What Does The Light Symbolize In My Antonia
Symbolism
My Antonia is chock full of symbolism, effectively representing and delivering the messages and ideas Cather intended to -- from often overlooked fundamentals of life with greater meanings, to the value of new opportunities, to even the hardship of death.
One of the most overlooked symbols in My Antonia is also one of the most fundamental elements of life. Every metamorphosis in the story's plot is marked by a vivid illustration of the light around the characters. Light is used as a, subtle, symbol for the changes to come. For example, Cather describes Jim and Antonia sitting on the roof while watching the lightning in an "electric" thunderstorm at the end of book 1 -- marking the end of the characters' childhood lives on the prairie. In fact, some of Cather's most descriptive illustrations come when describing light -- "In the lightning flashes it looked like deep blue water, with the sheen of moonlight on it; and the mottled part of the sky was like marble pavement, like the …show more content…
No member of the family or community -- including women or children -- had the privilege of not working, as everyone had to contribute in order to help the family survive. Men had the responsibility of hunting for food and maintaining the crops -- plowing, planting, and harvesting. This job also included taking the harvested grain to the nearest mill, which in the nineteenth century could take multiple days of traveling in unpredictable conditions. Women were seldom lucky enough to leave the homestead, causing isolation and loneliness. Instead, they were in charge of maintaining the home; including cleaning, cooking, caring for children and animals, and making candles, butter, soap, etc. from raw materials. Their husbands would often leave for weeks, or even months, at a time to find work or trade goods. The women were left to run the homestead and exhibited incredible strength and
My Antonia is chock full of symbolism, effectively representing and delivering the messages and ideas Cather intended to -- from often overlooked fundamentals of life with greater meanings, to the value of new opportunities, to even the hardship of death.
One of the most overlooked symbols in My Antonia is also one of the most fundamental elements of life. Every metamorphosis in the story's plot is marked by a vivid illustration of the light around the characters. Light is used as a, subtle, symbol for the changes to come. For example, Cather describes Jim and Antonia sitting on the roof while watching the lightning in an "electric" thunderstorm at the end of book 1 -- marking the end of the characters' childhood lives on the prairie. In fact, some of Cather's most descriptive illustrations come when describing light -- "In the lightning flashes it looked like deep blue water, with the sheen of moonlight on it; and the mottled part of the sky was like marble pavement, like the …show more content…
No member of the family or community -- including women or children -- had the privilege of not working, as everyone had to contribute in order to help the family survive. Men had the responsibility of hunting for food and maintaining the crops -- plowing, planting, and harvesting. This job also included taking the harvested grain to the nearest mill, which in the nineteenth century could take multiple days of traveling in unpredictable conditions. Women were seldom lucky enough to leave the homestead, causing isolation and loneliness. Instead, they were in charge of maintaining the home; including cleaning, cooking, caring for children and animals, and making candles, butter, soap, etc. from raw materials. Their husbands would often leave for weeks, or even months, at a time to find work or trade goods. The women were left to run the homestead and exhibited incredible strength and