This document summarizes the key events in Jim Burden's life as portrayed in posters and exhibits at the Willa Cather Foundation wing dedicated to her novel "My Antonia." It describes Jim's childhood in Nebraska, his teenage years in Black Hawk where he attends school and dances with Antonia, his time at university where he stays in contact with Lena Lingard and hears news of Antonia, and his return visit to the farm after graduating where he reunites with Antonia. The purpose of the exhibits is to showcase the theme of change in the characters' lives over time as portrayed in the novel.

1. Where the
entrance to the My Antonia
wing of the Willa Cather
Foundation should be, a
passenger car from the era of
steam locomotives stretches
along the opening, blocking
the entire entrance. A door
fixed into the side provides
entry to a three foot deep
replica train
interior, containing two
plaques, and another door
which leads to the wing.
The purpose of this
“lobby” is to give visitors a
sense of the frame style put to
use in My Antonia, executed
by giving the exhibit the same
introduction as is given in the
story; that is, a passenger car
which relates minutely to the
story beyond the car, but sets
the scene for what lies ahead.

2. This wing of the Willa Cather Foundation is dedicated to her novel “My
Antonia,” a story that portrays the author’s deep connection to her
hometown of Red Cloud, Nebraska. Many literary experts suggest that the
book’s main character, Jim, is directly modeled after Willa and her life on
the Nebraska prairie (Britton, 2008). Similar to Jim, she was born in
Virginia, and moved to her grandparents home on the Nebraska plains
(albeit, she was not orphaned as Jim was, her parents made the move
with her) at a young age, alongside a dense immigrant population (MFAH
Book Club, 2010). Her writing gains a vividness achieved by her time on
the plains, for every scene she describes feels real to the point that it
would be impossible to paint such a picture without having experienced
the scene herself.
As you enter beyond the adjacent door, please walk clockwise around
the room. The exhibits are situated in an attempt to give our visitors a
taste of the prevalent theme of change present in My Antonia, exempting
the center wall which hosts a number of interactive devices with no
significant arrangement. Make notice of the log cabin décor which
represent our attempts to reproduce the home of young Jim Burden.
Please enjoy yourself!

3. To give a bit of clarification on why you’re currently standing in a train car, the
introduction to My Antonia is very informative. The introduction sets the reader in a
passenger car rolling through Iowa, with two companions swapping stories of life in the
Midwest. Their conversations winds up on the subject of a girl both parties knew long
ago, which sets the stage for the body of the novel to begin.
In an attempt to replicate this “frame” effect, the Willa Cather foundation has
provided a period train car installation for our wing. Utilized as an entrance, it gives the
same introduction to our version of My Antonia as is given in the actual novel. Used as a
literary device, framing is an easy way to hint at background information, divulge spoilers
to the plot which bias your opinion of the story, and provide the reader with the
knowledge that the novel may be romanticized by the “author,” meaning the transpiring
events could be different than they are described in the story.
Hopefully the entrance to our room does the same. Enjoy your stay.

4. Jim
• Upon entering the room, walk to the left wall. Here, Jim’s life is displayed
through four two foot wide posters accompanied by plaques which
chronologically describe Jim’s life. Diction is an important factor in defining
My Antonia, so accompanying each poster is a button, which when pushed
plays a recording of a passage from each period of Jim’s life. Change was a
major theme in the novel, especially in the context of each character, so it
is very important to see the posters in order so as to experience the
change in Jim through passing years!
Follow the arrow to the start of Jim’s life.

