My Antonia: Jim Burden

Jim Burden is the main character and narrator of the novel My Antonia. The novel stretches from his childhood all the way to when he is middle aged. Jim is a very smart and thoughtful person. He is also very sympathetic. Jim feels a great connection to his home in Nebraska. He refers to the trees as people.

Jim moves from Virgina to Nebraska when he is ten. He is an orphan boy who is going to live with his grandparents on a farm. Jim learns of another family that is moving to Black Hawk, Nebraska also. That family is the Shimerdas. Jim becomes best friends with one of the Shimerda's daughters, Antonia. He also likes to play with her little sister Yulka. Jim does not ever really play with the boys in the Shimerda household. He perfers to play with the girls. Jim is a quiet and sensitive little boy. He has some soft features, and Antonia is very tomboyish, which makes them perfect friends.

As Jim grows into a teenager he becomes very involved in school. He still rathers to hang out with Antonia and her friend Lena then with other teenage boys. Jim, Antonia, and Lena often go dancing, but his grandparents do not approve of it. After seeing his grandmother cry when she finds out that he has been sneaking out of the house to go dancing, Jim stops. He starts to feel lonely, but he does not want to upset his grandmother any more.

Jim soon goes to college. He starts in Lincoln, but he soon moves to Harvard. After Harvard, Jim goes to law school.

So from this evidence of his life, we can tell that Jim is a pretty good person. He does not like to upset his loved ones, he is very good in school, and he is a nice and compassionate person. Jim stays friends with Antonia for a long time, and when he is not with her, he keeps her memory in a very special place in his heart.