The Character of Marek Shimerda in My Antonia :: My Antonia Essays

The Character of Marek Shimerda in My Antonia      Ã‚  Ã‚   In Willa Cather's novel, My Antonia, Marek Shimerda is starved for attention because he is constantly ignored due to his mental retardation. It is solely because of his handicap and the assumption of his inability to help out with the farming and household chores that his family views him as helpless which results in Marek's strange and awkward actions. He is presented as an ill minded young man throughout the novel, repeatedly excused, and resides in the shadow of his healthy, fully functional older brother, Ambrosh Shimerda.    Marek is a token character that is simply taken for granted. He is portrayed as strange and useless. When Jim Burden and his family first meet the Bohemians, he is approached by Marek, the second eldest son. "As he approached us, he began to make uncouth noises, and held up his hands to show us his fingers, which were webbed to the first knuckle, like a duck's foot. When he saw me draw back, he began to crow delightedly" (Cather, 24). Everyone who encounters this poor boy instantly views him as `crazy'. All of his actions are presented as strange. "The crazy boy, seeing the food, began to make soft, gurgling noises and stroked his stomach" (Cather, 60), and evidently he is. "The crazy boy went with them [outside], because he did not feel the cold. I believed he felt the cold as much as any one else, but he liked to be thought insensible to it. He was always coveting distinction, poor Marek" (Cather, 82)!    Because of everyone's inability to understand and relate to Marek, he is pitied and constantly excused. After Jim`s reaction to Marek`s webbed fingers, Marek begins to express himself, maybe even trying to communicate with what could be a new friend, but he is immediately quieted. ""Hoo, hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo!" like a rooster. His mother scowled and said sternly, "Marek!" then spoke rapidly to Krajiek in Bohemian. "She wants me to tell you he won't hurt anybody, Mrs. Burden. He was born like that..." No one bothers to befriend this young man or even tries to talk to him throughout the entire book. Although he is obviously mentally challenged, it is not evident that any one of the characters in Cather's novel tries to reach out to this young man or teach him to be a helpful resource around the Shimerdas' household.