As you read Willa Cather's novel, I will post some of my thoughts, and I will post some of your thoughts, as well. Feel free to comment on any post, but please be thoughtful and considerate when you do, and please don't comment anonymously. --EC
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Weekend thoughts?
You have to read to page 161 for Monday. What reaction are you having? Comment below or on a relevant previous post.
In this book, as with many other books I have read that chronicle the main character's development from a child to an adult, I have found myself liking Jim less as he has grown older. Maybe I just find it difficult to relate to him since he is now older than I am, but he is much closer to me in age now as opposed to at the beginning of the book. I wonder if I would prefer his character as an adult if I myself was older. Maybe.
That's interesting--I find Jim just as appealing now--in fact, I have a much better sense of him as an adolescent than as a kid. But as you say, maybe it's because I'm older. I like teenagers (in real life) more now than I did when I was one.
For some reason I found this weekends reading assignment hard to read, something about it seemed like a lot. I still like and dislike Jim as I have since the book, and look on the unnamed towns people with disdain. (cause they seem somewhat arrogant how Jim describes them)
I thought this reading was a bit more exciting than any other part of the book. I'm not saying it was enjoyable to read about the Cutters (and especially what Mr. Cutter wanted to do), but at least there was some drama, and finally Jim and Antonia! I've been waiting for something to happen with them two.
Going back to what Tracey said, I had a very different feeling - I felt like Jim as a child wasn't really a character, as he didn't have much substance. He was always acting and doing things, but I was never sure what he was feeling. Now, as a teenager/young adult, I feel like I know a lot more about what he feels about Antonia, the town, and how he wants his life to play out in general. What I also found interesting was his intellectualism; I had never gotten a good sense before of his love of learning. I also thought his isolation was slightly strange; as the town people said, I found it unusual that he would spend so much time with Antonia and her friends and not with boys his own age.
In response to what Catherine and Tracey have said, I agree more with Tracey. I liked Jim much better as a child. I felt he was much more relatable and I could understand his thought process, feelings and motivations. Now that he is an adolescent, I feel that the culture of the time is having more and more of an influence on what goes on in the book, and, as I am not familiar with it, my comprehension - and thus affinity for Jim's character - is comprosmied.
I liked Jim more as a child, but perhaps that's just because when he was a child he had less of a distinctive personality. I think that as he grows older, he becomes more controversial because he has more opinions. It makes me feel bad, though, that he disobeys his grandparents when he sneaks out at night.
As I finished reading the second book, I noticed a clear trend with the first book. They were were both very slow moving detail until the last point of climax. The last part of the second book was so dramatic that it caught me almost offguard, because earlier it was so slow moving. (When Mr. Cutter finds Jim in Antonia's bed and not Antonia).
Nearing the end of book two the trend thats is very stunning is the way in which both Jim and Antonia have found a real sense of independence and rebellion. Both have shown these characteristics, and I am excited to see how these will play out during book three and how the two characters will evolve.
I was very intrigued by the dream about Lena. Jim keeps having thoughts about and experiences with Antonia, but this dream almost came out of nowhere. My guess is that she plays a crucial role in the next part of the book because Jim is angry with Antonia at the moment. The fact that the next part is titled "Lena Lingard" also seems to reflect this idea. Perhaps there will be more development about their relationship and about Jim's continuous growth and maturity.
I found this part of the book to be the most interesting. I enjoyed the suspense when Mr. Cutter sat down on the bed and realized it wasn't Antonia. I think this has been the most climactic event in the book so far. Also, Antonia begins to show some jealousy of Lena which foreshadows something happening between Jim and Antonia.
