Who Is The Protagonist In My Antonia

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Throughout the novel My Antonia by Willa Cather there seems to be something special about Antonia Shimerda. At some points through the book some readers would even suggest that it feels like she is more of the main protagonist instead of Jim Burden. Antonia gets a lot of attention and there is a lot to learn about her. Throughout the novel she displays strong characteristics like great optimism, strong independence, and she possesses firm family values.
No matter what adversities came towards the Shimerdas they always managed. This family came from a country far away trying to find a better life together in America. It was hard and they couldn’t even speak English to communicate with anyone. They practically lived in a cave, but Antonia was always trying to make the best of things. Especially when her father committed suicide. She was immediately outside working as soon as she could to help out. She knew things were going to get better. Afterwards she saw Jim and asked him, “Jim, you ask Jake how much he ploughed to-day. I don’t want that Jake to get more done in one day than me. I want we have very much corn this fall.” (Cather). She was already up and trying to make things better even right after the terrible ordeal with her father. She overcame adversity after adversity with great optimism.
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She has very strong family values, and feels a need to help them. She would never abandon them. Antonia is just too much of a caring person to not feel the necessity to help her family. She works for her brother and gives him all of her wages just because she thinks it’s helping her family as a whole to do so. She even went to the Burden’s farm to work over there, and eventually went into town to work for money for her family. All of her wages always went back to her family. She is just that much of a caring person for her
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