English 11B Close Read ofMy ÁntoniaChapter 1 Directions: Now that you have read the Introduction toMy Ántonia,what questions do you have? Something you might wonder about is why is Ántonia referred to as “my” Ántonia? Is this like how a parent might refer to her or his kids as “my” Katie or “my” Jake. When parents use “my,” it shows possession of their children; the parent is their mother or father and they are the offspring. But why does the author refer to another person with the possessive pronoun, “my”? Feel free to use the sentence stems below and add some of your own. •I wonder… •What did… •Why does… Post 1 or 2 of your questions/thoughts to the class bulletin board. (See the link in the course assignment instructions.) Make sure to add your name. Now, start to answer those questions by diving into Chapter 1 ofMy Ántonia. Step 1 - Read Chapter 1 to get an understanding of what is happening in the narrative. I FIRST HEARD OF Antonia on what seemed to me an interminable journey across the great midland plain of North America. I was ten years old then; I had lost both my father and mother within a year, and my Virginia relatives were sending me out to my grandparents, who lived in Nebraska. I travelled in the care of a mountain boy, Jake Marpole, one of the 'hands' on my father's old farm under the Blue Ridge, who was now going West to work for my grandfather. Jake's experience of the world was not much wider than mine. He had never been in a railway train until the morning when we set out together to try our fortunes in a new world. We went all the way in day-coaches, becoming more sticky and grimy with each stage of the journey. Jake bought everything the newsboys offered him: candy, oranges, brass collar buttons, a watch-charm, and for me a 'Life of Jesse James,' which I remember as one of the most satisfactory books I have ever read. Beyond Chicago we were under the protection of a friendly passenger conductor, who knew all about the country to which we were going and gave us a great deal of advice in exchange for our confidence. He seemed to us an experienced and worldly man who had been almost everywhere; in his conversation he threw out lightly the names of distant states and cities. He wore the
