Friendship In John Steinbeck's The Tragedy Of Antonia

Jim was very fond of Antonia from the beginning. He found her to be attractive and intriguing. Antonia found happiness in Jim and seen a friendship within him. For example, in the story it states, “Antonia laughed and squeezed my hand as if to tell me how glad she was I had come.” From there, Jim had started to teach Antonia how to speak English and they began their friendship. She had accompanied him on adventures, which made her very happy. Antonia had escaped the troubles at home that made staying there depressing. For example, in the story it states, “In the rear wall was another little cave; a round hole, not much bigger than an oil barrel, scooped out in the black earth. When I got up on one of the stools and peered into it, I saw some

Peter and Pavel had no idea that a night of celebrating would turn into a night of death. They had thrown a groom and his bride over the side of their sledge in order to lighten the load and escape the wolves. Cather’s story even states, “Pavel and Peter drove into the village alone, and they had been alone ever since. They were run out of their village. Pavel's own mother would not look at him.” This statement even shows how betrayed the town had felt towards the two men who threw a couple to their death.

The final symbol, rattlesnakes, represented the past, respect, and pride. For Jim, killing a rattlesnake gave him pride and respect for the past. He had even described the snake as, “the ancient, eldest Evil.” However, the snake also caused Antonia and Jim’s elders to respect him for his actions and bravery. They couldn’t believe what he had done to a snake as large as the one that was lying dead in front of them.

All of these symbols relate to characters and express how they feel and think. Winter expressed sadness and distress among Jim and Antonia’s family. Wolves expressed betrayal, fear, and death for Peter and Pavel. Finally, Rattlesnakes represent the past, respect and pride for