Struggle with the Land in My AntoniaIn Willa Cather's novel My Antonia, a major theme addressed is the struggle with the land. In this essay, I will discuss this theme in relation to the text, the characters, the events they face, and the setting. The text is largely influenced by this theme of man's relationship to the earth. Cather describes the land where the Shimerdas and the Burdens lived as most beautiful – the slow-moving hill covered with a sea of ​​red grass, the circle of open sky above and the earth below. But Cather also describes the earth as something powerful, a force strong enough to break even the strongest man. The land also plays a huge role in the lives of the main characters and, in many cases, determines the type of events they will face. . Antonia and her family are new to America – new to the land, new to the language, new to the customs, and new to farming. From the beginning of the novel, Antonia and her family fought for the land. At first they didn't know how to farm, but they slowly learned with the help of the Burden family. Once they learned the basics of farming, Antonia and her brother had to start and maintain the farm themselves. The Shimerdas weren't the only ones facing the country every day. The Burdens also fought the same battle. But because the Burdens knew the land better and cultivated it, their battle was won more easily. For example, while every day Antonia and her older brother went out and plowed the fields, the Burdens could do other things with the land, since they had already established fields in which to plant things. In a way, this theme of man's relationship to the earth is the setting. The land where the story takes place determined many of the events that occurred - if the land had not been so harsh and brutal, Mr. Shimerda may not have given up hope as he did..