MY ANTONIA, CHAPTER ONE

This novel is entitled My Antonia. It was written by Willa Carter (1873-1947). She became famous through the success of the noves especially One of Ours, which won her a Pultizer Prize; and at the age of 9, she moved to Nebraska prairie. The novel was published in 1918. It focuses on the journey from Virginia to Nebraska. Jim Burden, who is ten years old, was an orphan and he was going to live in his grandparents in Nebraska more precisely in Black Hawk. First, I will talk about Jim arrives in Nebraska to then the Bohemian family.

Jim who lived in Virginia is in the train to go to Nebraska. His parents are dead so he is an orphan that is why he has to move to his grand parent’s home. He is living from the “old country” to the “new land”. His parents’ death expelled him to the childhood he knows. The narrative shows him passes from childhood to maturity. Jim is like an immigrant. The travel seems to be long but thanks to his depart he will knows Antonia an immigrant from Hungary. This meeting will change his life because he will create a strong friendship with her. First, Jim feels overwhelmed by the vast and unfamiliar prairie landscape. His first impression is that Nebraska’s borderlines are empties. The darkness reflects the family’s and Jim’s anxiety, they are all foreigners in a new land. But nature seems to take the proper course because he decided not to pray. It’s a new experience for him and he will have to learn new rules in his new country. He will have to living his past and become an entirely new person with his new life. It’s interesting to note that Jim is reading the biography of Jesse James, an occidental adventurer, at the same time he begin his adventure in the west of America. In the novel My Antonia, Jim reads several books and there is significance in his life. He will compare the real life with fiction. In this case, he will find life in Nebraska more interesting that fiction in the