My Antonia included several conflicts that each brought gains and losses. The first was Mr. Shimerda's suicide. One can guess that the cause of his death was due to the Russians, his close friends, had recently left. Another major cause was because he was unhappy in this country. Mrs. Shimerda forced the family to come to America which the mister was not happy about. The loss of a father and a husband caused many changes for the family. Money was harder for the family to come about, so Antonia and the older siblings had to stay home and work in order for the young children to have a happy life. This meant that Antonia could not go to school with Jimmy and get an education. However, all these losses were accompanied with a few gains. Instead of feeling alone in a new country, Antonia was able to go to her father whenever she needed.
Another example of conflict in this novel was when Jimmy left Black Hawk to go to college. He had hopes of being a lawyer, so furthering his education was a must. By doing this, Jimmy was able to provide a happy, profitable life for himself. Leaving for school, however, put a strain on one of his most important relationships. He lost communication with Antonia for a long time, and was only hearing about her through friends and letters. Meanwhile, she has gotten married and had children of her own. When the two meet up at the end, a friendly relationship is still between them, but I think Jimmy also has a little regret about his choice of leaving Antonia. Upon his return, Jimmy tells her, "Do you know, Antonia, since I've been away, I think of you more often than anyone else in this part of the world (Cather 192)." As the reader, all I want is for Antonia to leave her husband and live happily ever after with Jimmy, but unfortunately Willa Cather doesn't feel the same.
[Bibliography]
Cather, Willa. My Antonia. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2004. Print.
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