(1) “Willa Cather’s My Antonia is about the hardy people who risked their lives and fortunes in a harsh new land; Cather had the great good fortune to have lived among the first generation of white settlers in 1880’s Nebraska, and she gives witness to their time and place in such a way that American literature will never forget them” (vii). The lives and hardships of the people interest me greatly with the different personalities …showed first 75 words of 623 total…

…showed last 75 words of 623 total…truth about humanity that we know all to well in the late twentieth century. The well-guarded conformity of the many not only stifles the independent spirit, it can destroy it.” In this excerpt, I believe Norris is conveying that we in today’s society are similar to the characters of My Antonia in the fact that the independence of us as individuals and as a nation is snuffed out by guarding our actions so closely.