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Mr. Shimerda's Grave
The plough, a symbol of the farm work the Shimerdas and the Burdens do on the prairie, symbolizes man's "beautiful and harmonious" connection to the land. At the end of Book 2, before Jim leaves Black Hawk for college, he sees a plough silhouetted in the circle of the red sun setting behind it. The sky quickly grows dark, and the plough disappears from view. This image suggests Jim's impending separation from Ántonia—while Ántonia remains on the prairie, Jim leaves for good. The change also foreshadows the changes that the development of farming will inflict on the natural prairie landscape.
The Plough Quotes in My Antonia
The My Antonia quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Plough. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Book 2, Chapter 14 Quotes
On some upland farm, a plough had been left standing in the field. The sun was sinking just behind it. Magnified across the distance by the horizontal light, it stood out against the sun, was exactly contained within the circle of the disk; the handles, the tongue, the share—black against the molten red. There it was, heroic in size, a picture writing on the sun.
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Jim has spent the whole summer studying for college, except for one occasion whenÁntonia, Lena, and his other friends invite him to pick elderflowers. He reminisces withÁntonia about the past, and that evening they watch as the setting sun gloriously frames a plough that has been left in the field. This is one of many moments in the novel where the natural landscape reflects the social experiences and emotions of the characters. The young people picking elderflowers are overwhelmed by feelings of fondness for the prairie, symbolized by the magnificent warmth of the sun. At the same time, this is Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error.
Even while we whispered about it, our vision disappeared; the ball dropped and dropped until the red tip went beneath the earth. The fields below us were dark, the sky was growing pale, and that forgotten plough had sunk back to its own littleness somewhere on the prairie.
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Jim,Ántonia, Lena, and their friends have all been picking elderflowers, and that evening they watch the sunset cast light dramatically behind a plough that has been left in the field. The sun's light magnifies the impression of the plough, and the friends feel that the sight is especially meaningful. When the sun sets, however, the plough sinks "back to its own littleness." The fleeting nature of the moment highlights the speedy passage of time and the transience of youth. Indeed, Jim's observation that "even while we whispered about it, our vision disappeared" illustrates how quickly and suddenly eras of life Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia.
Book 5, Chapter 1 Quotes
In my memory there was a succession of such pictures, fixed there like the old woodcuts of one's first primer: Ántonia kicking her bare legs against the sides of my pony when we came home in triumph with our snake; Ántonia in her black shawl and fur cap, as she stood by her father's grave in the snowstorm; Ántonia coming in with her work-team along the evening sky.
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Jim has metÁntonia's children, andÁntonia has shown him photographs she keeps of when they were young. That night, Jim sleeps next toÁntonia's children and brings to mind memories ofÁntonia, which appear like "old woodcuts" in his mind. In each memory,Ántonia is slightly different, both in terms of the situation she is in and her stage of development. Each image involves a feature of the natural landscape: in the first, the pony and snake, in the second, the snowstorm, and in the third, the evening sky. Taken together, they traceÁntonia's growing maturity as she is faced with increasingly difficult challenges in Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Re
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The Plough Symbol Timeline in My Antonia
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Plough appears in My Antonia. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 2, Chapter 14
...magnified by the red sun sinking behind it. They realize that the figure is a plough left in the field that is now "exactly contained within the circle of the disk."...
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