Discussion Questions on My Ántonia—Criticism by Fischer and Stout

1. Define on page 452 of Fischer's article? How does a definition of this term help readers understand his argument?

2. What do Black Hawk and Red Cloud share in common, and how do they converge in Cather's novel?

3. What is the significance of Coronado in the novel and in Fischer's interpretation of it?

4. Why does Fischer inflect his argument with the phrase "poststructuralism notwithstanding" on page 464, and what does this suggest about tensions evident between his approach and that of the poststructuralists?

5. In Stout's article, what is the connection between Willa Cather and George Kibbe Turner, and how does this connection influence Stout's understanding of Cather's novel?

6. If Ántonia is Annie Sadilek on page 471, then who are the Harlings?

7. Why does Stout spend so much of her article analyzing the railroad?

8. Why, according to Stout, it is it important that Ántonia is Bohemian?