The importance of the past in My Antonia by Willa CatherIn My Antonia, Willa Cather highlights the importance of the past through the narration of Jum Burden. Jim Burden realizes at the end of the novel how much he enjoyed his childhood and how much its memories mean to him. There are three events that Cather included in the novel that contribute greatly to the overall theme, regarding the importance of the past. An event is found in Chapter II of Book III. Jim decides to write about his youth in Nebraska as Vergil has just done. As he is thinking about this, Lena Lingard shows up at the door and he is delighted to see her. Once again he begins to think about the past. Even after he left, his very presence had an impact on his life, which adds to the importance of the past in this novel. Earlier in the chapter, Jim studies Latin and reads the phrase "Optima dies...prima fugit." Translated as if the best days run away first, Jim begins to think about the past. This is the main theme of the novel, and Jim is just beginning to realize how important his past was....