My Antonia Notes | Introduction

The narrator of the novel, Jim Burden, along with an unnamed friend, reminisce on the train ride back to Nebraska, where they had both grown up. As the two talk, they pass by the country of wide fields and wooden houses and are reminded of their childhood spent in the tiny prairie town of Black Hawk. When talking about their childhood, the two men frequently mention their old friend, Antonia Shimerda, "who seemed to mean to us the country, the conditions, the whole adventure of our childhood." Introduction, pg.

2. Stuck in a passionless, loveless marriage, Jim does not seem to care for his wife much; he certainly does not admire and revere her as much as he does Antonia. Jim recounts the life he shared with Antonia, and the life Antonia carved for herself, in the book he calls, My Antonia.

Topic Tracking: Landscape 1
Topic Tracking: Isolationism 1