Jim Burden attends a class discussing the differences between the verbs "to lie" and "to lay". "To lie" means to recline, while "to lay" means to place something down and must be followed by a direct object. The class then discusses chapters from the novel My Antonia, focusing on the style, themes, characters, and questions. Specific passages about the harsh realities of pioneer life and complex, "round" characters are analyzed. Homework is assigned to read more of the novel and answer a prompt about differences between rural and urban women or other topics.
2. Lie and Lay
• To lay is to place something or put something down, and it
must be followed by a noun or pronoun, a thing; to lie is to
recline. A lie is an untruth, and to lie also means "to tell an
untruth." Examples: Lay that package on the mantel, will you
please? Bridgette would like to lie in the hammock near the
pool. Sometimes it's tempting to lie when you're in trouble,
but a lie only makes things worse. (Hint: Lay sounds like place;
lie sounds like recline. But be careful: lay is also the past tense
of the verb to lie: Jay lay on the couch all day yesterday.)
4. Style: Consider Cather’s ideas in "The Novel
Demeuble." Has she taken her own advice in
writing My Antonia?
Cather's superb prose style is disarmingly clear and
simple, relying on a straightforward narration of
facts. Yet it is also subtle, using carefully selected
images to create a rich portrayal of the prairie
environment.
5. • I found myself wondering why this section was not as
riveting as the others had been for me. I blamed my
frame of mind while I was reading, but I think that may
not be entirely the case. In the light of Willa Cather’s
manifesto about throwing everything unnecessary out,
why did she include this domestic, slower paced,
arguably (don’t kill me) boring section?
6. Style: Imagery and Symbols
Cather's sparse but allusive style relies on the
quality and depth of her images. She
consciously uses the land, its colors, seasons,
and changes to suggest emotions and moods.
Summer stands for life (Ántonia can’t imagine who
would want to die during the summer)
Winter stands for death (Mr. Shimerda commits
suicide during the winter).
7. Animals are used as symbols of the struggle for
survival experienced by the Shimerdas during their
first winter. The essential grotesque image of the
cost of this struggle is that of Mr. Shimerda’s corpse
frozen in his blood
His coat and neck cloth and boots are removed and
carefully laid by for the survivors.
What other images come to mind?
8. Style: Realism
Jim Burden gives voice to a romanticism, or overly sentimental
or positive outlook, that seems to be close to. The homesteading
German, Danish, Bohemian, and Scandinavian settlers were the
embodiment of a cultural tradition she cherished. However, the
novel is saved from sentimentality by the evocative depiction of
the harsh realities of pioneer and immigrant life and the
complexity of the characters, who are rarely, if ever, only
sympathetic or only despicable. British modernist E.M. Forster
coined the phrase “round” to describe these complex characters.
9. Consider examples of the “complexity” of Cather’s
characters.
• In Forster‟s lecture series Aspects of the Novel, he
describes flat and round characters: “The really
flat character can be expressed in one sentence
such as „I will never desert Mr. Micawber.‟ There
is Mrs. Micawber — she says she won‟t desert Mr.
Micawber; she doesn‟t, and there she is. These
characters are easily recognised when first
introduced and easily remembered afterwards, and
their memorability appeals to our yearning for
permanence.”
10. “A round character by contrast has further
dimensions to their personality, which are
revealed as events demand them. A flat
character never surprises us with their
behaviour, but a round character may well
surprise us with these unsuspected aspects of
their nature; and the test of a round character is
whether it is capable of surprising in a
convincing way. Even if events never require
these characters to extend themselves, they
nevertheless have the capacity.”
12. Questions
• What is the importance of
independent women in this section,
and why has Cather chosen to develop
these characters here?
• Can we connect Mina Loy to this
movement of women?
13. Q: To Willa Cather what is being “mannish,” or “lady-like?” What
gender roles are expected of females growing up?
Q: What is the relationship between Peter and Pavel?
Q: What is the purpose of including Samson’s *d 'Arnault] story?
Q: How much of the narrator’s opinions are Cather’s own? How much
are used to point out social issues?
What does it take for a woman to gain in respect in Jim’s society?
Q: How does Willa Cather describe the gender roles of a male?
Q: What was the point of the story of the transient’s suicide in
chapter 6?
Q: What was the importance of the dead man’s request for alcohol
and the poem in his pocket? Do either of those points allow for
comparisons to Mr. Shimerda?
QHQ DISCUSSION
14. HOMEWORK
• Read My Antonia (1918) Book II Chapters 9-15 and Book III
• Chapters 1-4
Post #7: Answer one of the following prompts:
1. Discuss the differences Jim sees between the country girls and the
town girls.
2. Explain the importance of the dance pavilion to both Jim and
Antonia.
3. Explain why Willa Cather has chosen to devote one of the books
of her novel to Lena Lingard.
4. Discuss the importance of the Jim Burden leaving Black Hawk for
college life.
5. Write your own QHQ
