“Grandfather asked Jelinek whether in the old country there was some superstition to the effect that a suicide must be buried at the cross-roads.”
Strain Theory is another sociological concept seen in My Antonia. According to Robert K. Merton, strain occurs when society places too much pressure on individuals to conform to cultural goals and the means to obtain them. In other words, society encourages deviance when setting societal norms such as the “American Dream”. According to Merton, strain exists in 5 forms:
- Conformity: accepting cultural goals and institutionalized means
- Innovation: accepting cultural goals, rejecting institutionalized means
- Ritualism: rejecting cultural goals, accepting institutionalized means
- Retreatism: rejecting cultural goals, rejecting institutionalized means
- Rebellion: new cultural goals, new institutionalized means
Strain is obviously relevant in Antonia’s life, where her family struggles economically to get by. Antonia seems to conform to societal goals and means; as an immigrant, there are few options to advance in society, and she follows her families footsteps by remaining a farmer. Jim seems to be a ritualist, because he rejects cultural goals (like being financially successful) but accepts institutionalized means (like becoming a lawyer). Mr. Shimerda would likely be considered a retreatist, as he eventually becomes a product of too much strain and takes his own life.
Sociological Analysis of My Antonia 