My Ántonia, Individualism
My Antonia:
(Individualism: Its Influence over Lena, Jim and Ántonia During Their Childhood, Adolescence and Adulthood) “The longest journey is the journey inwards. Of him who has chosen his destiny, Who has started upon his quest for the source of his being”--- Dag Hammarskjold.1 This individualist journey, Hammarskjold refers to, consists of two very important elements which contribute to individualism: (1) having the awareness of personal accountability before the Lord and Savior and (2) having a self-sufficient nature as a fountainhead of a person’s individuality which was required to settle the American frontier. These key ingredients mixed with an untamed land tempered the settlers into what we know them today as Americans which may be observed within Willa Cather’s My Antonia as the reader follows the lives of three key characters: Lena, Jimmy, and Antonia. Cather herself searched for her own individualism which she juxtaposed in this 1918 literary work with the character Jimmy. Both he and the author of the story were born in Virginia and at an early age were sent to Nebraska to join their grandparents. And much like the author, he had the pleasure of growing up with a variety of immigrants and stories. Such narratives inspired the author throughout her writing career. My Antonia follows the endeavors of the female protagonist, Antonia, and her foil, Lena, as they struggle in a new country, language, and culture seeking happiness and fulfillment in their lives which Cather so often observed in her childhood immigrant neighbors. Likewise, the reader learns about Jimmy with his own personal struggles as he strives for autonomy in a rugged territory with strict moral codes. Willa Cather’s My Ántonia addresses the notion of individualism which is best seen through direct and indirect characterization of three dynamic characters: Lena, Jimmy, and Ántonia by means of analyzing three stages of life: childhood, youth, and adulthood. A remarkable example of
(Individualism: Its Influence over Lena, Jim and Ántonia During Their Childhood, Adolescence and Adulthood) “The longest journey is the journey inwards. Of him who has chosen his destiny, Who has started upon his quest for the source of his being”--- Dag Hammarskjold.1 This individualist journey, Hammarskjold refers to, consists of two very important elements which contribute to individualism: (1) having the awareness of personal accountability before the Lord and Savior and (2) having a self-sufficient nature as a fountainhead of a person’s individuality which was required to settle the American frontier. These key ingredients mixed with an untamed land tempered the settlers into what we know them today as Americans which may be observed within Willa Cather’s My Antonia as the reader follows the lives of three key characters: Lena, Jimmy, and Antonia. Cather herself searched for her own individualism which she juxtaposed in this 1918 literary work with the character Jimmy. Both he and the author of the story were born in Virginia and at an early age were sent to Nebraska to join their grandparents. And much like the author, he had the pleasure of growing up with a variety of immigrants and stories. Such narratives inspired the author throughout her writing career. My Antonia follows the endeavors of the female protagonist, Antonia, and her foil, Lena, as they struggle in a new country, language, and culture seeking happiness and fulfillment in their lives which Cather so often observed in her childhood immigrant neighbors. Likewise, the reader learns about Jimmy with his own personal struggles as he strives for autonomy in a rugged territory with strict moral codes. Willa Cather’s My Ántonia addresses the notion of individualism which is best seen through direct and indirect characterization of three dynamic characters: Lena, Jimmy, and Ántonia by means of analyzing three stages of life: childhood, youth, and adulthood. A remarkable example of