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Examining the Growth and Development of the Female Plot in the Novel My Antonia
A Naturalism Point of View
Naturalism is an artistic, literary movement containing characteristics of determinism, pessimism, and impersonal language (The 10 Most Important Features of Naturalism). American literary naturalism is represented in the work of author Willa Cather’s novel My Antonia, through elements of tragedy, determinism, pride, self-respect, and reputation, which are all present in her characters. Mostly though, the characters come from lives of poverty and are determined to survive the harsh living conditions of the unsettled Nebraska plains. In literature, naturalism aims to portray reality in an objective way, exposing both the beauty and the ugliness of life (The 10 Most Important Features of Naturalism). It was coined off realism, as they both were rejections of romanticism.
Tragedy is noted immediately in the text of My Antonia when we learn that young Jim had lost both his father and his mother within a year of each other and now his relatives were shipping him off to Nebraska to live with his grandparents (Levine and Cather 36). Elements of poverty are noted when young Jim states that his new home is the only wooden house west of Black Hawk, and that their neighbors lived in sod houses and dugouts (Levine and Cather 40). Even at this young age…
