Cultural Conflict. "my Antonia" Research

My Antonia is one of Willa Cather's favorite works that completely embodies her persistent pursuit of artistic thought. American writer Willard Thorp once put it:"My Antonia is not only Cather's masterpiece but one of the classics in American literature". Therefore, the novel has been analyzed elaborately by multitudes of critics from the perspectives of history, music, race, narrative techniques, writing style and ecocriticism, etc. In recent two decades, Cultural Study has come into widespread existence and become one of academic hotspots. It is literature that displays the birth, continuum and variation of human cultures. And Cultural Study aims right at unveiling the essence of different cultures. In My Antonia, Willa Cather depicts the exploitation to wilderness by American mid/western migrants, exhibiting the real frontier life of the pioneers in the American west, uncovering various complex contradictions and conflicts, and genuinely representing the cultural vision of American society at the end of nineteenth century and the beginning of twenty century.So far, seldom have the scholars explored the novel in terms of cultural conflicts. By illustrating the cultural factors and their conflicts in My Antonia, the thesis intends to seek the cultural origin and orientation in Cather's creation, for the purpose of deeper understanding of that particular history, multicultures and the corresponding influences of materialism on the people's realm of spirit.The thesis consists of five parts. Introduction gives a glimpse to Willa Cather's life background, literary creation, the content of My Antonia and the interpretations by different critics at home and abroad. At the same time, I advance my own ideas. In My Antonia, Willa Cather veritably portrays the tough life of the European migrants in the new world and their pioneering spirits. Chapter one mainly presents the conflict between"old"culture brought by European migrants and"new"culture originated from America. Their mutual influence on each other promotes the multicultural assimilation in the American west. Chapter two delves into the conflicts between female culture and male-dominated culture. Willa Cather reveals the women's awareness of self-domination and their self-fulfillment with firmness. Rooted in the pioneering era on the transitional stage of the century, the novel tends to disclose the contradiction between the pioneering spirit and money worship. Chapter three analyzes the conflict between traditional agricultural civilization and modern industrial civilization. Conclusion summarizes Willa Cather's unique artistic characteristics as follows: defending traditional culture and spirit; praising the female personal glamor; challenging the social corruption; pursuing ideal in the modern life.