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Welcome to “the world of ideas”…

Welcome to “the world of ideas”…. Today. Review key themes & main ideas Symbolism- the PLOW Allusions- VIRGIL (maybe) Gender Roles (maybe) Flesh out oral presentation/essay ideas. Symbolism. The Plough, a key symbol in My Ántonia What do you think it symbolizes?. The Plough.

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Welcome to “the world of ideas”…

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  1. Welcome to “the world of ideas”…

  2. Today • Review key themes & main ideas • Symbolism- the PLOW • Allusions- VIRGIL (maybe) • Gender Roles (maybe) • Flesh out oral presentation/essay ideas

  3. Symbolism The Plough, a key symbol in My Ántonia • What do you think it symbolizes?

  4. The Plough In relation to: • Jim’s life path? • Agrarian lifestyle/industrialization? • Immigrant experience?

  5. Symbolism of the Plough • Agriculture waning as industrialization rises • American dream of immigrants • Sense of energy- forward motion • (Where is Jim on his life path at this point in the novel?) • Plough + sun = life-giving, fertility • Setting sun of Jim’s childhood

  6. Reminder…Allusion • An implied, indirect, or direct reference, especially in literature; • also: the use of such references Previous example: “The Old Oaken Bucket” – poetry in the pocket of the suicidal tramp

  7. More allusions in My Ántonia • Virgil- The Aeneid, Georgics • “The best days are the first to flee.” • Celebration of farming life • Bringing the muse to his country • What is Jim’s recent insight from Virgil? • Camille • A novel/play about an ailing young woman who must choose between a man who loves her and a callous baron who wants her • La Traviata • “The Woman Who Strayed”, “The Fallen One” • Pretty Woman How do these allusions fit with the Themes in My Ántonia?

  8. The muse • How do you think the muse is functioning for Jim? • …for Cather?

  9. Reminder: Themes • Nature as a character/force • Immigration/Exploitation • American Dream (values, beliefs, cowboys, and the frontier) • Coming-of-age • Town vs. Country • Role of Women, Gender relationships • Nostalgia • Fulfillment/Happiness/Fertility vs. Memories/Longing/Sterility

  10. Themes/motifs related to gender • Role of women • Fulfillment/happiness/Fertility vs. Memories/Longing/Sterility • Marriage, Love unfulfilled • Antonia?, Ole, Lena, • Decent vs. Indecent work • Lena, Tiny, Antonia

  11. Gender Roles • Can we make any generalizations about the way men or women are portrayed? • What do you think Cather’s intention might have been, in portraying gender in this way?

  12. Gender Roles • How are women and men portrayed in the novel? • Make a 2-column list of characters: • female characters in one column and the corresponding male character (spouse) in the other column. • Label each of the characters with an descriptive word/phrase about the character in relation to others • Ex: “head of household”, “dominating”, “passive”, “motherly”, etc.

  13. Lit Groups Gather with your Lit Groups to review the first 3 books of our novel… begin to share (or gather) examples from the text. This is time to gather evidence- so use time wisely!

  14. Homework • Read My Antonia Book IV • Next Class: The American Gothic!

  15. Cather’s style • “Unfurnished” • Cather compared it to throwing all the furniture out of a room and leaving it as bare as the stage of a Greek theater. • Eliminated many adverbs, used strong verbs • Verisimilitude- the appearance of truth; the quality of seeming to be true • Imagery • Descriptions that appeal to the senses • Symbolism- Seasons, animals, plough

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