My Ántonia (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Willa Cather
- First Published: 1918
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Regional
- Time of Work: Late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
- Setting: Nebraska prairie land
- Genres: Long fiction
- Subjects: Maturation or coming of age
- Locales: New York, NY
Characters Discussed
Ántonia Shimerda, a young immigrant girl of appealing innocence, simple passions, and moral integrity, the daughter of a Bohemian homesteading family in Nebraska. Even as a child, she is the mainstay of her gentle, daydreaming father. She and Jim Burden, the grandson of a neighboring farmer, become friends, and he teaches her English. After her father’s death, her crass mother and sly, sullen older brother force her to do a man’s work in the fields. Pitying the girl, Jim’s grandmother finds work for her as a hired girl in the town of Black Hawk....
[The entire page is 2014 words long]
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