Book 2: Chapter 8 Summary

Spring arrives and Jim and the Harling children are elated. In a foretelling quote Jim says, "Yet the summer which was to change everything was coming nearer everyday." We are reminded that the children of this novel are growing up. A dancing pavilion has been set up by three Italians, the Vannis, who teach dancing. The entire town is drawn to this social tent; mothers bring their daughters, boys sell pop and lemonade there, and the girls have somewhere to wear their new dresses. The Saturday night dances are open to everyone; country boys and girls come in to dance; Jim and A'ntonia dance with their friends, and even the railroad men come to dance.

Book 2: Chapter 8 Analysis

After the dreariness of the winter, the awakening of spring and the boys and girls is a cheerful change. There is no doubt...