Who Is Tiny Sodderball's Narrative Of American Success?
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The book My Antonia is a historical fiction book written by Willa Cather. The book was first published in 1918 by Houghton Mifflin and is 175 pages long. It is a memoir about the life of the character Jim Burden, and the time he spent with his close friend Antonia. In this report I will first summarize the novel, then focus on the analyzing the way Cather challenges the dominant narratives of American success through the character Tiny Sodderball, a working immigrant girl who later makes a fortune during the gold rush.
A majority of the novel is told through a memoir written by the character Jim Burden about his childhood friend, Antonia. Jim is the narrator of the story and the protagonist. He eventually grows up to become a successful lawyer in NY city. Antonia, Jim’s friend is a Bohemian immigrant girl. The story is set in the 19th century fictional town named Black Hawk, in rural Nebraska. After being recently orphaned, Jim burden travels to the Nebraska frontier to live with his grandparents where he meets Antonia, his…show more content… Tiny was, “satisfied with her success, but not elated. She was like someone in whom the faculty of becoming interested is worn out.” (194) her success is something that she is “satisfied” with, but the fact that It no longer ‘elates’ her means that it no longer brings her any type of emotional pleasure. All she is interested in is the money itself, not the gratification that she can gain by spending it on things she enjoys. Cather further describes the effect money had on Tiny when she writes, “nothing interested her much now, but making money.” (194) This passage highlights the degree to which the money has negatively impacted her. All she does is pursue money, and strive to create more wealth. Money has consumed all other aspects of her personal life, and she becomes uninterested in anything