The Importance of Setting in My AntoniaThe setting of the story has a huge impact on the characters and themes of the novel "My Antonia" by Willa Cather. Cather's delicately crafted naturalistic style is evident not only in her colorful and detailed depictions of the Nebraska frontier, but also in her characters' relationship to the land on which they live. The common naturalistic theme of man being controlled by nature appears repeatedly throughout the novel, particularly in the chapters containing the first winter. The Burdens and Shimerdas, try as they might, cannot combat the harsh climate of the Nebraska prairie. Rather than trying to control the environment around them, they must learn to work with it and adapt to make do with what they have. Jim learns this during his and the Shimerdas' first winter, as they are both newcomers to a strange place. They realize that trying to fight the wind and snow will do more harm than good, and adapt to work when the weather permits and hope that nature...