In Willa Cather's novel, My Antonia, Jim and Antonia share several similarities.

Both come as young children to the formidable plains of Nebraska. Jim travels west to live with his grandparents, while Antonia accompanies her Bohemian family from overseas to start a new life.

Both youngsters have a great deal to learn about this new land in terms of climate, plants, animals, and survival, especially in the form of farming.

Jim and Antonia are passionate about the frontier (especially in the warmer months, such as the spring) and the mysteries the land waits to share with them. Each seems to have a desire to learn that many others do not have.

Jim is considered to be a member of the polite class, while Antonia is considered nothing more than a foreigner, or hired help. However, this does not stand between them, and they find that spending time together and celebrating their existence, as they do when they dance, keeps them close over the years.

In My Antonia what did Jim and Antonia have in common? At least two ways.

Jim and Antonia are similar in several ways.

First, both are new to the prairie.  Jim has been sent from Virginia to live with his grandparents.  He has to learn the ways of the farm and adapting to the harsh weather conditions.  Similarly Antonia has immigrated with her family to America.  She, too, has to adapt to a new environment and learn the new customs and traditions.

Second, both Jim and Antonia are proud teenagers.  Antonia is fiercely loyal to her brother and mother, especially after their father dies.  She does not yield even when it becomes apparent that her friends and neighbors are scorning them.  Jim is also proud.  He recognizes characteristics in Antonia's mother and brother that she does not agree with - such as Mrs. Shimerda's demands that things be givent o her.  He is not afraid to voice his opinion, despite his age.