My Antonia teaches several life lessons through the characters that readers can take away. The first is friendship. Almost every character in this novel got along and could trust each other. A special relationship that I spotted in the novel was between Jim, Otto, and Jack. "With me they had been like older brothers; had restrained their speech and manners out of care for me, and given me so much good comradeship (Cather 89)," Jimmy said. Although Jack and Otto left the family midway through the story, having them there for Jimmy's transition into becoming a man was very important. That just goes to show that every single member of the Burden family was a genuinely good human being. Grandma and Grandpa Burden taught them right, proving to be yet another lesson to be learned. The Burdens showed humanity towards the Shimerda's offering them all the food, money, and help that they could possibly need. She even continued to smile and agree when Mrs. Shimerda disrespected her in the Burden house. Hallelujah to Mrs. Burden because I don't know many people who would put up with that.
The most important thing that I learned from this novel is that things will always work themselves out. The characters in this novel endured more struggles and conflicts than any I have ever seen. (Okay, except maybe that of The Grapes of Wrath) The lives of each character takes them down different paths in life, yet they are all able to return home in the end and claim that they are happy with how things turn out. Taking chances and trying new things shouldn't hold you back because in the end there is always a home and a family that you can return to if things don't work out.
The final lesson to take away is one that I have mention in several other blogs, so it must be important. Judging was a major issue in this novel, and although the excuse "It was the way things were back then" was used, it still doesn't make any of it alright.
[Bibliography]
Cather, Willa. My Antonia. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2004. Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment