Please click here for an explanation of the absence of Antonia's accent in this article.

My Antonia has the distinction of having been chosen as a Chicago One Book One City selection, as the first One Book One State selection for Nebraska, and as a choice for the National Endowment for the Arts BIG READ.
It is simply one of those "must read" American classics.

Introduction:

There is wide agreement among scholars that My Antonia is one of Willa Cather's most sophisticated novels. The pared down, simple syntax and common vocabulary belie underlying complexities built on a wealth of allusions to the history and literature of Western civilization. Though there are many directions to undertake in a classroom setting, I always want my students to begin with an understanding of the makeup of this novel. I begin by reading aloud Cather's italicized introduction to the novel. Here the writer (Willa Cather) is traveling across the country by railroad with Jim Burden who happens to be the main character of this novel; and, to complicate the situation, we shortly discover that Cather has written herself into the novel as the character Jim Burden. Because Cather is the prototype for Jim, it is helpful if students already have a knowledge of the biography of Cather, which will allow them to pick up on this situation quickly and realize that the novel, though fiction, is somewhat autobiographical.

The information in this introduction leads the reader to know that

1. This is a story about "little prairie towns" which readers won't understand unless they have lived in these prairie towns. Early on, of course, Cather uses the novel to tell people all over the world what it really is like to live in a prairie town in Nebraska.

2. This is Jim Burden's story, emphasized by the fact that he calls his ramblings about Antonia "My Antonia," which becomes the title of the text (and we know immediately that Jim's story is his version--Jim Burden will not be a reliable narrator and thus we will need to rely on the author to reveal other points of view to obtain an understanding of this story).

Levels of comprehension:

Beyond these early hints about the novel, I want my students to know that they should be thinking on three levels as they read. (All three levels listed below can be related to the inscription from Virgil that introduces the novel: "Optima dies . . . prima fugit.")

1. This is a story about two young people being initiated into adulthood, with its accompanying loss of innocence.
2. This is a story about the virgin prairie being settled and transformed into a productive, agricultural region with the same symbolic loss of innocence--the plow against the sunset found midway through the novel helps represent this concept.
3. This is a story about the development of community, which constitutes three basic elements: land, people, and culture. The inclusion of culture is especially important and includes stories, both from the old world (including references to the writings [stories] of Virgil and the Georgics) and from the new world (stories which are created throughout the novel). This helps explain why the novel is inundated with short narratives-stories that are commonly known in the community.

I liken the opening of the book to a blank canvas: "There seemed to be nothing to see: no fences, no creeks or trees, no hills or fields. . . . There was nothing but land: not a country at all, but the materials out of which countries are made." By the end of the novel, there is a "country" and the three elements listed above are well established, developing in a parallel fashion throughout the novel. In effect, Cather has "painted" the canvas three layers deep.

Initial Project:

One approach to the text is to have students make lists of the stories they encounter as the read the text, including examples such as the Peter and Pavel story and the tramp and the threshing machine narrative. However, buried in the text are other stories not quite so obvious. I recommend to teachers that they read the "My Antonia: The Closing of the Circle" section of Susan Rosowski's The Voyage Perilous: Willa Cather's Romanticism to become more confident in working with the underlying elements of the novel. It has certainly been an inspiration to me in guiding my students through this novel. Students can simply make lists or they can create scrapbooks illustrating the stories they find. This approach allows for a great deal of creativity, but the main point is to emphasize that every country develops a culture made up of the stories its people bring to the region and those that they create themselves. From the founding of Rome, described by Virgil, to the founding of Blackhawk, it is stories that help bind people together to create culture/community. (Remind students of Cather's quotation, found in O Pioneers!, in which she states that ". . . there are only two or three human stories . . .")

Study Questions:

Having established the above perimeters, class discussions can take a wide variety of directions. It is hard to know where to begin. Included at the end of this unit is a list of study questions created by Cather scholars for the 2005 One Book One State Nebraska Reads My Antonia event. Each of these questions can be expanded to create interesting class discussions.

Review:

Once the students have finished reading and discussing the book, review to both organize information and add information.

1. Review the plot (or lack of plot)
2. List and review the characters and their importance
3. Discuss the setting: time and place
4. List motifs and symbols such as the red grass vs. the green grass
5. Discuss language and style: How does Cather effectively employ each of the following elements to add meaning to the novel?
a. Tone
b. Diction
c. Syntax
d. Imagery
e. Personification
6. Themes: What is the theme(s) of the novel?

Your review will depend on the discussions you have in class. I think the discussion questions are excellent for bringing out the important aspects of the novel.

Projects:

1. Finding projects that revolve around the stories presented in My Antonia would be an excellent way to emphasize Cather's use of stories as tools to convey meaning.

2. Through this novel, Cather paints a canvas rich in characters and setting. Ask students to "paint a canvas" of a small segment of their world. This can be through words (stories), a painting, or a three-dimensional project.

3. In the picnic scene, the hired girls share stories of their immigrant families. Ask students (whether native to this country or from immigrant families) to research their family histories and make a presentation that reflects the values and talents passed down in their families.

4. Ask students to find creative ways (photography, collage, writing [stories both oral and written], presentations, etc.) to showcase heirlooms or treasures passed down through their families.

5. My Antonia is about the founding of a community. The novel employs the old and the new to create a culture. Ask students to write about the history/founding of their particular community, emphasizing what was brought from elsewhere and what came from within to create the community that exists today. Research might possibly include interviews with elderly citizens, researching old newspapers, etc.

6. We are led to believe that Antonia becomes a central figure in the newly established prairie culture. Ask students to research a central, founding figure in their community. Be sure to emphasize that any historical figure in the community can serve this role. It does not need to be the mayor, etc. It can be one's grandfather or grandmother, for example. (Antonia was an ordinary person with an extraordinary personality.)

Field Trip:

If you live within a reasonable distance, make arrangements with the Willa Cather Foundation (Phone 402-746-2653) for a field trip to Red Cloud. Be sure to take the town tour, but arrange to spend plenty of time on the Cather Prairie. Ask students to take notes on the town tour and spend solitary time on the prairie during which they should write at least a two-page journal about their experience. Students may also want to bring their cameras.

Essay/writing topics:

1. Assuming the broadest view, what is Cather attempting to do with this novel? In other words, how would you see this novel fitting into the world of literature? History? America? (Why does Cather include Virgil and the founding of Rome within this particular text?)
2. Who are Carrie and Irene Miner? Cather dedicates the novel to them "In memory of affections old and true." How are these individuals relevant to the novel My Antonia?
3. Again, the study questions prove useful for finding additional essay/writing topics.

Discussion Questions:

This set of questions would also be appropriate for a parent/child discussion group. The session could be broken into four parts: 1) speaker [15 min], 2) break for cookies, 3) break into small discussion groups [of no more than 10-12 each--a student discussion leader is suggested], 4) return to large group to report on interesting findings of each group. (Questions compiled by the Willa Cather Foundation's Board of Governors.)