The Shimerada Chapter 1 Analysis

In this section Jimmy and his grandma help the Shimerada’s with food as they struggle to survive in the stormy winter. The Shimerada family live in bad conditions as they live in this cave with no utensils and furniture, as a simple bed they can use. Antonia and her father show grandma and Jimmy where they sleep and feel empathy for the conditions they live in as they sleep on the floor with a few warm blankets they made themselves out of animal skin. It is a week before Christmas and the storm got bad that Jake, Burden’s worker, could not go and buy the Christmas gifts. So, Jimmy wanted to give Yulka and Antonia books with picture so they can improve their English, but since Jake could not go a buy the gift he decided to make the books himself.
It is now New Year’s Day and they received a visit from Mrs. Shimerda and Antonia. In the end Antonia and Jimmy had a little agreement because he was mad her mother wanted a pot his grandma had and insisted that Jimmy’s grandma had plenty and eventually it was given to her. He felt that they just wanted to take stuff from his family so, Jimmy and Antonia argue because her family was rich and they were poor. On the 20th of January, he Jimmy turned 11 and the big winter storm began. Two day later they receive the news that Mr. Shimerda was dead as he shot himself. Antonia’s father committed the sin of killing himself that he was not allowed to be buried in a Catholic or Norwegian graveyard. Eventually, Anton Jelinek, another Bohemian man who can down to help the Shimerda’s, dig Mr. Shimerda own separate grave. It was now spring and Antonia and her family were built a house with the help of others. Antonia took her father position and became a farm girl. Her character changed, which Jimmy did not like as she became stubborn and had less time for him. Tension grew between Jimmy’s and Antonia’s family as the Shimerda’s became rude toward the Burden family and Jake got into a fight with the oldest Shimerda