5. Jim Burden was a ten year old boy
who, following the death of his parents, moved from
Virginia to Nebraska under the care of his late father’s
farmhand, Jake Marpole, to live with his grandparents.
He befriended a Bohemian girl by the name of Antonia
who was four years his senior. She arrived with her
family in Black Hawk (the town nearest to the Burden’s
farm) the same day Jim did. Throughout the
summer and fall, Jim shared a number of exciting
adventures with Antonia and her baby sister Yulka in
which Jim and Antonia formed a tight bond.
Alongside his grandparents, Otto Fuchs, a rough
Austrian farmhand under the employ of Grandpa
Burden, and Jake play role-models to Jim. Otto’s stories
of the Wild West captivate both Jim and Jake.
Two Russian men, Peter and Pavel, also leave Jim
with a deep impression, despite their ability to speak
English. They were friendly men, and could communicate
well with the Shimerdas. However, Pavel was fighting a
terminal illness, and upon his death bed, he shared a
terrifying story in which the Russians threw a husband
“We burrowed down in the straw and curled
and bride to a pack of wolves in order to maintain their up close together, watching the angry red die
survival. out of the west and the stars begin to shine in
The coming of Nebraska’s brutal winter seemed the clear, windy sky… We lay still and did not
to dampen the relationship between Jim and talk. Up there the stars grew magnificently
Antonia, cooping Jim up inside his grandfather’s house
with the only adventures being an occasional sleigh ride bright. Though we had come from such
with Antonia, the death and burial of Mr. Shimerdas, and different parts of the world, in both of us there
the joyful Christmas shared within the Burden was some dusky superstition that those shining
household. groups have their influence upon what is and
what is not to be (Cather 46).”

6. After four years on the farm, the Burdens move into Black
Hawk, while Otto and Jake decide the time has come for them to
part ways with the Burdens and venture West. In the city, Jim
begins school in earnest and learns to be social with other boys
and girls his age.
As time passes, Jim learns more and more about Black
Hawk’s strict social ladder, in which the hired folk (such as Antonia)
are to remain separate from the city people. However, Jim finds
the hired women to be much less dull than those of the
city, especially a dressmaker by the name of Lena Lingard.
The freedom of the hired girls begins to make Jim
restless, which drives him to a saloon. This brings scandal to the
Black Hawk community, but Jim can’t seem to beat off the feeling
that he’s cooped up. To cope, he begins attending dances in town
after his grandparents have gone to bed, where he meets up with
Antonia. After walking her back to the detestable Cutter’s
home, Jim attempts to steal a kiss from Antonia, but is denied.
Rather than feeling dejected, however, Jim is satisfied by her
modesty.
The dancing stops abruptly when Jim finds his
grandmother crying because of his deceitfulness, and in
atonement, he begins a rigorous study schedule in preparation for “Her warm, sweet face, her kind arms, and
college. Jim makes a speech for his high school’s commencement the true heart in her; she was, oh, she was
which he dedicates to Antonia’s late father, which results in still my Antonia! I looked with contempt at
Antonia crying in bliss. the dark, silent little houses about me as I
In favor to Antonia, Jim house-sits in the Cutter walked home, and thought of the stupid
residence, where he is awoken one night to find Mr. Cutter young men who were asleep in some of
enraged that Jim is in Antonia’s place. His plan had been to slip in them. I knew where the real women
and rape Antonia, but Jim has foiled this by sleeping in her were, though I was only a boy; and I would
stead, narrowly escaping Mr. Cutter’s wrath.
not be afraid of them, either (Cather 152)! “

7. Now attending college, Jim has come under the
wing of an up-and-coming scholar by the name of Gaston Cleric.
Making board with an ancient husband and wife on the outskirts
of Lincoln, Jim becomes a diligent young man, working hard to get
ahead in his academics.
Sophmore year at the university brings Jim an
unexpected visitor, Lena Lingard, who now makes dresses in
Lincoln. She brings with her news of Antonia, who is engaged to a
man named Larry Donovan. Lena also brings Jim company in the
form of a date to the theatre. For the remainder of his time at the
university, Jim and Lena see each other consistently, until Cleric is
offered a position at Harvard, and makes requests for Jim to
follow him to Massachusetts. At the finish of the semester, Jim
visits home in Black Hawk for a few weeks before ultimately
leaving for Harvard, with a stop in Virginia to visit old relatives.
Two years at Harvard pass, after which Jim returns
home for the summer before he must return East for law school.
Curiosity over Antonia is stirred up, and Jim makes the decision to
visit the widow who inhabits his old farm house in the
country, where he has been told he will learn of her plight with
Larry Donovan. His trip proves fruitful, for Widow Steaphens
shares with him the story of Antonia’s mysterious unwedded
reappearance in Black Hawk, and the unexpected birth of her
child.
After sleeping in his childhood bedroom, Jim walks “As I went back alone over that
to the Shimerda’s, where he reunites with Antonia. They share a familiar road, I could almost believe
nostalgic walk through the Nebraska landscape of their
childhood, describing to each other their plans for the future. that a boy and girl ran along beside
Their stroll ends with Jim promising to see her again after law me, as our shadows used to
school, and Antonia promising to never forget him.
do, laughing and whispering to each
other in the grass (Cather 203).”