I find it interesting that while Jim feels he has the strongest connection with Antonia, he has a dream about Lena and in many cases describes the hired girls collectively. I believe that as much as Jim wants a relationship with Antonia and wants her to reciprocate him with feelings and actions above, what I see as, brotherly affection that began when they first became friends, Jim will have a relationship with Lena that may be inferred as sexual. Book III is called Lena Lingard, so I think she will have further significance that might outweigh Antonia's in the next part of the book. - Olga
The ending to the second book is defintely crazy, how Mr Cutter discoverd that Jim was in Antonia's bed. I think he is mentally ill, especially wanting to send his wife away so he could rape Antonia. The beginning of this book was slow as usual with alot of new characters and details being described, and then nearing the end the suspense build up which makes the readers want to read on to the third book. -Harry
I think it is interesting how Jim and Antonia have nearly switched roles from first story to the end of the second story. Jim has gone from an adventurous child to a studious teenager. While Antonia, the once dedicated student of Jim, has turned into a rebellious, dance loving, girl who cares about her "looks". I look forward to seeing if they will undergo yet another change in character. Henry
It seems that Antonia's relationship with Jim and the Harling's as well gets strained as she begins to push her boundaries and rules like a typical adolescent or older.
It's interesting that this far West, where all Europeans are relatively new, the newest immigrants, who aren't yet 'American' are still scorned like back East, so there is a connection between the East and West, albeit an unappetizing one.
In this part it seemed as though Jim became mature, smart and lonely all of the sudden. He jumps from being playful Jim to all of the sudden being angry about how small Black Hawk is, everyone telling him how smart he is and being a very studious student. He is also depicted as being very mature by him always hanging around with the older country girls. Antonia seems to have also matured at the same time. She has moved on, she no longer plays with children and appears to be less of a true country girl anymore. She just goes shopping and dancing now. These sudden changes in both Antonia and Jim show how throughout the book they have been maturing and changing together.
This part was interesting because it seemed that Jim and Antonia were getting to be much closer, and finally might have a relationship, yet the next part is titled "Lena Lingard." -Sydney
So far the story seems pretty ambiguous to whether if it's nostaligic towards rural small town America. On one hand, sometimes the nature is described idylically and the summer night dances are described to seem like the most exciting thing ever but on the other hand Jim laments how boring and conservative the town is. If it werent for the foreign girls, he would be stuck going to stores and listening to old people gossip for entertainment. This makes me wonder whether he will rebel further than he already did by sneaking out; he may not as Jim for the most part is himself kind of boring and conservative.
Frankly, I find this story more interesting than Huck Finn. And I am growing increasingly fonder and fonder of the book as the story progresses. There is an element of adventure and excitement in the book. There is also an aura of surprise and thrill as you read about Jim's life. I can connect to him studying really hard to get into college, being isolated from other people his own age, and trying to be rebellous and going against the norm. I love the way Antonia shows a kind of "older sibling syndrome" towards Jim, and protects him from a bad relationship with Lena. I also love the way she is so supportive of Jim, and is willing to talk about all of her innermost feelings. (I don't get the feeling of "Talk about your feelings, dammit. Stop holding back.") I love the way Antonia is so open with Jim, and is willing to divulge her feelings. I also love the way their relationship progresses. Jim is willing to take Antonia's place, and sleep in the Cutter's home, even though he doesn't like it, simply because he likes Antonia. These kind of innocent and sweet friendships are somehow appealing to me. :) -Tsi Yu
I think we are seeing Antonias character really mature and grow in this section. She goes out dancing, is being looked at by older men, and even kissed by Jim! Antonias maturing actions might be related to her homesick feelings she expresses in this section. Antonia misses her father and misses her home country, which is maybe why she begins acting out by dancing and staying out late every night, and why she makes the decision to move out of the Harlings house. -Maria
It's interesting to me that Jim has never mentioned anyone from school or anyone his own age. As readers, we don't know a single classmate of his by name. He tells us that he is extremely bored of the town and its inhabitants (excluding the hired girls), and even spends the entire summer studying and teaching himself Latin. Perhaps he was spoiled as a boy by having Otto and Jake around all the time who acted like older brothers, as well as Antonia who liked to act as his older sister. And as others have mentioned, the next book titled "Lena Linguard" foreshadows that he will have some kind of relationship with her, while continuing to avoid people his own age. -Sarah Madoff
The new topics addressed in this part of the book include new relationships between Jim and the beautiful and older "hired girls". He sees them in a new way than he did before. He sees them as an escape from his normal life because the girls are allowed certain freedoms that society does not allow Jim because he is expected to follow a certain norm or order, which is a modernist idea.
