In My Ántonia, there's a recurring metaphor—which forms a motif—of sunflowers representing the 19th- and 20th-century American ideals of freedom, exploration, and Manifest Destiny. In Book 1, Chapter 3, Jim describes the “ribbons” of sunflower-bordered roads spanning the prairie through Nebraska and beyond:
[...] all along it, wherever it looped or ran, the sunflowers grew; some of them were as big as little trees, with great rough leaves and many branches which bore dozens of blossoms. They made a gold ribbon across the prairie.
Sunflowers denote the paths of settlers and pioneers in the novel, as they pursue the idea of “Manifest Destiny.” This cultural belief espoused the idea that American "pioneers" were destined to migrate as far west as the continent would allow them to travel. The sunflowers symbolize these early American settlers' perseverance. They follow the road “wherever it looped or ran,” giving the paths of the settlers who came before a “gold[en]” quality.
Later, in Book 1, Chapter 4, Jim describes how Mormons use sunflowers to mark their progress across the prairie. The “gold ribbon” they leave behind created a trail for their loved ones to follow as they escape religious persecution:
The next summer, when the long trains of wagons came through with all the women and children, they had the sunflower trail to follow. [...] that legend has stuck in my mind, and sunflower-bordered roads always seem to me the roads to freedom.
For Jim, the “sunflower trails” symbolize not only the past, but also a guide to the future when his own horizons expand beyond his prairie youth. The “roads to freedom” delineated by sunflowers lead him out of the prairie and Black Hawk, and then eventually back to it as a mature adult. Sunflowers are also traditionally aligned with light, which Cather uses to symbolically signal change in My Ántonia. As Jim follows his path toward his unknown future, he is like a sunflower, "turning" toward the light down whichever road it leads him.
In My Ántonia, there's a recurring metaphor—which forms a motif—of sunflowers representing the 19th- and 20th-century American ideals of freedom, exploration, and Manifest Destiny. In Book 1, Chapter 3, Jim describes the “ribbons” of sunflower-bordered roads spanning the prairie through Nebraska and beyond:
[...] all along it, wherever it looped or ran, the sunflowers grew; some of them were as big as little trees, with great rough leaves and many branches which bore dozens of blossoms. They made a gold ribbon across the prairie.
Sunflowers denote the paths of settlers and pioneers in the novel, as they pursue the idea of “Manifest Destiny.” This cultural belief espoused the idea that American "pioneers" were destined to migrate as far west as the continent would allow them to travel. The sunflowers symbolize these early American settlers' perseverance. They follow the road “wherever it looped or ran,” giving the paths of the settlers who came before a “gold[en]” quality.
Later, in Book 1, Chapter 4, Jim describes how Mormons use sunflowers to mark their progress across the prairie. The “gold ribbon” they leave behind created a trail for their loved ones to follow as they escape religious persecution:
The next summer, when the long trains of wagons came through with all the women and children, they had the sunflower trail to follow. [...] that legend has stuck in my mind, and sunflower-bordered roads always seem to me the roads to freedom.
For Jim, the “sunflower trails” symbolize not only the past, but also a guide to the future when his own horizons expand beyond his prairie youth. The “roads to freedom” delineated by sunflowers lead him out of the prairie and Black Hawk, and then eventually back to it as a mature adult. Sunflowers are also traditionally aligned with light, which Cather uses to symbolically signal change in My Ántonia. As Jim follows his path toward his unknown future, he is like a sunflower, "turning" toward the light down whichever road it leads him.
