My Ántonia: Book 1, Chapter 16

The color-coded bars in this section make it easy to track the themes throughout the work. Each color corresponds to one of the themes explained in the Themes section of this LitChart. For instance, indicates that all six themes apply to that part of the summary.

Summary Analysis Themes

Mr. Shimerda’s funeral occurs five days after his death, just as a new snow storm approaches. Nevertheless, neighbors from all over the region attend the funeral. Mrs. Shimerda asks Jim’s grandfather to say a prayer, in English, at the funeral.

Despite their differences from the Shimerdas, farmers on the prairie stick together in tough times. Mrs. Shimerda’s request shows she understands that her family must assimilate.

Mr. Shimerda is buried at the corner of the Shimerda’s land. Jim says that years afterward, roads were built that crossed at that spot, and after all the prairie grass had been eventually cut up by farmers, the grave is the only place where the grass still grows. Jim says “in all that country it was the spot most dear to me.”

The gravesite is important to Jim because he associates his childhood with the prairie in its purest form. Just as Mr. Shimerda was nostalgic for the “old country,” Jim is nostalgic for his own youth on the prairie.