Surname 1 Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Date My Antonia by Willa Cather The main idea of chapter 16 in Willa Cather’s “My Antonia,” is death and its negative impacts on individuals left behind. The idea is well illustrated by the author uses imagery to show Mr. Shimerda’s dead state and resting place. He writes, “All day… chopping out the frozen earth with old axes… Jake and Jelinek went ahead on horse-back to cut the body loose from the pool of blood in which it was frozen fast to the ground” (Cather 131). In the afro-mentioned quote, the author uses imagery to create a clear picture of Mr. Shimerda’s corpse and his final resting state. Moreover the author also uses imagery to show the reader how Shimerda’s death affects Mrs. Shimerda, Antonia, and Jake among other individuals left behind. For instance, he writes, “ Mrs. Shimerda sat crouching by the stove…When she saw me she ran out of her dark corner and threw her arms around me…It seemed to me that I could feel her heart breaking as she clung to me” (Cather 131). From the above quote, the author uses imagery to show how grieve-stricken Antonia was. It is through this imagery that individuals realize how close Antonia and Jim are and the loss she has encountered. For Antonia, she has lost the only individual who was close to
End of preview
Want to read all 2 pages? Upload your study docs or become a member.
