One of the greatest American writers, Willa Cather illustrated her intense love towards the vast countrysides of Nebraska in her novel My Antonia. Cather's childhood began with a life in Virginia, constantly surrounded by immigrant farm workers and the magnificently rich countryside (Willa, Cather 77). Early in her childhood Cather left the plentiful country sides of Virginia and began a new life in vast plains Nebraska. This change initially provoked a feeling of distaste in Cather towards Nebraska's bare scenery. However, eventually Cather experienced a significant change of heart and became extraordinarily passionate towards the unadorned Nebraskan environment. Cather recalls her emotions; "I was a little homesick and lonely...so the country and I had it out together and by the end of the first autumn the shaggy grass company had gripped me with a passion that I have never been able to shake," (Ahearn 1). This transformation inspired what some consider her best work, My Antonia. In My Antonia, Cather places Jim, the main character, in a situation corresponding with her own childhood experiences. Jim endures an unwanted move to the plains of Nebraska, a bare countryside he finds repulsive. His emotions run parallel to Cather's as Jim begins to develop the most intensified feelings of passion towards his new environment (2). By the end of the novel Jim is able to avidly describe his experience; "...and I did not want to be anything more, I was entirely happy." Therefore, it is evident that Cather's own experience as a child stimulated her foundation for the character Jim in her most prestigious novel, My Antonia.
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