Willa Cather Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Willa Cather - Research Paper Example This isolation deprives him the sound of his violin, understanding of his son and keeps him away from his homeland. This deprivation makes Peter feel that suicide is the only solution to his desperation (Willa Cather 11). In Cather’s story, Peter was an immigrant from Bohemia who had settled with his wife and son Anton in Nebraska. Peter was one time a second violist in a Prague theatre, which makes him unable to forget the good days he had at the theatre. He recalled how he used to wear a coat every evening and always had enough alcohol to drink. Later, while still working as a violinist, his bowing arm became partially disabled due to stroke paralysis. This made him quit his job and migrated to America. Peter had a strong believe that he would find a better world to stay. In America, he shared with other European emigrants, and it reached a time when he realized that the barren plains of Nebraska had a different story to tell. In America, he became feckless and was unable to support his own living because of rejecting hard labor. He also became separated from his son (Willa Cather 12). His son Anton represented the second generation of American immigrants. He regarded America as home place, but his father, Peter regarded it as hostile land. Peter’s son was forced to work by material success and forced his father to sell his violin. On the other hand, the story portrayed Peter as a more romantic person, which made him unsuitable to the actuality of the silent plains where there were no great emotions. To Peter, the violin helped remember his life in Bohemian by recalling on the feelings and memories he had while performing on stage. Despite the fact that Peter could not play the violin anymore, he still reflected on the touch he once experienced and the beauty of playing the violin. Peter’s hunger for playing the violin was further amplified when he listened to music, which reminded him of what he experienced daily (Willa Cather 14). While , in Nebraska, Peter’s urge for real experience changed into greed. After his final unsuccessful effort to play the violin he committed suicide. However, before he shot himself, he destroyed his violin to prevent his son Anton from selling the violin. When committing suicide Peter still believed that the world of the unattainable was still within his reach and by committing suicide he would preserve the joy he found in playing the violin. The story points out that Peter had died many times while in the Prague theatre, but his death in Nebraska was the irreversible one. However, the story provides further evidence that suggested that Peter just accepted his defeat (Willa Cather 17). Ardessa by Willa Cather The short story Ardessa by Willa Cather was published in 1918. It narrates of a woman; Ardessa, who worked for The Outcry, which was a weekly magazine. The story describes Ardessa as who was not young, and her looks were not beautiful. She is also described as a woman who ha d good manners and was insinuatingly feminine. Her employer was an immigrant from the west who had engaged in several contradictory issues before becoming the proprietor and editor of the weekly magazine. The employer came into New York and bought a highly respectable publication and made it magazine of protest that was in high demand. The