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, detailed depictions of the Nebraska frontier, but also in her characters' relationship to the land they live on. The common naturalist theme of man controlled by nature appears many times in 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 attempting to control the environment around them, they must learn to work with it and adapt to be content with what they have. Jim discovers this during his first winter, as well as the Shimerdas', 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 they adapt to work when the weather permits and hope that nature...