1. Why do you think Willa Cather chose to open the novel with the simultaneous arrival of Jim and the Shimerda family in Nebraska?
2. What do you think Jim means when he says, "Happiness; to be dissolved into something completely and great." (p.18)
3. What problems do you think the other Shimerda son has? (p.21
4. What does Jim notice about the old pasture lands?
DISSCUSSS! DISCUSSS! DISCUSSS!
1. In my opinion, Willa Carther choose to start her novel with Jim and the Shimerda family because it was something she knew about. Carther's grandparents owned a farm in Nebraska, where she eventually came to live. She also owned a pony and had Bohemian neighbors. She basically incorporated some of her own life experiences and memories in her novel with some alterations of course.
ReplyDeleteDo we have to answer all the questions?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure, but we should answer as many as we can.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, she just wanted to establish her main focus and introduce the two families that were in the book. I agree with Brianna though, a lot of authors tend to do that.
ReplyDelete1) I believe that the author decided to initiate her novel with the two families meeting in the train to introduce the characters together and point out that the families will travel together such as when they traveled in the train, on their way to the farm, also when they went to visit the Russians, Peter and Pavel and more events throughout the book.
ReplyDelete2. In my opinion, the quote is talking about what it might feel like to die. It describes the feeling as being peaceful and unexpected, something that comes naturally and completely takes hold of you. It washes over you gently with happiness and joy that no other feeling could ever beat. It melts away the world beneath you and blends you into something bigger. You're no longer an individual part, you're one of the missing pieces to life. You're no longer you, you're a part of mother earth: a part of the air, the breeze, the trees, the dirt, the sun, the clouds...You're a part of everything and anything in nature, in knowledge and in the goodness that surrounds us.
ReplyDelete3. I think that the other Shiemerda son, Marek, was born with a birth defect. In the book, it describes his hand as being "...webbed...like a duck's foot" and also how he randomly began to crow like a rooster.
4. Jim notices that the old pasture land is sloped westward. It's hard, bare, covered in tall, red, shaggy grass and is washed out and muddy. Also, it's covered with corn.
Job: Summarizer
ReplyDeleteIn the novel, " My Antonia", by Willa Cather, she begins the book by stating that the story is through Jim Burden and is about his version of Antonia. She supports her claim by first incorporating her own life experiences and memories, with some tweaking, to illustrate Jim's childhood, then by portraying the setting of Nebraska in great detail, and finally by stating through a series of events the time Jim and Antonia spend together. Her purpose is to introduce the characters and setting as a foundation to set the novel and get into the story. She uses a descriptive tone for an audience of readers.