My Antonia by Willa Cather Book Review

In My Antonia, class and education affects the destiny of Jim and Antonia’s lives, by influencing their careers and life choices. For example, Jim ends up becoming a lawyer and moving away from the country and Antonia becomes a mother who still lives on a farm setting. Therefore, Willa Cather writes a narrative tale to demonstrate how class and education will ultimately affect the lives of her characters. 

Antonia’s destiny is determined by class and education because at the end of the story she is a mother to eleven children and still lives on a farm. Her choices throughout the book support that she was destined to be a mother and pertain to life in a country setting. When we are introduced to Antonia, she is an immigrant. On the prairie her family has the bare minimum. Her house is described as an ugly cave and her entire family doesn’t have a place that would be comfortable to sleep in. Antonia is able to learn English but other than that her education is very limited. After the death of her father she is not able to go to school and has to prioritize work. In the second book she goes off to work for the Harling family in Black Hawk. While she’s there Antonia she forms a special bond with one of the Harling children, Nina. Then in the fourth book when Antonia is preparing for a family, she still presents a quality of hard work ethic. In the text it states, “Then she’d laugh and slow down for a little, but she’d soon forget and begin to pedal and sing again. I never saw a girl work harder to go to housekeeping eight and well-prepared.” (Cather) This shows that Antonia’s choices led her to become a hardworking woman. If she wasn’t a person in a lower class than she wouldn’t have had to prioritize work and been able to focus on her education.

Jim’s destiny is determined by class and education because at the end of the story he is a lawyer in New York. His choices throughout the book support that he was destined to live away from the country and find his own success. Jim and his grandparents are a higher class then Antonia’s. Their house had good quality living necessities such as a tin washtub, a large stove, and soap and towels. When Jim’s grandparents were no longer able to work on the farm, they have the means to go on and move to Black Hawk where Jim was able to go to school. When he’s done with school in Black Hawk Jim goes off to college. In the third book Jim goes to plays with Lena Lingard. He’s able to afford going to multiple plays and maintain his education. Then during the fourth book Jim leaves Lincoln and attends an academic course at Harvard. In the text it states, “Everything seemed just as it used to be. My grandparents looked very little older. Frances Harling was married now, and she and her husband managed the Harling interests in Black Hawk.” (Cather) This shows that Jim is able to travel and move because he goes back to Black Hawk before continuing his education. Jim’s class allowed him to be able to pay for an education and continue to pursue schooling. This proves that he was destined to be a lawyer because he had the education and means to travel.

Both Education and Class play into the destinies of both Jim and Antonia. However, class is the more important factor in determining the outcome of their lives. Out of the two of them Jim is the only one who was able to have an education which led to his success. He is able to go to school because of his class. Jim benefits from his status whereas Antonia does not. Antonia develops a strong diligence because of her class. She has to work in order to make upkeep her status in which is already low. Antonia never really escapes a life of work and endurance. She doesn’t develop a passion for education because she’s never been able to acquire a proper one.  This idea of class puts both characters in different positions from the beginning of the story. When they both are on the prairie Jim lives comfortably while Antonia has to keep working. Then in Black Hawk Jim and his grandparents move whereas Antonia is the only one in her family who goes to Black Hawk as a job opportunity. Even in twenty years when Jim and Antonia reunite, they both have completely different lives. Class is presented then because Antonia is still on a farm. Her situation is described poorly by other characters. Jim has gone off to New York and was even able to travel out of the city and country setting that he’s used to. This indicates that his class still remains higher than Antonia’s. In the text it states, “she told me that Antonia had not “done very well”; that her husband was not a man of much force, and she had had a hard life… My business took me West several times every year, and it was always in the back of my mind that I would stop in Nebraska some day and go to see Antonia.” (Cather) This shows the effects of class because Antonia still lives the stereotype of someone who’s in lower class, as for Jim he lives the stereotype of someone who is in a higher middle class. Class would be the first thing that sets up the destinies of both characters. 

Willa Cather’s historical fiction exhibits the idea that class and education affect the destiny of the characters’ lives, by guiding their careers and life choices. Both Jim and Antonia’s stories begin on a prairie in Nebraska but it’s class and education that led both characters to lead different lives, one living “better off” than the other. Therefore, their ending displays the idea that class will affect the advantages the characters receive such as an education and will ultimately be a big factor on their destiny.