At the end of section I, Jim Burden is traveling in the back of a wagon to his grandparents' home in Nebraska. He has traveled all night and has seen "nothing but land - slightly undulating." He expresses his emotions when he says, "I had the feeling that the world was left behind, that we had got over the edge of it, and were outside man's jurisdiction....as I looked at the complete dome of heaven, I did not believe that my dead mother and father were wathching me from up there; they would still be looking for me at the sheepfold down by the creek, or along the white road that led up the mountain pastures. I had left even their spirits behind me.... I did not think that I was homesick. If we ever arrived anywhere, it did not matter. Between the earth and the sky I felt erased, blotted out. I did not say my prayers that night: here, I felt, what would be would be" (8). Respond to Jim Burden's analysis of his trip into Nebraska. Choose a specific image or impression and comment on its significance to the story.
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yeah, very cool. I agree
ReplyDelete"wholeheartedly"...... in the words of Bruce Francis
ReplyDeleteI agree
ReplyDeleteit sounds like all he could do is think about the death of his parents
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you. this paints a strong picture in my mind
ReplyDeletejust paints a great image in my head. It is like my head is a canvas and the author has painted a majestic, beautiful picture on the canvas of my brain.
ReplyDeleteI sounded like all he did was think about the death of his parents during there trip. Jim did not care where they went or what they were doing."Between the earth and the sky I felt erased, blotted out." He felt like a nobody and he felt that God was very far away from him.
ReplyDeleteJim felt like a no body and no one wanted him, because he is being passed from people to people for just anyone that can keep him. He feels like no one wants him and cares about him.
ReplyDeleteI like that a lot.
ReplyDeleteThe image that comes in my mind is that he felt lonely and confused. he said that he felt erased and blotted out. Jim is confused and scared on his trip into nebraska
ReplyDeleteWhen Jim Burden say's, "Between the earth and the sky I felt erased, blotted out." This paints a picture that he was not wanted or not in his right home. He doesn't feel right living with people he has never met. I think he is frightened and worried that he will not fit in and not belong.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what this says.
ReplyDeletethis is true. feeling the way he did would be terrible.
ReplyDeletehe seems to be thinking about his past a lot and about his parents
ReplyDeletethose are some pretty deep thoughts for a 10 year old. sounds pretty fun to be lost in the middle of nowhere on a wagon, as long as it was warm i'd be happy.
ReplyDeleteI can understand that he feels "erased- blotted out" because he was torn away from his former life and thrust into a new life. He feels alone because all that he can see is endless plains of grass with no prospect of hope. I would feel the same way in his situation.
ReplyDeleteThis quote paints of picture of what it's like to feel true heartbreak. At this point, Jim does not care where he's going or where he ends up. It seems as if he feels he has lost every part of his parents, and that is what is causing his deep sorrow and numbness. Not only are they dead, but he "had left even their spirits behind" him.
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ReplyDeleteHe's almost hopeless.... Sounding like his past is lost. He is almost not in touch with his feelings... because it is too emotional for him. He's also quite young. It's almost his funeral.
ReplyDeleteJim Burden said,"I had left even their spirits behind me.... I did not think that I was homesick. If we ever arrived anywhere, it did not matter." I think Jim Burden is focusing on his past memories of where his life had gone. He is imagining his old childhood, and how he almost didn't feel wanted or valued back at home.He states that he didn't believe his parents were looking over him in heaven, he says this because he was probably neglected as a child. This quote reminds me of a image of "starting over". He is moving away from everything he knew and is beginning a new chapter of life. In a sense he may feel scared and lonely, but at the same time he feels he is hopeful and anxious.
ReplyDeleteJim is discovering that this land is not his home. He feels disconnected to the world itself, he continually comes back to the image of of the "edge of the world". This imagery depicts this vastness and surreal setting of Kansas and the country side in general.
ReplyDeleteJim is walking into the unknown. His previous life is in the past now, and all of his cares and sorrows are numb. He quotes, "here, i felt, what would be would be." This line illustrates Jim's new attitude about life. He is yearning for something new to capture his attention, and it does not matter what it is.
ReplyDeleteJim went through terrible amounts of grief, which has the tendency to make people feel drained and worn out. The easiest way to cope with this is to eventually become numb. Jim does this. He states, "I had left even their spirits behind me.... I did not think that I was homesick. If we ever arrived anywhere, it did not matter. Between the earth and the sky I felt erased, blotted out." He is at the point where he does not care if he moves or stays in the same place. He does not imagine his parents are watching and guiding over him. He chooses to face reality as it sits in front of him. He does not want to get his hopes up for fear that he will be disappointed. Most of the time, it is easier to face the worst and accept it, rather than hope for the best to only be crushed and disappointed again. He describes himself as a blot that could be erased. He now sees himself as mortal and realizes that his life could be erased in an instant, like his parents' lives were.
