“Optima dies… prima fugit” (Virgil). This simple but powerful statement is the quote chosen by Willa Cather to define the expected theme of her 1918 novel, My Ántonia. The classic adage translates as "the best days are the first to flee", which perfectly expresses the general themes of My Antonia: desire, perception of the past and love of memory. While Jim has a fruitful childhood filled with careless optimism for the future, his ultimate destiny is to lead a bland adult life. This reality causes Jim to constantly be stuck in the past, escaping the present. As an adult, he realistically glorifies his adolescent past in order to avoid the inevitable future. On the contrary, Ántonia is satisfied and content with her life, because misfortune humiliates her. The nostalgic tone of the epigraph anticipates a harsh juxtaposition between Jim's romanticized childhood and Ántonia's satisfaction with his lifestyle. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Jim experiences his youth skewed by the honest happiness that comes with being a kid. There is never any reason to worry about a financially satisfied, happy and lucky family. When Jim recounts, "That was the road Antonia and I took that night when we got off the train at Black Hawk and lay down in the straw, wondering if we were children, we didn't didn't know where” (Cather 247), he clearly knows nothing of what awaits him in his future, because he and Ántonia are just “wonderful children”. For her part, Ántonia is invariably plunged into poverty and lack of money, but develops her relationship with Jim as an escape. They share many emotions, such as when “[their] tree became the talking tree in the fairy tale; legends and stories nestled like birds in its branches” (Cather 59). Jim holds her in high regard for this trait; she experiences humble joy despite persevering through situations Jim could never have imagined. During his teenage years, Jim says, "I read aloud to him 'The Swiss Family Robinson' and I felt that the Swiss family had no advantage over us in terms of adventurous living" (Cather 48). They make the ideal couple, as Ántonia admires Jim for possessing what she craves, while Ántonia's lifestyle gives her an adventurous attraction to Jim. As a child, Jim easily refrains from worrying about real-world problems, while Ántonia has no choice. This contrast proves that a childish mentality attached to memories is one of the main contributors to Jim's preference for living in the past. Ántonia is less affected by comparing her current way of living with her past because they are very similar, while living with hardship facilitates Jim's ability to recall good memories. He says: "It's the reality, whether you like it or not: all these summer frivolities, the light and the shadow, the living mask of green that trembled over everything, they were lies, and behold what was underneath. It’s the truth” (Cather 119). Jim, whose life has become the product of bland shades of black and white, can reflect on his colorful childhood and mistake these vivid experiences for pleasure. Reality hits Jim hard and offers quite a contrast to his fantastical childhood. Before growing up, Jim effortlessly poked fun at the humdrum lifestyle of those who lived in cookie-cutter homes, never suspecting that the content of such a witticism would become his eventual destiny as a adult. This disappointing truth causes Jim to constantly dwell on the past,.”