Looking Deeper Into the Story of My Antonia

Willa Cather in her novel My Antonia offers her view of life during the pioneer time.
If My Antonia would have been told by Antonia's perspective many things would have changed.  For instance, when the Burden's and Shimerda's got in a fight we got to see how Jim reacted and felt, but if Antonia would have been telling the story I'm sure it would have been a whole new fight.  We would have also been able to see what Antonia's first impression of Jim was when he and his family drove over to the Shimerda's house that first day they met.  The story would have been more powerful if we could have seen and felt everything from Antonia's point of view.  By seeing the new country for the first time, learning to speak a foreign language, feeling the pain she felt when her father die, and feeling alone and scared when her fiance left her and her child.  If Cather had written the story from a woman's perspective the story would have been more relatable.

In my opinion, Willa Cather did not do an effective job writing as a man.  At the beginning of the story, if I had not already known it was Jim narrating, I would have thought it was a woman from the story.  All throughout the story I did not feel connected with Jim because she did not know exactly how a man would have felt in certain situations. 

I believe Jim changed the title from Antonia to My Antonia because there was a certain connection between them.  They were always just friends, but deep down inside they both felt more for each other.  You would have thought they were two kids who have grown up together their whole lives and were the same age.  Even though Antonia got married to a Bohemian man and Jim went on to law school, you could still feel the love they had for each other.

My Antonia is a story full of life's ups and downs.  Jim and Antonia over come these obstacles together and as they grow older they shape each others lives in ways they did not even see.  I wonder what their lives would have been like if Jim's parents had not of died and he had never had to move to Black Hawk, Nebraska to live with his grandparents?

The Effects of Setting

When Antonia moved to this new land with her family, she lived in the country.  By living in the country she learned to be free and wild.  She did not have to follow town rules to maintain a good reputation for herself and her family.  Antonia was able to be a free spirit, playing under the sun and working in her bare feet.  Whereas, if she had first lived in town she would have been looked down upon for playing out in the streets running without shoes and with her hair down blowing wildly in the wind.  The country shaped Antonia into being an indepent, strong, and wild young lady and taught her to always be herself.

Hilton Head Island is a place that I can be myself and live without a care in the world.  Like reading a really good book, it is an escape for me.  The air allows me to breath a little deeper, the endless number of palm trees make me feel at peace, and the warm ocean breeze makes me close my eyes and smile.  When I ride my bike on the bike trails with my family I feel as if I never want to leave.  This small island is my haven.

Arugment: Allowing Homeschoolers To Play Sports For a Public School

Assertion/Claim:

• Students should be able to be homeschooled and still play sports for a public school.

Evidence/Concrete Detail:

• "Tim Tebow won the Heisman Trophy as the quarterback of the Florida University football team.  He was home-educated in Florida, which is  an equal access law that allowed him to play football for the local highschool."
• If Tim Tebow hadn't been allowed to play football for his local high school he would not be the successful pro quarterback he is today.
• I believe that if "24 other states" are allowed to have the "equal access law" then so should every other state in the United States.
• 325 Homeschooled athletes are currently playing NCAA Division 1-A sports this year.
• Without the opportunity to play for the high school team they would have never been able to play for a "Division 1" school.
• With so many homeschooled athletes on D-1 school teams, I am sure every college coach would want every state to pass the "equal access law" for their benefit.

Opposing Claims/They Say:

• It's not fair to public school students because they have to do more work than homeschooled kids.

My Rebuttal/I Say:

• Although homeschooled kids get the benefit of working on their school work from their own home, they still have to do just as much work.
• "Research shows that homeschooled students score well above average on standardized tests."

My Paragraph
Students should be able to be homeschooled and still play sports for a public school.  "Tim Tebow won the Heisman Trophy as the quarterback of the Florida University football team. He was home-educated in Florida, which is an equal access law that allowed him to play football for the local highschool."  If Tim Tebow hadn't been allowed to play football for his local high school he would not be the successful pro quarterback he is today. I believe that if "24 other states" are allowed to have the "equal access law" then so should every other state in the United States.  325 Homeschooled athletes are currently playing NCAA Division 1-A sports this year.  Without the opportunity to play for the high school team they would have never been able to play for a "Division 1" school.  With so many homeschooled athletes on D-1 school teams, I am sure every college coach would want every state to pass the "equal access law" for their benefit.  It's not fair to public school students because they have to do more work than homeschooled kids.  Although homeschooled kids get the benefit of working on their school work from their own home, they still have to do just as much work.  "Research shows that homeschooled students score well above average on standardized tests."

My Thinking:
This paragraph is based mainly on inductive thinking because my claim is an opinion.

My Source:

• "Tim Tebow Bill"
• Tim Tebow Bill Filed at Arkansas Legislature