I still dont think i fully understand the importance of the plow. I think the points raised during our class discussion were certainly valid, but perhaps we were focussing too much on that it was there, and then faded away. For example the blackness of the sillouhette combined with the awesome size of the plow could foreshadow some sort of dark event to come. The red sky and the sunset could represent not only the closing of a chapter, but also that something beautiful is about to end.
While the plow could certainly represent the end of a generation it could be a harbinger of unfortunate events
I thing that the biggest factor of this section of reading was the change in the characters of Jim and Antonia. Jim becomes much more mature and outgoing. Antonia becomes a rebellious teen who is in need of some guidance. Her strong personality develops its own path as opposed to the one she has been set on by her superiors, but its not yet clear whether its the right path or not.
Actually, I feel quite nostalgic reading this: I've definitely grown away from some of my formerly close friends not in a very different fashion as Jim and Antonia's relationship has grown apart. Jim's attempt to revive his splitting relationship with Antonia reminds me of whenever I try to say Hi to an old friend of mine in the hallway - a friend who has very different interests than I do. Both Jim and Antonia are maturing in different ways, but especially as they entered town, Jim feels uncomfortable and, at the same time, is attracted to the new Antonia, who is maturing into an "easy," vivacious, mischievous - even wild - young woman. Jim, on the other hand, is maturing into a slightly austere, studious, obedient, quietly ambitious college boy. Jim, who has always done what he has been told to do, is attracted to the wild and exciting Antonia - along with Lena - and has more incentive to break the rules to spend time with the girls. This maturation is very nostalgic for me. As the book ventures into a sexually perverted, dangerous, adultified world, I find myself yearning for the quietly entertaining childhood life in the country of Jim and Antonia.
I agree with Dan's comment regarding the potential symbolic darkness of the image of the plow in the sun. Though Jim, Lena, and Antonia may have definitely felt a great deal of nostalgia as they gazed at the sunset, I can't help but think about the blackness of the plow's silhouette. Perhaps the darkness of the plow symbolizes the dreariness of the Burdens' and Shimerdas' lives on the plains that will linger in their thoughts forever, like a shadow follows a person. Even amongst the happiness of their new lives in Black Hawk, they will always have memories of their rough pasts. Also, as Dan so interestingly mentioned, (what's up Dan), the setting of the sun could also be foreshadowing a darkness that is yet to come. -Elena Ridker
Additionally, as an extra thought, I've been wondering whether this image might also symbolize some ideas about industrialization and America as a changing nation. The sun setting over the plow may represent the idea that farming would soon become more technological and mechanical, which would alter farm life and farming forever. Farming families would soon be replaced with large commercial farming corporations. However, by describing the plow that still remained in the dark on the hill after the sun set, perhaps Cather is trying to say that even with the changing technologies and the end of a family farming generation, life on the plains and on the farms will always be lonely and dreary. -Elena Ridker
I think Dan's right that the plow is a sign that the story is taking a turn for the more serious and sad. The next chapter, in which Wick Cutter tries to rape Antonia, is pretty bad... But this is Cather, who is too evenhanded to stick to the bad for too long, so there will be some good stuff too.
I think Elena's right about the plow representing the old farming ways--and the image of the plow is very similar to the image of the wheelbarrow in William Carlos Williams's famous poem...
I'm also interested in Sarah's point about never hearing about Jim's coevals--how weird!
I also just want to briefly share that I think this story is starting to look very Scarlet Letter esque. Antonia is Hester as she is an outcast from the mainstream of Black Hawk society (along with the other worker girls), she does things the town sees as immoral or wrong and she proud and passionate about this. Jim is Dimmesdale as he also has passion and a desire to go against society's rules but he is forced to keep this inside of him. On top of all this, they go to meet in secret in the forest right next to a river. Is this plagiarism?
After such a long time, the highly anticipated couple of Antonia and Jim come together. However, just like the plough at the end of chapter XIV, their relationship is going to appear beautiful at first, and then it will fall out of sight and disappear.
To respond to Ariel's post and many others in perftaining to the comparison of this book and the Scarlet Letter...
