My Antonia Symbolism Essay

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3. In My Antonia, Cather uses symbols from nature to express the essential aspects of the lives of the characters. Some symbols are of the land: the prairie, the grass, winter, etc. Other symbols are animals: badgers, wolves, rattlesnakes, larks, etc. Choose three symbols and discuss how they convey information about the daily lives of the characters, how the characters relate to each other and/or how Cather views life.
In My Antonia, Cather uses many symbols from nature to deliberate the leading elements in the lives of the characters such as Antonia Shimerda and Jim Burden. Three symbols are the prairie, Mr. Shimerda's grave and the plough.
In my opinion, the prairie symbolizes forgotten history along with progression through American life …show more content…
As it is known ploughs are a farming device used for cutting furrows in the soil to prepare for the planting of seeds. In book 5, chapter 14 it states “...the ball dropped and dropped until the red tip went beneath the earth. The fields below us were dark, the sky was growing pale, and that forgotten plough had sunk back to its own littleness somewhere on the prairie.” The ‘ball’ refers to the sun setting along the horizon as the night time darkness rolls in and the plough disappears. The plough represents a day of work, so as the plough disappears from sight, the workday as come to an end. Cather uses this symbol of the plough to address her belief in steadiness throughout life. On the other hand of the ever changing prairie, Cather uses the plough to signify events that do not change throughout life. Cather centers this symbol around interchangeable events such as where Antonia came from will never change.
In conclusion, three symbols are the prairie, Mr. Shimerda's grave and the plough. The prairie representing the common things of the landscape that come into harmony with Antonia; Mr. Shermida’s grave representing a connection to the past, and lastly the plough symbolizing the everyday lifestyle of the families. Cather views life as a series of changing events, past negative things you have to accept and lastly Cather believes some things are definitely unchangeable through representation
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