8. With the largest gap yet, Jim is now in his
forties, having been away from Black Hawk for twenty years. His
return home is owed to the convenience of the stop as he
makes his way back to New York from business in the
West, coupled with his desire (which was prodded by Lena and
Tiny) to drop in on Antonia and her husband Cuzak.
Upon his arrival at the Cuzak farm, Jim goes
without recognition by Antonia for a moment, until she is
flooded by memories of times gone by and calls for her family
to meet him. Jim is given a tour of Antonia’s home, which is
infinitely better than the Shimerda farm of the past. The hours
give way to the reminiscing of childhood friends, but
eventually Jim makes bed in the hay loft with Antonia’s
children.
The following day, the gruesome murder of Mrs.
Cutter at the hands of her husband, and his subsequent suicide
is revealed. Jim then talks at length with Cuzak. After one final
day with Antonia, Jim makes his leave of the family with
everybody wishing him well as he departs to see Black Hawk “I had the sense of coming home to myself, and
one final time. of having found out what a little circle man’s
He finds the city unfamiliar, and is hard pressed to experience is. For Antonia and for me, this had
see things he recognizes. Eventually, the outskirts of town give been the road of Destiny; had taken us to those
Jim the nostalgia he desires, and his detection of a trace of the early accidents of fortune which predetermined
road from his youth which leads to the countryside brings him for us all that we can ever be. Now I understood
to sit peacefully and watch the sun set over the familiar that the same road was to bring us together
landscape. again. Whatever we had missed, we possessed
together the previous, the incommunicable past
(Cather 229).”

9. • Coming to the end of the left wall, we reach
the upper left corner of the My Antonia
wing, where we have on display another
exhibit.

10. In the upper left corner of
our exhibit, we have a one-of-a-kind
jukebox with dimensions of
2*2*6, complimented by an engraving
which quotes Cather, “*A book+ must
leave in the mind of the sensitive
reader an intangible residuum of
pleasure; a cadence, a quality of voice
that is exclusively the writer's
own, individual, unique. A quality that
one can remember without the
volume at hand, can experience …as
one can experience in memory a
melody,” (Cather, 1925). In My
Antonia, Cather seems to pick every
word in such a way that the novel
flows with a musical quality. Her self
proclaimed love of music
(Cather, 1925) helped her to achieve a
writing style in My Antonia that leaves
the reader with a “residuum of
pleasure,” so we have exhibited a
jukebox which plays an audio recording
of the book. The jukebox hints at the
musical quality of the text, while the
story itself carries a harmony to satisfy

11. Now we have reached the central
wall, where the fun lies! Each station is
interactive, so feel free to touch the
exhibits. However, please maintain your
clockwise path, for the wall on the right
starts fresh from the beginning, detailing
Antonia’s growth through the progression
of the book.

12. On ceiling
Create your own
sunset
Everyone who has read My Antonia remembers
the enlightening sunset described on page
163, where the sun encompasses a plough while
it sets. Visitors can now learn the science
behind those majestic sunsets and create their
own. On the left side of the center wall, there
is a computer which allows guests to determine
the time, cloud coverage, season, and humidity
that they want to have their sunset occur at.
Then, their very own sunset will be projected
onto the ceiling for the other visitors to admire
as they walk throughout the exhibit. Where?
Low or high?
set
On wall

13. In the novel when Jim
July 17, 1905
talks about the
Partly Cloudy landscape, the readers
can tell that the way he
Summer
describes it display his
High Humidity current emotions.
“Even while we whispered
about it, our vision disappeared;
the ball dropped and dropped
until the red tip went beneath
the earth. The fields below us
were dark, the sky was growing
pale, and that forgotten plough
had sunk back to its own
littleness somewhere on the
prairie (Cather 163).”
The Nebraskan prairie is the primary setting
for My Antonia. It serves as a symbol for
freedom throughout the book. Willa focuses
the majority of her writing in the first book on
the plains and the important role they play in
Jim’s life.

