My Antonia
April 2, 2004 My Ántonia Essay Jim Burden develops many friendships in his many years in Black Hawk. One of the first families that Jim encounters, when arriving in Black Hawk, is the Shimerda family. Jim becomes very close to Ántonia Shimerda as they spend many days exploring the vast Nebraska lands. Jim later forms a friendship with Lena Lingard. While Jim maintains a friendly relationship with both Ántonia and Lena, there are elements of their personalities and characteristics that make their friendship exceptionally different. Jim immediately forms a bond with Ántonia, as he begins teaching her the English language. They explore the new countryside and continue on with their teenage years together. Jim enjoys Ántonia’s company and grows very fond of her. Following the death of Mr. Shimerda, Jim and Ántonia come across some problems in their relationship. An argument occurs when Jake confronts Ambrosch about a borrowed horse-collar. Jake punches Ambrosch in the head as Jim watches the whole incident. Ántonia takes her anger out on Jim and exclaims, “No friends any more.” Mr. Burden maintains a friendly relationship with the Shimerda family. Soon, Ántonia and Jim’s relationship gets back on track and remains relatively strong and hopeful. After a three-year friendship, Jim and Ántonia begin to grow apart. Jim moves into the city with his grandparents while Ántonia works long hours in the country. Just when their relationship is losing hope, Ántonia accepts a job at Mrs. Harling’s house. As fate would know it, Mrs. Harling happens to live next door to the Burden family. Jim meets Lena Lingard as she is herding “her father’s cattle in the open country.” Lena lives on the Norwegian settlement with her parents and siblings. Like Ántonia, Lena’s family is rather poor.