As Jim transitions to the more structured physical and social environment of Black Hawk, he encounters its provincial narrow-mindedness and begins to idealize the past. To him, the immigrant farm girls symbolize the pioneer spirit—freedom, expansiveness, and a readiness to embrace risk—qualities lacking in the townspeople. The townspeople's exclusion of these girls reflects a betrayal of the American dream. While attending the University of Nebraska, Jim comes to understand that the events and people from his past could serve as valuable material for literature. This realization occurs when his classics professor explains that Virgil drew from his rural upbringing to compose the Georgics (29 B.C.).