Question

Read the passage from Willa Cather's novel My Antonia. Pay special attention to the sections in bold text.

All those fall afternoons were the same, but I never got used to them. As far as we could see, the miles of copper-red grass were drenched in sunlight that was stronger and fiercer than at any other time of the day. The blond cornfields were red gold, the haystacks turned rosy and threw long shadows. The whole prairie was like the bush that burned with fire and was not consumed. That hour always had the exultation of victory, of triumphant ending, like a hero's death—heroes who diedyoung and gloriously. It was a sudden transfiguration, a lifting-up of day.

Which two themes are conveyed by this passage?


the glory of nature and of a young hero's death


the color of summer and memories of war


the beauty of the prairie and hard work

Answer 1

The two themes conveyed are the glory of nature and of a young hero's death, and the color of summer and memories of war.

Answer 2

The glory of nature and of a young hero's death

The color of summer and memories of war

Step-by-step explanation:

When the narrator begins to describe their memory, he or she focuses on the setting, putting emphasis on nature's attributes on a specific moment of summer, full of bright colors ("copper-red grass" "sunlight" "red gold", "rosy") which makes it seem praiseworthy and glorious, and then the speaker ends up connecting that moment with the glory of the war and a young hero's death.