My Antonia Analysis

“Things will be easy for you. But they will be hard for us (p. 111).” These words, spoken by Ántonia, the protagonist of the novel ‘My Ántonia’, give light to the situation immigrants found themselves in after moving to the North America’s Western frontier. This novel reveals how immigrants in the late 1800s and early 1900s had to overcome numerous obstacles on the path towards ‘The American Dream’ which those native to the area did not have to face. In the late 1800s, America became very appealing to immigrants as they viewed its growing economic opportunity. Many families and individuals packed up their belongings and made the life-changing journey to the western frontier of America to pursue the “American Dream.” This was the situation …show more content…
For example, they had to overcome cultural and religious differences, as well as a bias against immigrants, in an attempt to fit in. It was economically beneficial to the immigrants to fit in because it provided the families with the social and emotional support needed to thrive in a community. It also provided them additional resources and a network for help when they needed it. The Shimerdas were Catholic while most Americans at the time were Protestant. This religious division caused tension various times between the Shimerdas and their neighbors, for example, the locals wanted Mr. Shimerda to be buried in a Catholic cemetery, but the nearest Catholic cemetery was too far away (p. 88) With tensions from religious and cultural differences often come bias and social hierarchies. Many locals had biases against immigrants, which affected the immigrants upward mobility and social standing. The immigrants were highly aware of the bias and how it affected them. This was obvious as the Shimerda’s daughter, Ántonia, was sure people would like her better after she moved to the town and did not live out in the frontier with the other immigrants (p. 111). Again, the bias was apparent as Jim, the narrator, refrained from speaking of his friend’s grandfather who was highly respected in Norway because he knew the attitude of the town people would have regarded the man as …show more content…
Immigrating to the frontier with nothing but the belongings they could carry, these families would have to start from scratch. The novel portrays how immigrants of this time started out behind as they were forced to take loans from whomever they could to start their lives at their new homes. Mr. Shimerda makes a point to explain to their new neighbors that in their former home, Bohemia, they were not poor but they became poor moving to America (p. 61). Immigrants struggled to have enough money to begin their farms and often had to take out loans. A Russian immigrant in the novel had to take out several loans to get by. These loans only grew from interest as he was unable to pay them back when they were due (p. 44). This resulted in him only growing more and more in debt and buried in mortgages. As most immigrants were in debt, they had to continue to labor vigorously on their farms and were not able to gain the skills or education many non-immigrants were able to get. This meant they would not be able to one day obtain a higher-paying knowledge job in the city. For example, Ántonia desired to attend school but when asked about it by her neighbor, she insisted she was too busy with farm work to attend (p. 97). While Ántonia was unable to attend school, her neighbor, Jim, was able to. As adults, Jim was a lawyer in