and carried it through when she opened her own dress shop. She did not let the stereotypical views upon the hired girls stand in her way of her dream. She was determined to reach her goal and with all of her hard work she did just that. Some families traveled a great many miles to try to win the American Dream. The Shimerdas came all the way from Bohemia and ventured everything they had to make it in America. Antonia, the oldest daughter also becomes a hired girl. Although she works in Black Hawk for a respectable family, she could not escape society’s harsh judgement. They cast their eyes above her because of her heritage and social position. It’s not only from her job that brings her prejudice, it’s also her skin color. From all her hard work, Antonia gains a striking tan. This tan brands Antonia as a lowly immigrant peasant. No refined lady would subject herself to the unrelenting beam of the sun. But Antonia had her dreams; being a mother to her very own family. She almost had her dream but her soon to be husband left her at the altar with a baby to care for. This could have drenched Antonia’s spirit but it did not. Instead, “… she loved it from the first as dearly as if she’d had a ring on her finger, and was never ashamed of it.” (204). The town expects her to hide her baby from the world, to hide her shame, but ironically, she goes to the town photographer and has a picture taken and lavishly framed as if to shout to the world the pride in her actions. Soon, she finds another man that suits her as a husband and together they have nine children. Antonia's American Dream of having her own beautiful family had finally come true. Through the course of her life, she remains to all a symbol of strength, courage and happiness. She never mixes her dreams from her responsibilities. All the hard times she could have given up, it is then when she is the strongest and it is then when we s...