ReplyDeleteI think that he wasn't sad, he just didn't want to think about the painful past anymore. Jim has made it apparent that he does not want to believe that his deceased parents are watching over him. He said, "If we ever arrived anywhere, it did not matter. Between the earth and the sky I felt erased, blotted out." When Jim says this, this clearly tells the reader that he is not too worried about the future or even the present. This confuses me, because with this quote it says that he does not care about life. I think that as the book progresses he will eventually find something to work/live for, which might actually be Antonia.
ReplyDelete"Between that earth and that sky I felt erased, blotted out." Jim Burden is ten years old when he moves to Nebraska. I have driven through Nebraska, and it was flat and boring. As he looks out of the wagon, all he sees is flat farmland; no trees, hills, or mountains. He feels as though he is floating through a new space and time, not anxious or eager, but patient and ready to start a new life. He seems to be narrowly nostalgic towards his parents, but he's only ten years old. He doesn't understand life to the extent of when he actually writes the story. This journey to is significant to Jim because it symbolizes leaving behind his old life and coming into something new.
ReplyDeleteWhen Jim said,"If we ever arrived anywhere, it did not matter," he seemed hopeless and apathetic. These feelings came about because of his mother and father's deaths. This causes the reader to feel Jim's pain and wish the best for him once her arrives in Nebraska.
ReplyDeleteThis passage makes me feel depressed. He is dwelling on the death of his parents i assume, which is depressing enough, but on top of that he expresses his feeling of loneliness and insignificance in the world.
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ReplyDeleteI feel that this passage is very descriptive of the feelings Jimmy is feeling as he is entering Nebraska. He feels depressed, but he doesn't flat out and say it. The diction he uses to portray this is descriptive and it really does make the reader feel what Jimmy is feeling. Even at the age of ten, this young boy knows his feelings better than most adults ever do. The image Jimmy uses to describe his parents not looking at him from heaven makes me feel that he either didn't really like his parents or that he loved them so much that he's in denial and puts a mask over the feelings he has towards the death of his parents.
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ReplyDeletewhen i first read the quote the word that came to my head was nostalgic. i was thinking about what themes would represent his feelings and that's what came to me. right after i thought of the word nostalgic, i read that he did not feel that he was homesick. that's exactly the thought that was going through my head. jim is homesick of the the great life he use to have with his family. now things have changed and he misses what once was
ReplyDeleteWhen Jim says, "I felt erased, blotted out"(8), he is referring to the fact that he feels "lost" in the scenery. He is in a place he has never been before and does not feel like he is apart of that world. This quote describes the way Jim feels about Nebraska and how he feels that if he does not know where he is, how could anyone else? He is a very thoughtful kid that needs to find his significance in his new environment.
ReplyDelete- ashley gillum
this quote paints a perfect picture of how man's hope can be shattered and his dreams can be vanquished. from this quote it shows us that the character has lost all hope and that he didnt even pray at night. this shows us that he is somewhat scared and that he is struggling in life, especially on his new journey.
ReplyDeleteI think this means he is accepting his future in Nebraska. He has decided not to look back. He is moving forward to a new beginning.
ReplyDeletewhen jim is saying he is not homesick, he is lying to himself. he does not want to be homesick, but truthfully he is. he is optimistic about his know home, but at the same time he is very aprehensive about moving to this new home.
ReplyDeletei don't think Austin really wants to be going to his grandparents' home under the circumstances. he wished that he could be back at home with his parents.
ReplyDeletehe feels like he is no longer in control of his life, like he had no hope left.
I think that Jim is realizing that things in his life are now different. He knows that there is no what that he can change things in the past, so he must move on. He knows that he must move forward with his life and accept his new surroundings.
ReplyDeleteI think he feels very insignificant. He seems to not care at all where they are going. His painful past has made him bitter. His bitterness makes him tune out everything. This same bitterness has made him uncaring about his situation, almost numb to his emotions.
ReplyDeleteIn this passage, a significant image described is the sky. Jim describes his parents looking down from the "dome of heaven." Jim states that he feels "erased... blotted out," when he looks at the vastness of the sky. I believe that the sky symbolizes Jim's parents and their spirits that watch over and protect him. Also, I believe that the spirits of his parents and their legends will be a symbol that will occur numerous times throughout the book.
