Willa Carter in her novel My Antonia offers her view of life during the pioneer time. The book is well written with very well thought out characters, in which all have their own personality and character traits that link to each other and make the novel flow easier to the reader.
I think that My Antonia would be very different if the book was written in Antonia's point of view. Mainly, the book would then focus on the struggle of the Shimerdas' as they come to America and start off in a small house, then grow more comfortable as Antonia and her younger daughter learn English and they can start communicating better. Also, instead of being in a masculine form, the book would be written more feminine (maybe) as it would be Antonia's thoughts (although, she is a tomboy).
All in all, I think that Willa Carter is very talented in writing from a man's point of view. She shows emotion in the way that a male would portray it, and the actions and thoughts of Jim are what I would expect in reading a book written by a male author. That earns bonus points in my book, to pass the gender boundary and write a story in the opposite sex's eyes.
I personally think that Jim changed the name from "Antonia" to "My Antonia" because of everything he went through with her. According to the novel, he "wrote down of herself and myself and other people Antonia's name recalls to me". So the book is written on his memories of Antonia, which could be a different person from who Antonia is at that moment, and so that is his personal Antonia.
The novel was a good one, well written and the characters were meticulously thought out. The flow from one thought to the next with the characters evolving as the story goes on makes it more realistic, and the old pioneer times gives an interesting setting as America is just being born.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Author Willa Cather embedded literary devices, such as metaphors, similes, and personification, within her writing.
"As I looked about me I felt that the grass was the country, as the water is the sea. The red of the grass made all the great prairie the colour of wine-stains, or of certain seaweeds when they are first washed up. And there was so much motion in it; the whole country seemed, somehow, to be running."
"The grave, with its tall red grass that was never mowed, was like a little island."
"Winter comes down savagely over a little town on the prairie. The wind that sweeps in from the open country strips away all the leafy screens that hide one yard from another in summer, and the houses seem to draw closer together. The roofs, that looked so far away across the green treetops, now stare you in the face, and they are so much uglier than when their angles were softened by vines and shrubs.
The use of setting on characters is important. Setting affects mood, if the area is dark and stormy then the mood will be dark, maybe suspenseful, and the characters will react accordingly. In books, if a character has to walk down a long, dark hallway then they are usually on their guard, nervous, and hesitant. Setting has a big effect on how characters react towards one another and their surroundings, adding depth into a novel and making it more enjoyable for people to read.
Walking around in the woods has always felt peaceful to me. Seeing the bright colors all around me, the sharp greens and browns and the huge expanse of the forest. If I am alone or with friends, I still feel like I am small in this world next to these huge trees. Sometimes I stand at the top of the hill and look down the clearing, taking in the expanse with the grass rolling and swaying like waves in the ocean. I feel peaceful, I feel calm. I am away from my troubles, nothing to think about but the feel of the breeze on my skin and the birds in the trees.
"As I looked about me I felt that the grass was the country, as the water is the sea. The red of the grass made all the great prairie the colour of wine-stains, or of certain seaweeds when they are first washed up. And there was so much motion in it; the whole country seemed, somehow, to be running."
"The grave, with its tall red grass that was never mowed, was like a little island."
"Winter comes down savagely over a little town on the prairie. The wind that sweeps in from the open country strips away all the leafy screens that hide one yard from another in summer, and the houses seem to draw closer together. The roofs, that looked so far away across the green treetops, now stare you in the face, and they are so much uglier than when their angles were softened by vines and shrubs.
The use of setting on characters is important. Setting affects mood, if the area is dark and stormy then the mood will be dark, maybe suspenseful, and the characters will react accordingly. In books, if a character has to walk down a long, dark hallway then they are usually on their guard, nervous, and hesitant. Setting has a big effect on how characters react towards one another and their surroundings, adding depth into a novel and making it more enjoyable for people to read.
Walking around in the woods has always felt peaceful to me. Seeing the bright colors all around me, the sharp greens and browns and the huge expanse of the forest. If I am alone or with friends, I still feel like I am small in this world next to these huge trees. Sometimes I stand at the top of the hill and look down the clearing, taking in the expanse with the grass rolling and swaying like waves in the ocean. I feel peaceful, I feel calm. I am away from my troubles, nothing to think about but the feel of the breeze on my skin and the birds in the trees.
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