Study Questions &
Essay Topics
Study Questions
1. Who is the
protagonist of My Ántonia, Ántonia or Jim?
2. What is the
nature of Jim's affection for Ántonia? Does Ántonia reciprocate
these feelings, or is the quality of her affection somehow different?
Is it fair to call their relationship a love relationship?
3. Where does
Jim fall within the social structure of Black Hawk that he outlines?
4. Why does Jim
choose to live in New York City if he truly feels most at home in
Nebraska?
Suggested Essay Topics
1. What is the role of the landscape
in the novel? How does the novel thematize the relationship between
man and environment?
2. What is Ántonia's relationship
to her native Bohemia? Does she have stronger feelings for Bohemia
or for Nebraska? What does Ántonia's predicament say about the lives
of immigrants during the time of the novel?
3. How does the structure of
the novel serve to emphasize some of its overriding themes?
4. Can Jim's view of Ántonia
be considered reductive or patronizing in any way? Consider that
Cather is a woman writing from the perspective of a man writing
about a woman.
