Antonia And The Other Hired Girls example essay topic

Willa Cather's novel, My Antonia, is a story telling of the hardships and ever-lasting memories of those who lived during the pioneer era. Such times are shown through the eyes of the native farmers and the success-bound immigrants who suffer from dramatic changes of lifestyles by risking everything for the "utopia" placed upon America's reputation. Women also played a major role on the prairies and evidently impacted Cather in her writings. Cather uses symbolism of the pioneer era to convey her feminist ideals and the American Dream. Cather portrays harmonious relationships between women and the land. The connection between these two factors is obvious since the majority of My Antonia's characters are of a feminine gender and the setting takes place on the roaming prairies of Nebraska. R. Thacker once pointed out, "The women in Cather's writings understand the strengths of the land and adapt to the prairie to preserve it, not to conquer it" (Harvesting 3).

The male characters, however, are implied by Cather to obtain a forceful nature towards the unpredictable terrain. Both the earth and women share a connection of seasonal menstrual rhythms of which they respond and reach out to others (Harvesting 2-3). The cultural roles of the women, such as religion and traditional farming methods, also help bind them to the land. For example, the tradition of the Bohemian women was to adapt their lifestyles so that the land was praised and treated with great care. The land, however, is only one of many symbolic features used by Cather to represent feminism. Throughout My Antonia, Cather uses homes to symbolize female humanity.

The home was a gathering place for all and children were born at home. Thus it is no surprise that home is compared to a womb; the woman / home was where relationships were started and strengthened (Harvesting 3). The isolation of homes on the prairie can also be used to show the loneliness of the women in organizing themselves in a male-dominant area. As S.M. Gilbert emphasized, "This house is big... a woman has asserted herself on the landscape!" (Harvesting 5).

This points out how Cather used the size of a single house to symbolize the rising roles of women. The home could also be recognized as an extension of a woman, for woman is home. Cather's characters further represent strong women of the time. Cather is interested in women with high ambitions (Cowley 3). Such a woman is Antonia, a strong-willed immigrant girl who steals the heart of young men and dedicates her life to provide for her family. Antonia's willingness and devotion proved to make her successful and loved by all, thus the title My Antonia.

Jim Burden goes on to describe Antonia, "More than any other person we remembered, this girl seemed to mean to us the country, the conditions, the whole adventure of our childhood" (Cather 2). Cather's characterization of Antonia clearly presents her ideal of a hard-working woman. The five immigrant girls that make up the clique known as the "hired girls" were also known for their strength and physical abilities in providing for themselves as well as their families. Cather uses one of the girls, Lena Lengard, as a love interest of Jim Burden. Lena's soul, however, could not be tied down; she is determined to remain single forever.

The small town society considers Lena, along with the other hired girls, a menace, for their beauty shone out too brightly against their conventional backgrounds (Miller 5). Of course, this reputation increases their image of beauty. Everyone becomes intimidated by their emotional strength. James Miller observes that, "The hired girls are not, of course, Camille's, but they have some of the same kind of magic, poetry, freedom and love of life" (Miller 5). Cather utilizes Antonia and the other hired girls to represent the strength of the pioneer women.

The characters of My Antonia show the fulfillment of the American Dream as well as dreams shattered by the hardships of the wilderness life. Jim Burden, for example, has all the appearances of one who has lived the American Dream. His success in the business world proved that even a farm boy could reach his goals. Other characters, however, were not as lucky as Jim. Although Antonia marries and lives happily with her family, she was traumatized as a child when her father committed suicide in the dead of winter.

James Miller goes on to explain the disillusionment experienced by the pioneer natives and immigrants, "The lost promise, the misplaced vision, is America's loss, our loss, and it haunts us still" (Miller 3). Each factor of the American Dream is evident among the characters. Admiration for America is displayed especially by the immigrants and the natives. Each ethnic group was proud of the land and was determined to protect it. The American farmers also shared faith in progress. By each year, technology increased and made farming easier.

The use of tractors took the place of plowing by horse and the crop production increased dramatically. The idea that the self-reliant person would triumph was believed by all and came true in several instances. One such instance was Lena Lengard and her success at becoming a well-known seamstress in the fashionable city of San Francisco. Another case was Jim Burden when he decided to move on from the farming life and to become a famous lawyer in Lincoln, Nebraska. The American Dream throughout My Antonia can be expressed as a road. It led neither into the future or the present but instead into the fast-fading memories of the past and is perhaps America's "Road of Destiny" (Miller 6).

Willa Cather celebrates the uniqueness of the female perspective and portrays the American Dream among her characters of the pioneer era. She uses the landscape to present the females of her time as well as the houses that occupied it. Her characterization of strong females allows the reader to understand her feminist ideals. The American Dream is displayed by each character throughout the novel and would continue to shatter or fulfill the goals of the pioneer people". [Cather] writes the most intimate pictures of the inner setting- the heart, the soul, the home. Cather's work is not so much about "the prairie" but about the humans who lived there, and the human relationships that followed" (Norris 2).