My Ántonia by Willa Cather Historical Context Willa Cather, author
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Book originally published in 1918
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The Homestead Act
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Born in 1883 to a large farming family in Virginia Grew up in Red Cloud, Nebraska, where most of her neighbors were immigrants Memories and homesickness for her childhood fueled her writing of My Ántonia Published right after World War I ended Readers looked to literature, and My Ántonia, as an escape from wartime politics and were proud of the United States’ new post-war position as a global power.
Point of View
Created in 1862 by the U.S. Government Stated that any American citizen or immigrant trying to become an American citizen could claim 160 acres of government land in order to colonize Nebraska and other Western territories.
Symbols
Themes The immigrant experience
Setting Bohemia
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First Person Introduction is narrated by an unnamed fictional character, one of Jim’s childhood acquaintances, Jim gives him the manuscript of My Ántonia Jim narrates the rest of the novel. Black Hawk Nebraska, 1880s Fictional town is based on Red Cloud, Nebraska, where Cather lived. A part of the Czech Republic Note: My Ántonia specifically features immigrants from Bohemia (a part of the Czech Republic), Austria, Sweden, and Russia. The prairie symbolizes the opportunity for a new life and the fear that comes with trying to create a new life, especially for immigrants. The prairie also symbolizes progress and a lost past. As the prairie is developed and modernized, the “wildness” of it is cut away and lost. Light, symbolizing change, prefaces every major change in the novel.
Major Characters • • •
Gender
Key Facts
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Immigrants, like the Shimerdas, came all the way from Europe to try their luck at farming the Nebraska prairie Both Americans and immigrants were in search of a better life and both suffer the trials of a new and unfamiliar life Immigrants face a greater struggle – extreme poverty, language barriers, and cultural and religious differences Traditional gender roles require men to act as providers and women to marry and care for the family. Cather created Antonia, a character who does not want to conform to the typical female role. Jim’s perspective changes as he grows up and watches the women in his life challenge traditional gender roles.
Jim Burden
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Ántonia Shimerda Otto Fuchs
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Protagonist, narrator of most of the novel Becomes an orphan at 10-years-old, then moves to the Nebraska prairie to live with his grandparents A Bohemian immigrant and Jim’s closest friend Comes to the prairie when she is 13; intelligent and optimistic
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An Austrian immigrant who works on the Burden’s farm
Emmaline and Josiah Burden
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Jim’s grandparents, devout Christians Grandfather is quiet and wise, with a great sense of dignity. Grandmother is maternal and takes care of Jim and the Shimerdas Antonia’s parents Mr. Shimerda is not used to the harsh climate or hard physical labor of the farm and becomes depressed and homesick. Mrs. Shimerda is angry about her family’s poverty and jealous of the Burdens. An uneducated farmhand who worked for Jim’s parents in Virginia Moves West with Jim to Nebraska to work on the Burdens’ farm
Mr. and Mrs. Shimerda Jake Marpole
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Exit Ticket Tracker Q1 Average:
Q2 Goal:
Quiz & Annotation Check Tracker Q2 Average:
ET#
Objective
2.01
7.3 – I can identify elements of a story.
Q1 Average: Grade
Q2 Goal:
Q2 Average:
Date
Quiz Chapters/Pages
10/24
CQ1: Introduction-Book I, Chapter 6 (pp. 3-31)
10/31
CQ2: Book I, Chapters 7-13 (pp. 31-60)
11/7
CQ3: Book I, Chapters 14-17 (pp. 60-78)
11/14
CQ4: Book I, Chapters 18-19 (pp. 78-86) & Book IV, Chapters 1-2 (pp. 179-183)
Date
Annotation Chapters
10/24
Introduction-Book I, Chapter 6 (pp. 3-31)
Book I, Chapters 7-13 (pp. 31-60)
Book I, Chapters 14-17 (pp. 60-78)
Rubric
First
First
Re-Do
Rubric 11/14
First
Re-Do
Rubric 11/7
Grade
Re-Do
Rubric 10/31
Grade
BI, Chs. 18-19 & BIV, Chs. 1-2 (pp. 78-86, 179-183)
First
Re-Do