I disagree in your comparisons. I dont think Antonia is like Hester and is an outcast. Even though some traits do support your reasoning, I think she is actually really popular around the town with everyone wanting to dance with her and her group of friends she always hangs out with. Although she is a "minority" in a particular group....she is not an outcast to the extreme levels of that of Hester
Hester also becomes a celebrated figure in her town though, albeit not through the entirety of the novel.She is praised for the charity work she does just as Antonia is popular for her dancing.
Also, in class we briefly talked about the fact that Jim cries after returning from the Cutters' that night. Thinking about it now, I see that as a very Dimmesdale-esque thing to do - Jim cries because he doesn't like the idea of having such a negative spotlight shining upon him.
Making connections between My Ántonia and The Scarlet Letter, I agree with Ayesha. In the chapter, Jim behaves much like Dimmsdale would. However, I feel like the reason that Jim cried has to do more with basic plot points and not because of a deeper negative spotlight on him. There isn't too much to look into here. He cried because he's sensitive, as has been evident right from the beginning of the novel. Rather than being your average mischievous boy, Jim was always more studious and focused. This isn't necessarily saying much about this chapter, as people can change as they get older, but it didn't seem out of place when reading it.
As the story progresses, Jim and Antonia develop depth and substance as characters. I thought the connection Ayesha made between My Ántonia and The Scarlet Letter extremely interesting. While reading The Scarlet Letter, I despised Reverend Dimsdale due to his inherently weak personality as a character. In contrast to Hester Prynne, who is strong and confident, Reverend Dimsdale is quite passive. I seem to find myself disliking Jim in My Ántonia for some of the same reasons why I disliked Dimsdale. Jim is weak and unsure of himself in comparison to Antonia, who is outspoken and confident.
I agree with what Harry said. Like most things in life, they start out nice and normal, but time changes that. They will start to fade away and turn into nothing. Jim and Antonia may start our great, but wen know that they eventually split up causing the enitre book. -CQ Alonzo
I blame the change in environment that changed the path of Jim and Antonia's relationship. If they both stayed in the country I believe that would have become a love couple. Instead the life of city twisted that.
In this book, as with many other books I have read that chronicle the main character's development from a child to an adult, I have found myself liking Jim less as he has grown older. Maybe I just find it difficult to relate to him since he is now older than I am, but he is much closer to me in age now as opposed to at the beginning of the book. I wonder if I would prefer his character as an adult if I myself was older. Maybe.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting--I find Jim just as appealing now--in fact, I have a much better sense of him as an adolescent than as a kid. But as you say, maybe it's because I'm older. I like teenagers (in real life) more now than I did when I was one.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I found this weekends reading assignment hard to read, something about it seemed like a lot. I still like and dislike Jim as I have since the book, and look on the unnamed towns people with disdain. (cause they seem somewhat arrogant how Jim describes them)
ReplyDeleteI thought this reading was a bit more exciting than any other part of the book. I'm not saying it was enjoyable to read about the Cutters (and especially what Mr. Cutter wanted to do), but at least there was some drama, and finally Jim and Antonia! I've been waiting for something to happen with them two.
ReplyDeleteGoing back to what Tracey said, I had a very different feeling - I felt like Jim as a child wasn't really a character, as he didn't have much substance. He was always acting and doing things, but I was never sure what he was feeling. Now, as a teenager/young adult, I feel like I know a lot more about what he feels about Antonia, the town, and how he wants his life to play out in general. What I also found interesting was his intellectualism; I had never gotten a good sense before of his love of learning. I also thought his isolation was slightly strange; as the town people said, I found it unusual that he would spend so much time with Antonia and her friends and not with boys his own age.
ReplyDeleteIn response to what Catherine and Tracey have said, I agree more with Tracey. I liked Jim much better as a child. I felt he was much more relatable and I could understand his thought process, feelings and motivations. Now that he is an adolescent, I feel that the culture of the time is having more and more of an influence on what goes on in the book, and, as I am not familiar with it, my comprehension - and thus affinity for Jim's character - is comprosmied.
ReplyDeleteI liked Jim more as a child, but perhaps that's just because when he was a child he had less of a distinctive personality. I think that as he grows older, he becomes more controversial because he has more opinions. It makes me feel bad, though, that he disobeys his grandparents when he sneaks out at night.
