Book 5: Chapter 1 Summary

Jim does not go to see A'ntonia for twenty years. Jim has heard she married Anton Jelinek's cousin, and that she is poor and has a very large family with eleven children. Jim visits A'ntonia's native village in Bohemia and sends A'ntonia photographs. Tiny Soderball tells Jim that life has been hard for A'ntonia. Jim says cowardice and the fear of finding A'ntonia old and broken kept him from visiting. Jim says he visits A'ntonia because of Lena Linguard. Jim was in San Francisco visiting Tiny and Lena, when Lena urged Jim to visit A'ntonia.

On Jim's way, east he stops to visit A'ntonia and first comes across two of her boys who are looking over a dead dog. The boys escort Jim up to the Cuzak house and another boy ties Jim's team for him. Jim describes the farm animals...