Setting
Characters
Plot
Symbols
Potpourri
100
The Author of My Antonia
Who is Willa Cather
100
An orphaned boy who migrated to Nebraska from Virginia to live with his grandparents on a farm.
Who is the main character, Jim Burden?
100
Jim and Antonia meet again for the final time in the book. At this point Jim meets and connects with her husband and sons, and he realizes that he still loves the land and Antonia. This gives him the encouragement and grounding that he needs to live the rest of his life in a fulfilled way.
What is the resolution of the plot?
100
A giant shadow on the horizon, magnified by the setting sun during the end of a particularly rich and enjoyable final get together between Jim and the his immigrant girls.
What is a plough?
100
The young man who fought with Jake Marpole over a borrowed horse collar.
Who was Ambrosch Shimerda?
200
Black Hawk Nebraska
What is the name of the nearest town to Jim Burden's grandparents farm.
200
"A long scar ran across one cheek and drew the corner of his mouth up in a sinister curl. The top of his left ear was gone, and his skin was brown as an Indian's."
Who is Otto Fuch's, the Burden's hired hand?
200
The portion of the story where Antonia's fiancé gets her pregnant and then leaves her alone and abandoned in Denver Colorado.
What is the climax?
200
The place in between where two crossroads meet where the original red prairie grass lies undisturbed, and is one of Jim's favorite places.
What is Mr. Shimerda's burial place?
200
The place where Jim ultimately ends up living and working in the end of the book.
What is New York?
300
The late 1800's to the early 1900"s
What is the time period of My Antonia
300
The character who can be quoted saying "Ain't it wonderful, Jim, how much people can mean to each other?"
Who is Antonia Shimerda?
300
The place in the story where Jim and Antonia are introduced to the reader.
What is the exposition?
300
This item symbolizes the enormous opportunity that comes with starting a new life, the nostalgic past, and the fear of starting over.
What is the Nebraska prairie?
300
The musty, cave-like structure in which the Shimerda family first lived when they came to Nebraska from Europe.
What is a dugout?
400
"There seemed to be nothing to see; no fences, no creeks or trees, no hills or fields. If there was a road, I could not make it out in the faint starlight. There was nothing but land: not a country at all, but the material out of which countries are made."
What is the Nebraska prairie?
400
The animal killed by Jim which gave him Antonia's respect and admiration.
What is a giant rattlesnake?
400
The events in the story that include: Jim and Antonia's moving to Black Hawk, Jim and Antonia's meeting and developing friendship, the killing of the gigantic rattlesnake, the suicide of Mr. Shimerda, the migration of both Jim and Antonia into town, Jim's graduation and college education in Lincoln NE, and at Harvard, and Antonia's move to Denver.
What is the story's rising action?
400
One aspect of the story continually reflects major changes in Jim's attitude, like when he sees Antonia for the first time and he comments about her looks, or when he lights the candles on the Christmas tree and states that the decorations and their meaning stood out clearly.
What is light?
400
The jealous, ungrateful, complaining and miserable woman who covets everything that the Burden family owns and their way of life.
Who is Mrs. Shimerda?
500
"Our white frame house, with a story and a half story above the basement, stood at the east end of what I might call the farmyard, with the windmill close by the kitchen door."
What is the Burden family farmhouse?
500
The homesick immigrant who kills himself with a gun in a barn
Who is Mr. Shimerda?
500
The part of the story where Antonia works, gives birth to and cares for her baby girl, meets and marries Anton Cuzak and raises up both a successful farm and family.
What is the story's falling action?
500
A central figure who symbolized the whole country, conditions and adventure of childhood.
Who was Antonia Shimerda?
500
The sexy, attractive immigrant girl whom everyone in Black Hawk believed would end up in trouble, but who becomes a fine, successful and independent businesswoman.
Who is Lena Lingard?
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