ReplyDeleteAs I finished reading the second book, I noticed a clear trend with the first book. They were were both very slow moving detail until the last point of climax. The last part of the second book was so dramatic that it caught me almost offguard, because earlier it was so slow moving. (When Mr. Cutter finds Jim in Antonia's bed and not Antonia).
ReplyDeleteNearing the end of book two the trend thats is very stunning is the way in which both Jim and Antonia have found a real sense of independence and rebellion. Both have shown these characteristics, and I am excited to see how these will play out during book three and how the two characters will evolve.
ReplyDeleteI was very intrigued by the dream about Lena. Jim keeps having thoughts about and experiences with Antonia, but this dream almost came out of nowhere. My guess is that she plays a crucial role in the next part of the book because Jim is angry with Antonia at the moment. The fact that the next part is titled "Lena Lingard" also seems to reflect this idea. Perhaps there will be more development about their relationship and about Jim's continuous growth and maturity.
ReplyDeleteI found this part of the book to be the most interesting. I enjoyed the suspense when Mr. Cutter sat down on the bed and realized it wasn't Antonia. I think this has been the most climactic event in the book so far. Also, Antonia begins to show some jealousy of Lena which foreshadows something happening between Jim and Antonia.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that while Jim feels he has the strongest connection with Antonia, he has a dream about Lena and in many cases describes the hired girls collectively. I believe that as much as Jim wants a relationship with Antonia and wants her to reciprocate him with feelings and actions above, what I see as, brotherly affection that began when they first became friends, Jim will have a relationship with Lena that may be inferred as sexual. Book III is called Lena Lingard, so I think she will have further significance that might outweigh Antonia's in the next part of the book. - Olga
ReplyDeleteThe ending to the second book is defintely crazy, how Mr Cutter discoverd that Jim was in Antonia's bed. I think he is mentally ill, especially wanting to send his wife away so he could rape Antonia. The beginning of this book was slow as usual with alot of new characters and details being described, and then nearing the end the suspense build up which makes the readers want to read on to the third book.
ReplyDelete-Harry
I think it is interesting how Jim and Antonia have nearly switched roles from first story to the end of the second story. Jim has gone from an adventurous child to a studious teenager. While Antonia, the once dedicated student of Jim, has turned into a rebellious, dance loving, girl who cares about her "looks". I look forward to seeing if they will undergo yet another change in character. Henry
ReplyDeleteIt seems that Antonia's relationship with Jim and the Harling's as well gets strained as she begins to push her boundaries and rules like a typical adolescent or older.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that this far West, where all Europeans are relatively new, the newest immigrants, who aren't yet 'American' are still scorned like back East, so there is a connection between the East and West, albeit an unappetizing one.
ReplyDelete-Benny
In this part it seemed as though Jim became mature, smart and lonely all of the sudden. He jumps from being playful Jim to all of the sudden being angry about how small Black Hawk is, everyone telling him how smart he is and being a very studious student. He is also depicted as being very mature by him always hanging around with the older country girls. Antonia seems to have also matured at the same time. She has moved on, she no longer plays with children and appears to be less of a true country girl anymore. She just goes shopping and dancing now. These sudden changes in both Antonia and Jim show how throughout the book they have been maturing and changing together.
ReplyDelete-Matthew Goroff
This part was interesting because it seemed that Jim and Antonia were getting to be much closer, and finally might have a relationship, yet the next part is titled "Lena Lingard."
