Life Lessons in My Antonia Essay

In My Antonia by Willa Cather, there are many life lessons that are portrayed throughout the book for every character. Throughout Jims life, he learns many lessons as well. Some of the lessons he learned on his own, while other lessons he learned from other people who helped him through life. One of the main lessons that Jim learns throughout this book and his life is friendship outlasts all things, including the prejudice of people.

Jim is a man who does not care about what others think throughout his life. This is shown by the fact that Antonia is one of his best friends throughout the book and their friendship outlasts everything. One of the most important things that it outlasts is the prejudice of the people in the town. According to everyone in the town, Antonia may as well have been a flying pig because she was ostracized like she was someone that was completely out of the ordinary in the town. The townspeople all looked at the country girls in one way and one way only and that was in the light that they were simply hired girls (129) and nothing more. Everyone looked at the country girls as if they were a menace to the social order (129) and that is all that they were considered. Through his friendship with Antonia, Jim learned to put prejudices aside and to see people for who they truly were instead of judging them for what part of the world that they came from. Jim and Antonias friendship truly outlasted through the prejudices of the human race at that time.

Jim and Antonias friendship also outlasted through the hard times that they both had to endure. Antonia had a very hard life. Her father committed suicide when she was young and from then on, she had to work for what she wanted in life. Jim earned everything that he acquired in life through a well-rounded education, but he did have to keep his friendship with Antonia in tact when others told him not to bother being around her at all. This is seen when the townspeople warn Jim to stay away from Antonia. At the end of the book, another good friendship has outlasted all things when Lena tells Jim that he really ought to go see her (212). Jim listens to Lena, of course, and goes to see Antonia to allow their friendship to live on.

Through the course of the book, there are many people that teach Jim about a lasting friendship that stays with Jim and allows him to continue his friendship with Antonia. Obviously, Antonia and Lena are great friends to Jim and they teach him throughout the course of the book to stay with friendship through all things. Jim also has his grandmother and grandfather to look to as the perfect epitome of a great friendship that lasts through all things. Throughout everything that happens in the book, Jims grandmother and grandfather stay by each others sides as true best friends. They raise a grandson together and establish a great life and friendship together. This relationship is a great example for Jim to look up to for him to have great friendships as he journeys through his own life.

There are many life lessons to be learned in the life of Jim in My Antonia. One of those prominent life lessons is the idea that a good friendship outlasts anything. Also, that it is his job to make the friendship last through all things. This is an important life lesson for Jim because as long as one has a friend in life, then all things come together in the end. And this is the case in Jims life. He maintains great friendships in his life and that allows everything else in his life to fall into place.