14. Just Dance, Mrs. Vanni’s edition
In the middle of the center wall, located between
the sunset simulator and the meet the characters
interactive device, there will be a dance simulator
taking up four by three feet of space, where
visitors can learn the dance moves taught by Mrs.
Vanni on Saturday nights in Black Hawk (Cather
131)! The game’s controls resemble that of the
popular “Dance Dance Revolution,” franchise.
Players stare intently at the top screen to watch
an animated replica of Antonia dance, and then
attempt to replicate her moves, viewing their
efforts on the bottom screen.
Because of the freedom lent to
Antonia through Mrs. Vanni’s dance
pavilion, along with the various other dance halls
that sprung up in Black Hawk, we felt it would be
a shame to let her moves go to waste. Since
dance halls were the center of attention in a
large portion of the book, it was decided the
dance machine should be an attraction!

15. My Antonia introduces a
riad of characters throughout the
ry which come and go at the oddest
imes. In an attempt to organize and
p track of the long list of important
ople in the novel, the final exhibit
ng the central back wall is the “Meet
Characters,” 30” touch-screen.
The home page displays
ee family trees, accompanied by two
er categories. Each individual is
able of being brought onto the Initial Narrator
een to introduce (or refresh your
mory, if you’ve already read the
ok,) the corresponding character by
ply poking the desired name.
Pink lines on the family-tree
resent marriages, red lines
mbolize deaths (and in one
e, termination of engagement), blue
es signify important
ationships, and white lines entail
spring (or siblings).

16. Josiah Burden (Grandpa)
• Josiah Burden was the father of Jim’s late
father. A religious man, Grandfather Burden
spoke rarely, but always wisely.

17. Emmaline Burden (Grandma)
• A compassionate woman, Jim’s grandmother
enjoyed taking care of her home properly.
Despite her annoyance at Mrs. Shimerda’s
rudeness, she helped the Bohemian’s multiple
times.

18. Jim’s Parents
• Within the first paragraph, Jim’s parents are
dead. The only role they play in the story is
their loss of guardianship over their ten year
old boy due to their deaths.

19. James Quayle Burden (Jim)
• The focal point of the story, Jim is introduced
to us late in his life with the introduction, but
the body of the story begins with him in his
childhood. Supposedly the novel was written
by Jim and given to the narrator as a
description of his childhood neighbor and
close friend, Antonia. We are exposed to the
growth and maturation of Jim throughout the
story, as he turns from farm boy, to well
educated lawyer.

20. Gaston Cleric
• A “brilliant and inspiring” (Cather 169) scholar
who takes Jim under his wing almost
immediately upon his entry to college, the
instructorship at Harvard offered to Cleric
allows Jim to attend the prestigious university.
The death of Gaston left a deep mark on Jim.

21. Otto Fuchs
• A rough Austrian employed by Grandfather
Burden, Otto has experienced much of the
world, and relates his travels in entertaining
stories. His cowboy attributes get the best of
him by the end of book one, dragging him
back West for some adventure.

22. Jake Marpole
• The only reminder of Jim’s life before
Nebraska, Jake accompanied the young Jim to
find work with Grandfather Burden after his
previous employer (the late Mr. Burden)
passed away. Jake plays the role of an older
brother to Jim, but follows Otto West by the
end of book one.

23. ???
• Jim’s wife, who has that title because of the
position it granted Jim, and the freedom she
retained as his beau. According to the initial
narrator, a rather miserable lady.

24. Peter Krajiek
• A nasty Bohemian who sold the Shimerdas
their first home for far more than it was
worth.

25. Mr. Shimerda
• Mr. Shimerda moved to America with a heavy
heart. His homeland of Bohemia was very
dear to him. Because of his wife’s relentless
begging, he moved the family to the “promise
land,” and gave up happiness. This is
expressed by his reluctance to play the
violin, which reminded him of the glory days
in Bohemia.

26. Mrs. Shimerda
• A manipulative woman, Mrs. Shimerda forced
the family to come to America in hopes her
favorite son Ambrosch would find success. Her
rudeness and lack of humility find her few
true friends.

