later, and I think that the harshness he describes the first winter with is a symbol of the actual emotions he is experiencing.
Losing anyone close is a significant, and often crushing event. Jim lost not one, but both of his parents within the first ten years of his life. Most kids idolize their parents until they are at least ten, so to have lost his two guiding figures so early could have been nothing but devastating to young Jim. Not only did he lose the two people closest to him, he had to leave the part of the country he had known his whole life to move to a new home in a completely different area. This new home was in the middle of nowhere, which left him isolated from most of society.
Jim’s young life should have been very depressing because not only was he a child without one parent, he was one without both of his parents and without a familiar place to call home. However, in the story Jim acts as if none of these changes had disturbed him. His writing is not all positive though, because he describes the first winter in his new home to be brutal and have negative affects on all the people around him and on their relationships with each other. I think that the descriptions of the winter are over exaggerated and emphasized in a negative way because adult Jim, who is writing his story, is looking for a place to vent his true anger and frustration with his childhood situation. He might appear unscathed by all the bad things that happened to him, but in reality, he is human and needs to let out his emotions in some way. By letting them out through nature, he finds a place to show the true power of his emotions while maintaining his steady and strong composition.
Rohan responds in the comments!
I agree that Jim must have a very strong personality and character to be able to adapt relatively easily to his new life on the prairie. He proves his exceptional maturity by spending a lot of time with Antonia, who is several years old than he is. In addition, it is unknown whether or not he is actually thinking as sophisticatedly when he is a young boy as he does in his narration. However, his complex thoughts also hint at the idea that he is very intelligent, thoughtful, and sharp.
ReplyDeleteJim's grandmother plays an important role in allowing Jim to feel comfortable and in a way forget about his lack of parents. Jim's grandmother is extremely welcoming and loving, and she is also cooking for Jim and Antonia. Her youthfulness and enthusiasm effectively supports Jim's development and maturity and lets him forget about his past life back on the east coast.
I'm not sure if I agree that Jim is using the novel as a way to vent his anger. At many points in the novel, descriptions of the beautiful landscape and dream-like experiences with Antonia seem to be portrayed nostalgically. On the other hand, we do not know what eventually happens with regard to Antonia and Jim's relationship, therefore the telling of this story could be his Jim's way of reliving distant memories and at the same time expressing his frustrations.
-- Rohan
I like Rohan's idea that Jim is "expressing his frustrations." But I'm wondering how I got this impression--what in the novel gives me the idea that Jim is "frustrated"...?
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