As a result of Jim’s love for Antonia, Jim allows himself to live through Antonia and lets his appreciation for her control and shape his life choices. This strengthens the epigraph’s truth and proves that in Jim’s case, the best days really are the first to flee. There are numerous occasions in the novel where Jim finds himself lonely and living through his “best days” or childhood memories. This illuminates how much Jim’s childhood memories haunt him and how much they have engulfed his life. When Jim is walking with Antonia he thinks to himself “ I could almost believe that a boy and a girl ran along beside me, as our shadows used to, laughing and whispering to each other in the grass”(Cather 153). Another noteworthy example is in book four, when Jim returns home to visit his friends, family and most importantly Antonia. This allows the reader to begin the novel with some insight into Jim and Antonia’s relationship and how much she truly means to him. Jim begins the novel by saying “ More than any other person we remembered, this girl seemed to mean to us the country, the conditions, the whole adventure of our childhood” (Cather 2). Even in the beginning of the novel, Jim expresses his fondness for Antonia. Jim’s happy vivid childhood memories evoke in him a reminiscent feeling, that he is unable to let go of, therefore allowing him to live through his past, rather than branch out to the present.
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