27. Ambrosch
• The eldest of the Shimerda
children, Ambrosch was expected to go far. His
brutish nature occasionally gave way to a soft
side, but he found himself on Jim’s bad
side, and under the fist of Jake on one
occasion.

28. Antonia
• Antonia is introduced as a young immigrant
lass, on her way to make a new home in the
same place Jim finds himself making home.
Her place in Jim’s mind is rivaled by
nobody, and her adventures with him are the
main focus of the book.

29. Yulka
• As the baby girl of the Shimerda clan, Yulka
tags along with Jim and Antonia, and lives in
the Cuzak household in the final years of the
novel.

30. Marek
• The youngest Shimerda boy, Marek is full of
energy, most likely mentally deficient, and
likes to surprise people with his webbed
hands.

31. Larry Donovan
• Antonia’s groom to be, Larry ditches her
before the wedding in search of a fortune in
Mexico, leaving her carrying his seed.

32. Anton Cuzak
• The man who Antonia ends up with, Cuzak
shares a very similar up bringing with Antonia.
For his brief role in the book, Anton seems a
kind man, and gives Antonia many children.

33. Anton Jelinek
• The Burden’s neighbor in the country, he plays
a short role in book one at the time of Mr.
Shimerda’s death, and goes on to run a saloon
in Black Hawk. Jelinek is uncle to Cuzak.

34. Martha
• Martha is the child of Donovan and
Antonia, and by the end of the book she has a
baby of her own.

35. Assorted children
• The large family of Anton’s loins is actually
large. Like. 10 of em.

36. Mr. Harling
• The patriarch of the Harling household, which
happens to neighbor the Burden home. The
Harlings are a country family, and thusly
interact well with the Burdens. For the extra
help, Mr. Harling hires Antonia, but
disapproves of her dancing, and ultimately
kicks her out.

37. Mrs. Harling
• A wonderfully charming woman, Mrs. Harling
enjoys Antonia and Jim’s company, and hosts
many games for her children and the former
two to enjoy.

38. Frances
• The eldest Harling child, Frances has a
cool, calculating head. Her business skills go
unrivaled, and even Jim’s Grandfather praises
her ability.

39. Charley
• Charley’s mind is filled with militaristic
aspirations, and this lands him in a successful
position at the Naval Academy of Annapolis.

40. Julia
• Julia Harling is musically inclined, and the
same age as Jim. She plays very little role in
the story.

41. Sally
• The Harling baby is fiery tomboy, who can
apparently beat Jim in an arm-wrestling
match.

42. Lena Lingard
• Lena plays an important role in Jim’s life. In
Black Hawk, the Norwegian’s relationship is
not a serious one. However, in the way Jim
can’t think romantically of Antonia, the
opposite seems to be true for Lena. During
Jim’s college years, Lena becomes a more
developed character who shares a serious
relationship with Jim until his departure for
Harvard.

43. Tiny Soderball
• Starting out alongside Lena and Antonia as
one of Black Hawk’s hired girls, Tiny makes a
fortune in Alaska thanks to gold. Near the end
of the story, Tiny lives in San Francisco, near
Lena. Her negative opinion of Cuzak is
expressed to Jim before he sees Antonia for
the last time.

44. Peter and Pavel
• The two Russian brothers living near the
Shimerda’s, Peter and Pavel speak no
English, leaving Antonia to translate for Jim
whenever they visit the pair. Pavel is in poor
health, and they are in debt to the town
lending shark, Wick Cutter. In their final
scene, the reason for their emigration is
revealed. Pavel dies in front of Jim and
Antonia, and Peter boards a train after selling
everything he owned, never to be seen again.

45. Widow Steavens
The Widow Steavens owned the house
between the Burden’s country farm and Black
Hawk until the end of book one, when she
bought the Burden’s place. Steavens reveals to
Jim Antonia’s story before he visits her in the
last chapters of the novel.

46. Wick Cutter
• The notorious moneylender, Mr. Cutter
employs and houses Antonia after she is
ejected from the Harling residence. Jim foils
his plot to have his way with Antonia, and in
the end, it is revealed he murdered his wife
and then took his own life.

47. Mrs. Cutter
• The unfortunate wife of Wick, Mrs. Cutter
argues with her husband constantly, until he
shuts her up for good.

