My Antonia Willa Carter

This novel is entitled My Antonia. It was written by Willa Carter (1873-1947). She wrote a number of novels including O Pioneers! (1947), One of Ours (1922) …etc She became famous through the sucess 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. We will study Book one and Chapter one. The first chapter is entitled « The Shimerdas ». 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.

To begin with, I would like to summarize this chapter. Then in my second part, I will analyse it and give my personal reaction.

The main character is Jim Burden, the narrator. He is an orphan, ten years old, he is sent to live with his grandparents on their farm in the countryside, just outside the town of Black Hawk, Nebraska.
Here he mets the young girl Antonia Shimerda, who becomes his great companion.
Another important protagonist is mentioned in this chapter:
Jake Marpole, a mountain boy who accompagnies Jim during the journey because he was one of « the hands » on his father’s old farm Under Blue Ridge. Then we can mention the Shimerdas who are important in this story particularly Antonia Shimerda who is the main character with Jim Burden in this book. It is an autobiohraphical story, based on the author’s true story; because the author lived in Nebraska at the age of nine. And the story takes place during the childhood of Jim Burden, at the age of ten.
There are many settings in this chapter, between Virginia and Nebraska. The countries which are mentioned during Jim Burden’s journey in the order: in general the journey