in Nebraska does he find peace and fulfillment. Rosicky had been a tailor in the Old Country and had immigrated first to London, where he was miserable and poor. At age twenty he left London for New York, and for a time he was happy there, becoming a good workman (Cather,310) and experiencing thecultural life of the city, including opera and the ballet. As time goes on, however, he becomes restless, yearning for freedom and wide horizons. Tellingly, his epiphany occurs on the Fourth of July. Rosicky realizes that cities built you in from the earthitself, cemented you away from any contact with the ground. You lived in an unnatural world, like the fish in an aquarium who were much more comfortable than they ever werein the sea (311). For Rosicky the idea of owning land really is a dream, and once heattains it he believes that to be a landless man was to be a wage-earner, a slave, all yourlife; to have nothing, to be nothing(315). Through Anton Rosicky, a character so sympathetically and even heroically drawn, Cather expresses a strong belief in the fundamental part land and land ownership play infulfillment of the American Dream. The contrast between the life of immigrants in the city and in the country is explicit and vivid, and leaves no doubt in the readers mind as to which is preferable. In my personal opinion, this was a wonderful use of vivid imagery. Another technique Cather uses is flashback. One such example is when Rosicky sitsin his chair and reflects on his life. This is the point when we really get a feel for what Rosicky has been through. Why the simple things that he has are so very important to him. Kincer 3 In conclusion, after reading the Neighbor Rosicky you get a better respect for thesmaller things in life. This story was extremely easy to read as well as to read. It wasdown to earth and factual. Rosicky was a good man, that raised a good family, and hadeverything he wanted due to his ow...
