My Antonia and the Twists of its Uniqueness

Willa Cather in her novel My Antonia offers her view of life during the pioneer time.  It told of trials and tribulations of many different people during that time period.

Through out the story, Jim told his stories of his friends and love for the towns people of his past. My Antonia would be completely different if the story were to be told by Antonia, herself.  First off, I doubt that the book would still be called My Antonia because even though Antonia would be the one telling the story, her perspective on everything that she and her friends went through would be different than Jim's.  Many of the stories told by Jim wouldn't even exist because Antonia wasn't there during them.  Then again, the stories of her heart break and family would be much more in depth.  Thus, the story would have completely changed had she been the one telling her side.

If Willa Cather would have been a man, instead of a woman, writing from the view point of Jim, then the story would not have been as nearly full of his feelings, but more about his actions and thoughts.  Reading the book, I was connected to the idea of Jim telling his story, like Jim truly sounded like a man though out all of it even though Cather was a woman trying to speak through him.  Cather, in a way, did an effective job at telling from the view point of Jim.

Jim changed the title from Antonia to My Antonia because the book was full of stories of Jim and Antonia.  Even when Antonia was not even mentioned in a story, some how that story effected Jim and Antonia's story together.  Thus, Antonia was not just someone who was randomly placed in Jim's life, she was his Antonia.  Through everything that they went through, their relationship always ended more powerfully than before.  Their lives were some how linked together. She was not just his, but Jim was Antonia's as well.

There are so many different twists that could have been taken just by the author and the narrator.  My Antonia is an extremely unique book with stories that can not help but be related to by the reader.  This book is a strong portrayal of how much people's settings can effect the character in life.  Antonia and Jim would have never of become who they became with out each other in their lives.