48. Samson d’Arnault
• The blind black pianist who breaks up the
monotony of Jim’s first winter in Black
Hawk, the description given by Cather of
Samson is that of a stereotypical black man of
the era. The book’s intended audience should
be kept in mind while reading d’Arnault’s
chapter.

49. Mrs. Vanni
• The origin of Black Hawk’s dance craze, the
Italian dance instructor hosts the pavilion
which lures Antonia into her “rebellious”
lifestyle.

50. Mr. Vanni
• The other Vanni, Mr. Vanni provides the
musical ambiance for the dancing tent with
his angelic harp.

51. Initial Narrator
• All we know about the narrator is that she was
a business partner of the elder Jim introduced
at the beginning of the story. She’s on a train
in Iowa, dislikes Jim’s wife, and through some
connection, knows Antonia.

52. After having your fill of interactive
exhibits, your walk should continue down the
right wall of the room. Antonia’s life will be
displayed by four posters and plaques, along
with audio exerts to mimic her change in
diction as she begins to master English.
Again, the displays are organized
chronologically to depict the theme of change
which shows up repeatedly in My Antonia.

53. When you have come to the end of Antonia’s display, five
exhibits remain unviewed.
Exhibit Location
- Word painting: three feet in front of the entrance
- Road sculpture: three feet continuing past word painting
- Black Hawk Model: dead center of the room
- Sensory Station: centered on the exterior wall of the train car
- Distance Walked: displayed next to the exit door

54. My Just as Cather, we
have put on display a painting
Antonia contains comprised of words alone, three
within its binding a feet away from the entrance to the
wonderful example room. This towering masterpiece
renders adjectives that relate to the
of what an author different elements of the picture in
can do with words. a pattern that replicates the scene
Willa Cather shows Jim describes on page 163 of My
Antonia. In this scene, a lone plough
her mastery of the abandoned in a field is
English language by superimposed upon the setting sun.
painting landscapes However, the plough
is not comprised solely of words
and detailing the which might be used to describe a
inner workings of the plough, but also words to describe
town of Black Hawk’s civilization. The same goes for the
sun, the image is not limited to
social ladder by using solar descriptors alone, but
words alone. In the vocabulary to describe nature in
novel, her first hand general as well. The artist chose to
impose these words because of the
experience in the way Willa used the scene as a
prairie of Nebraska is symbol for the manner society
shared with the exists on top of nature, or
similarly, an image that cannot exist
reader in the without its beautiful background.
beautiful settings she
describes through
Jim’s eyes.

55. It’s no secret Willa has a
knack for giving her readers a crisp
mental image of the scenes she
elaborates upon, the perplexity lies in
how she manages to do so. Located
three feet behind the easel holding the
word picture, an animate statue
composed of road imitates a description
used twice in My Antonia, “that road
which used to run like a wild thing
across the open prairie,” (Cather 228).
The statue lurches about in
resemblance to an enraged beast (or
rather, a “wild thing”). The significance
behind this piece is the way it
symbolizes Cather’s heavy usage of
metaphors, similes, and personification
to build clear images of settings and
characters in the novel.

56. Black Hawk comes to life
In the center of the room there will
be a four’ by four’ model of Black
Hawk, so that visitors may catch a
glimpse of both what the town looked
1
like, and where the many characters 2
lived and interacted with one another.
This model will contain numbered
stickers on buildings and other areas
that will correlate to matching
descriptions on the edges of the table 1 Jim’s house
2 The Harling’s home where
it rests on. Antonia works and lives for a
while.

57. Another tool in Cather’s arsenal used for sharpening the images in My
Antonia was her ability to appeal to the reader’s five senses. Jim’s adventures are
related not only through transpiring events, but also the textures and weight of what
he’s handling, the odor of his surroundings, the tastes of his meals, the intensity and
tone picked up by his ears, and of course, the images displayed before his eyes.
In an attempt to physically translate My Antonia’s text, the sensory station
exhibit centered against the train car offers tantalization for four of the five senses.
The goggles play a panoramic video of the Nebraskan grassland, accompanied by a
symphony of crickets, hawks, and various other critters emitted through the
headphones. A modified gas mask wafts the scent of Grandma Burden’s sausage and
waffles, while a patch of synthetic red grass lies ready to titillate your sense of touch.