MA: Immigrant Experience

Question 1

The American Dream

Answer 1

• Homestead Act that urged colonisation of Nebraska - anyone could claim land for free
• Shimerda’s moved to America in search of a better life by owning their own land

Question 2

Struggles and Hardships

Answer 2

• Struggles with social integration - characters find themselves in low paying exploitative conditions such as farm labour in order to survive
• Portrays social limitations and inequalities such as language and cultural differences
• Mr Shimerda’s death - shows the harsh reality of the immigrant experience and how the road to the American dream isn’t easy

Question 3

‘My Papa sad for old country he not look good’

Answer 3

• Dialect - regional realism, shows Antonia’s grasp of the english language and how she is in the process of learning
• Immigrant experience/corruption of them American Dream

Question 4

Martin - ‘Mr Shimerda’s suicide is a testimony to the grim reality of the struggle imposed by the frontier condition’

Answer 4

Mr Shimerda is a victim of the American Dream, his life in America is not all it was cut out to be and he and his family are facing the harsh realities of immigrant life in America

Question 5

‘He wanted us to know that […] he made good wages and his family were respected there’

Answer 5

Mr Shimerda maintains his pride in his social standing which is why the change in environment and economic situation has been hard for him

Question 6

‘[Mr Shimerda] had only been so unhappy that he could not live any longer’

Answer 6

Mr Shimerda’s unhappiness arises from cultural displacement, economic hardships, social isolation and unrealised dreams highlighting the emotional toll that immigration has had on him