ReplyDelete-Sydney
So far the story seems pretty ambiguous to whether if it's nostaligic towards rural small town America. On one hand, sometimes the nature is described idylically and the summer night dances are described to seem like the most exciting thing ever but on the other hand Jim laments how boring and conservative the town is. If it werent for the foreign girls, he would be stuck going to stores and listening to old people gossip for entertainment. This makes me wonder whether he will rebel further than he already did by sneaking out; he may not as Jim for the most part is himself kind of boring and conservative.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I find this story more interesting than Huck Finn. And I am growing increasingly fonder and fonder of the book as the story progresses. There is an element of adventure and excitement in the book. There is also an aura of surprise and thrill as you read about Jim's life. I can connect to him studying really hard to get into college, being isolated from other people his own age, and trying to be rebellous and going against the norm. I love the way Antonia shows a kind of "older sibling syndrome" towards Jim, and protects him from a bad relationship with Lena. I also love the way she is so supportive of Jim, and is willing to talk about all of her innermost feelings. (I don't get the feeling of "Talk about your feelings, dammit. Stop holding back.") I love the way Antonia is so open with Jim, and is willing to divulge her feelings. I also love the way their relationship progresses. Jim is willing to take Antonia's place, and sleep in the Cutter's home, even though he doesn't like it, simply because he likes Antonia. These kind of innocent and sweet friendships are somehow appealing to me. :)
ReplyDelete-Tsi Yu
I think we are seeing Antonias character really mature and grow in this section. She goes out dancing, is being looked at by older men, and even kissed by Jim! Antonias maturing actions might be related to her homesick feelings she expresses in this section. Antonia misses her father and misses her home country, which is maybe why she begins acting out by dancing and staying out late every night, and why she makes the decision to move out of the Harlings house.
ReplyDelete-Maria
It's interesting to me that Jim has never mentioned anyone from school or anyone his own age. As readers, we don't know a single classmate of his by name. He tells us that he is extremely bored of the town and its inhabitants (excluding the hired girls), and even spends the entire summer studying and teaching himself Latin. Perhaps he was spoiled as a boy by having Otto and Jake around all the time who acted like older brothers, as well as Antonia who liked to act as his older sister. And as others have mentioned, the next book titled "Lena Linguard" foreshadows that he will have some kind of relationship with her, while continuing to avoid people his own age.
ReplyDelete-Sarah Madoff
The new topics addressed in this part of the book include new relationships between Jim and the beautiful and older "hired girls". He sees them in a new way than he did before. He sees them as an escape from his normal life because the girls are allowed certain freedoms that society does not allow Jim because he is expected to follow a certain norm or order, which is a modernist idea.
ReplyDeleteI still dont think i fully understand the importance of the plow. I think the points raised during our class discussion were certainly valid, but perhaps we were focussing too much on that it was there, and then faded away. For example the blackness of the sillouhette combined with the awesome size of the plow could foreshadow some sort of dark event to come. The red sky and the sunset could represent not only the closing of a chapter, but also that something beautiful is about to end.
ReplyDeleteWhile the plow could certainly represent the end of a generation it could be a harbinger of unfortunate events
DANIEL MEYER
I thing that the biggest factor of this section of reading was the change in the characters of Jim and Antonia. Jim becomes much more mature and outgoing. Antonia becomes a rebellious teen who is in need of some guidance. Her strong personality develops its own path as opposed to the one she has been set on by her superiors, but its not yet clear whether its the right path or not.
ReplyDeleteActually, I feel quite nostalgic reading this: I've definitely grown away from some of my formerly close friends not in a very different fashion as Jim and Antonia's relationship has grown apart. Jim's attempt to revive his splitting relationship with Antonia reminds me of whenever I try to say Hi to an old friend of mine in the hallway - a friend who has very different interests than I do. Both Jim and Antonia are maturing in different ways, but especially as they entered town, Jim feels uncomfortable and, at the same time, is attracted to the new Antonia, who is maturing into an "easy," vivacious, mischievous - even wild - young woman. Jim, on the other hand, is maturing into a slightly austere, studious, obedient, quietly ambitious college boy. Jim, who has always done what he has been told to do, is attracted to the wild and exciting Antonia - along with Lena - and has more incentive to break the rules to spend time with the girls. This maturation is very nostalgic for me. As the book ventures into a sexually perverted, dangerous, adultified world, I find myself yearning for the quietly entertaining childhood life in the country of Jim and Antonia.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Dan's comment regarding the potential symbolic darkness of the image of the plow in the sun. Though Jim, Lena, and Antonia may have definitely felt a great deal of nostalgia as they gazed at the sunset, I can't help but think about the blackness of the plow's silhouette. Perhaps the darkness of the plow symbolizes the dreariness of the Burdens' and Shimerdas' lives on the plains that will linger in their thoughts forever, like a shadow follows a person. Even amongst the happiness of their new lives in Black Hawk, they will always have memories of their rough pasts. Also, as Dan so interestingly mentioned, (what's up Dan), the setting of the sun could also be foreshadowing a darkness that is yet to come.
