Question How does the story "My Antonia" support the concept of American Exceptionalism and the realization of the American dream? Response "My Antonia," by Willa Cather, is a story about families who live on the great planes. The book illustrates the concepts of American Exceptionalism because the families in the story go through hard times, yet come out stronger in the end. . These people had to deal with nature and debt along with family dynamic and making new friends. The people who can withstand those harsh conditions and keep moving forward are the true American Exceptionalists. The book begins with Jim who is an orphan on a train to move in with his grandparents in Nebraska. On the train he sees a family from Russia who will become their family's friend when they all arrive on the farms. Through the next few chapters Jim and Antonia spend time together. Their families become close but there are many things there to test them all. These challenges forced them to progress and concur the mid west. Jim was walking with Antonia and she screamed because she saw a snake. After Jim killed it for her they went back to show everyone Jim's victory. It was seen as a great victory to defeat nature because the climate and terrain on these farms were awful. The winters were hard to the point of them being almost unbearable. Mr.Shimerda Antonia's father killed himself over the stress of not having enough food for his family because he was in such great debt. Even after his death the family still moved forward and worked hard, their neighbors helped them as much as they could. That is also part of American Exceptionalism the fact that everyone was going through relatively the same thing. The Shimerda and the Burden's are very different. The Shimerda's are immigrants and the Burden's are wealthy American citizens. They value education and are in a higher class that is why Mr. Burden tries to keep Jim away from her. These two families represe