Betsy Matheson
Eng. 335
Bro. Allen
2/17/10
My Antonia and the American Dream
Literary critic James Miller has argued that My Antonia is not a fulfillment of the
American dream and that instead; this story portrays the broken lives of the pioneer. My Antonia
does portray certain characters whose dreams were in fact shattered and not achieved as Miller
suggests, such as Mr. Shimerda or even Jim. I argue however that although this book portrays the
sad tale of the hardships of life in the American frontier, it does in fact show the fulfillment of
the individual American dream. Two aspects of the American dream, forging a brighter future
for your own children and being dealt with and considered on your own merits, or being
rewarded for your efforts, are indeed fulfilled by two major characters in the book; Antonia
Shimerda and Lena Lingard.
One aspect of the American dream that was fulfilled in this book was the idea that you
are rewarded for your own efforts. Lena Lingard was an excellent example of this. When she
first comes to town and visits the Harlings she exclaims, “I'm through with the farm. There ain't
any end to the work on a farm, and always so much trouble happens. I'm going to be a
dressmaker.” (pg. 79) Though her family was poor and she most likely would have been stuck on
the farm, she has a dream of becoming a dressmaker through hard work and she indeed achieves
this dream and goes even as far as San Francisco to run her dressmaking business in which she is
successful. James Miller also states, “…those (in My Antonia) who achieve, after long struggle,
some kind of secure life, are diminished in the genuine stuff of life.” Though it is true that the
characters in this book work long and hard to achieve their material possessions along with their
status in life, it is not evident that they are unhappy or are just caught up in the “stuff of life”. For
example, at the end of the book when Jim Burden goes to visit with Tiny and Lena, Tiny makes a
comment about how “Lena would never be either shabby or rich” to this Lean replies “And I
don’t want to be” and then Cather adds a short commentary saying that Lena “agreed
complacently” with that statement. (pg. 155) The fulfillment wasn’t that she got rich, or even that
she had a “secure” life, but that she was able to achieve her dream of becoming a dressmaker by
her own efforts.
The other aspect of the American dream that was achieved is to give your children a
better life than what was handed to you. James Miller again states about the book “the dreams of
the pioneers lie shattered, their lives broken.” Antonia suffered great heartache and dreams of
hers did seem to be broken, but in the end, that was not the case. Although Antonia’s life was
extremely hard and full of disappointments, she was able to achieve this dream. When Jim comes
back to visit Antonia after hearing that her boyfriend abandoned her and her newborn daughter,
she tells Jim “I'm going to see that my little girl has a better chance than ever I had. I'm going to
take care of that girl, Jim.” (pg.152) Years later when Jim returns to see her, she states “My
Martha's married now, and has a baby of her own. Think of that, Jim…I learned nice ways at the
Harlings, and I've been able to bring my children up so much better.” (pg. 162) Antonia states
herself that she was able to give her children a better life than she had, fulfilling the American
dream in that aspect.
While hardships, trials, and disappoints were prevalent in the lives of these pioneers, it is
false to state that the American dream was not achieved among them. Many characters suffered
the road of broken lives and shattered dreams, which does validate Miller’s point. However, his
claim is not entirely true when we look at the lives of Lena Lingard and Antonia Shimerda,
which are almost quintessential examples of achieving two different aspects of the American
dream.