ReplyDelete-Elena Ridker
Additionally, as an extra thought, I've been wondering whether this image might also symbolize some ideas about industrialization and America as a changing nation. The sun setting over the plow may represent the idea that farming would soon become more technological and mechanical, which would alter farm life and farming forever. Farming families would soon be replaced with large commercial farming corporations. However, by describing the plow that still remained in the dark on the hill after the sun set, perhaps Cather is trying to say that even with the changing technologies and the end of a family farming generation, life on the plains and on the farms will always be lonely and dreary.
ReplyDelete-Elena Ridker
I think Dan's right that the plow is a sign that the story is taking a turn for the more serious and sad. The next chapter, in which Wick Cutter tries to rape Antonia, is pretty bad... But this is Cather, who is too evenhanded to stick to the bad for too long, so there will be some good stuff too.
ReplyDeleteI think Elena's right about the plow representing the old farming ways--and the image of the plow is very similar to the image of the wheelbarrow in William Carlos Williams's famous poem...
I'm also interested in Sarah's point about never hearing about Jim's coevals--how weird!
I also just want to briefly share that I think this story is starting to look very Scarlet Letter esque. Antonia is Hester as she is an outcast from the mainstream of Black Hawk society (along with the other worker girls), she does things the town sees as immoral or wrong and she proud and passionate about this. Jim is Dimmesdale as he also has passion and a desire to go against society's rules but he is forced to keep this inside of him. On top of all this, they go to meet in secret in the forest right next to a river. Is this plagiarism?
ReplyDeleteAfter such a long time, the highly anticipated couple of Antonia and Jim come together. However, just like the plough at the end of chapter XIV, their relationship is going to appear beautiful at first, and then it will fall out of sight and disappear.
ReplyDeleteTo respond to Ariel's post and many others in perftaining to the comparison of this book and the Scarlet Letter...
ReplyDeleteI disagree in your comparisons. I dont think Antonia is like Hester and is an outcast. Even though some traits do support your reasoning, I think she is actually really popular around the town with everyone wanting to dance with her and her group of friends she always hangs out with. Although she is a "minority" in a particular group....she is not an outcast to the extreme levels of that of Hester
Andrew
In response to Andrew,
ReplyDeleteHester also becomes a celebrated figure in her town though, albeit not through the entirety of the novel.She is praised for the charity work she does just as Antonia is popular for her dancing.
Also, in class we briefly talked about the fact that Jim cries after returning from the Cutters' that night. Thinking about it now, I see that as a very Dimmesdale-esque thing to do - Jim cries because he doesn't like the idea of having such a negative spotlight shining upon him.
Making connections between My Ántonia and The Scarlet Letter, I agree with Ayesha. In the chapter, Jim behaves much like Dimmsdale would. However, I feel like the reason that Jim cried has to do more with basic plot points and not because of a deeper negative spotlight on him.
ReplyDeleteThere isn't too much to look into here. He cried because he's sensitive, as has been evident right from the beginning of the novel. Rather than being your average mischievous boy, Jim was always more studious and focused. This isn't necessarily saying much about this chapter, as people can change as they get older, but it didn't seem out of place when reading it.
As the story progresses, Jim and Antonia develop depth and substance as characters. I thought the connection Ayesha made between My Ántonia and The Scarlet Letter extremely interesting. While reading The Scarlet Letter, I despised Reverend Dimsdale due to his inherently weak personality as a character. In contrast to Hester Prynne, who is strong and confident, Reverend Dimsdale is quite passive. I seem to find myself disliking Jim in My Ántonia for some of the same reasons why I disliked Dimsdale. Jim is weak and unsure of himself in comparison to Antonia, who is outspoken and confident.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Harry said. Like most things in life, they start out nice and normal, but time changes that. They will start to fade away and turn into nothing. Jim and Antonia may start our great, but wen know that they eventually split up causing the enitre book.
ReplyDelete-CQ Alonzo
I blame the change in environment that changed the path of Jim and Antonia's relationship. If they both stayed in the country I believe that would have become a love couple. Instead the life of city twisted that.
ReplyDelete