ReplyDelete"I had the feeling that the world was left behind, that we had got over the edge of it, and were outside man's jurisdiction....as I looked at the complete dome of heaven, I did not believe that my dead mother and father were wathching me from up there; they would still be looking for me at the sheepfold down by the creek, or along the white road that led up the mountain pastures. I had left even their spirits behind me...." I think Jim feels that moving to Nebraska will force him to leave his old life behind. He talks as if he is unhappy of his surroundings. Jim is young and i think he isn't old enough to realize the good that can come from his situation. The death of his parents seems to overtake his thoughts. It seems to dull his thoughts into sorrow and grief. However, when it says,"I did not say my prayers that night: here, I felt, what would be would be" it seems as though he is trying to move on.
ReplyDeleteWhen he says that he's not even going to say his prayers that night, he feels that God isn't near or close to him, and he feels completely overwhelmed by his surroundings and circumstances.
ReplyDeleteLUKE R.
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ReplyDeletethis was gooouuud
ReplyDeleteAustin, i really enjoyed reading what you had to say! I agree he seems very lonely. He also seems overwhelmed with his life after everything that has happened. Jim doesn't see that good can come from bad decisions.
ReplyDeleteHe really dosen't like his new home at all. He felt "ersaed" as if he did not really even exist any more. He also states that when he arrives he thinks he will not be homesick. I think he will be mistaken.
ReplyDeleteThis quote is very sad and depressing. He sounds like he has no hope.
ReplyDeletebob is phil hardman
ReplyDeleteI think Jim feels bittersweet about being in a new place. He feels "erased and blotted out", but I think he's glad that he gets to start over. He states that he and Jake were going to try their "fortunes in a new world." How Nebraska looks is scaring Jim also. The fact that wherever you look, there is just sky and land. He feels like he is in the middle of nowhere and that God is either very far away or nowhere to be found.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this story, I felt Jim's absence of hope. He does not believe his dead parents are watching him, or even care about him. He cannot find the energy to do anything because he feels that he doesn't matter in this world. Moving to Nebraska must be a difficult thing to to.
ReplyDeleteumm i doubt your phil, bob.. why would your profile say bob if your real name is phil? i think your lying
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ReplyDeleteThis quote makes Jim appear hopeless. Everybody has said it, but I also believe that since the death of his parents, he has felt the absence of worth because his life has drastically changed. I know that if both of my parents died and I had to move to the mid west, I would be extremely discouraged. I like the image of undulating plains because it shows that Jim's life seems to be worthless to him,and there is nothing to give him hapiness
ReplyDeleteJim has left all that he had back in Virginia. He even says he left his parents souls back there. Nebraska is completely foreign to him. It is weird for him to see only the red grass and no trees. He feels out of place because he is not close to his grandmother. So, this is a whole new, terrifying experience for him. He has lost everything and he is just trying to start a new life which it is hard for him especially since he is so young.
ReplyDeleteHe feels that this place he is going is so different from where he is coming from. He feels his parents couldn't be looking down on him because the sky was so different. He says he even left their spirits behind. He seems to give up religion because he's so depressed when he says he doesn't care and what would be would be.
ReplyDeleteHe really felt like he was alone. As if his exitance did not matter. It is very sad really. I pity him. When he says he did not say his prayers. It shows that he has not only lost his faith but he has also lost his hope in the word. This is such a tramatic change insuch a little time period. It must be scary for him.
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ReplyDeleteIn this quote Jim shows he doesn't care about life anymore. He doesn't say his prayers because he doesn't care what will happen to him. He wants to start a new life no matter what happens. He even nearly directly quotes Spanish saying "Que sera sera," (what will be, will be). He is completely out of control, his own and others', and he is content with that. If we all could have this attitude, we would all be content.
ReplyDeleteat this point in jimmy's journey, he is out of his comfort zone. He is in Nebraska where the country seems like it goes on and on and he feels very lost in it all. i think hes realizing how little control he really has of his life
ReplyDeleteJuniors, I enjoyed reading your blogs today. Yes, Jim Burden feels lonely, insignificant, and uncertain about his future. The Shimerda family, especially Antonia, helps with his transition to the rugged west. This novel fits into the "coming of age" archetypes we will read this year. Notice how he begins to process his life with Antonia as a friend. Mrs. Pollock
ReplyDeletebob was me the website was being stupid
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