Sezim Karyppaeva 1601.

04001

Essay on topic “Wick Cutter”

Each character in Willa Cather’s book “My Antonia” made sense and somehow influenced the
development of events. Unlike Jim Burden and Antonia, they do not have a big role, but still each
of them somehow influenced the storyline. Some of these heroes are Ambrosh Shimerda, Tiny
Soderball, Otto Fuchs and Wick Cutter. I decided to choose and take a closer look at the character
of Wick Cutter, since in my opinion his role in the novel greatly influenced the life of Antonia and
the further development of the plot.

“Greed is a fat demon with small mouth and whatever you feed it is never enough” is the most
suitable quote to start with, as it is certainly about Wick Cutter. Cutter’s first name is Wycliffe, and
shortly he is called Wick. His appearance was, in my opinion, as unpleasant and alarming as his
greedy character. A pink, bald head with smooth yellow combed whiskers, which he cared for as
diligently as a woman takes care of her hairstyle. His white, as if artificial teeth always sparkled
with a malicious smile and stood out from his red skin, as if burnt in the sun.

He came to the Black Hawk from Iowa, where were a lot of Swedes, so he could speak Swedish and
this gave him advantage to work with Scandinavian settlers. Wick was proud of his upbringing and
the way he grew up, proud of putting "sentiment's sake" in a Protestant church, proud of not
drinking anything stronger than sherry, and saving money unlike young people who spends it on
cigars. He was proud of everything he could, but was never worthy of what he boasted of. Cutter
has always been full of moralizing for young guys and city kids. He was always ready to teach
someone how to live. He loved talking with his grandmother about the good old past and was very
pleased when he saw a town boy who could milk a cow. He was an avid and ardent fan of
gambling, but unfortunately a constant loser. Every evening, passing by his house, one could see a
burning light, which meant he was losing his "honestly earned money" once again.

Cutter had wife, Mrs. Cutter, who was ideally suitable for him in both appearance and character.
Their relationship could be called "like a powder keg." Mr. Cutter was very licentious and ill-
mannered with the girls, and therefore his wife often created such scenes that not only her husband,
but the whole Black Hawk was aware, that she is angry. It should be noted that he did not worry at
all about these quarrels, but on the contrary they amused him. He could intentionally arrange
something to piss off his wife and have fun with how angry she was. Their quarrel could begin in
the early morning and end late at night. They did not get tired of cursing and blaming each other for
any trifles. The most heated topic of discussion was the inheritance and the future heir. Mrs. Mr.
Cutter blamed her husband for not wanting children, and Mr. Cutter was sure that she intentionally
remained childless to give inheritance to her people. In a word, they hated each other, but at the
same time continued to live together and create chaos around. In the end, greed and hatred ruin the
Wick Cutter. He kills his wife, and then himself because of painful inheritance issue. Not without
reason is said that greed is a ticking bomb that will explode anyway one day.

Due to the evil nature of Mr. Cutter no one wanted to work with him and that is why Mrs. Harling
was against the fact that Antonia went to work for him. Unfortunately, she disobeyed and in pursuit
of a "real free life" she left. Working with him, Antonia had more time to relax and go to dance.
Every day seemed to bring her pleasure and happiness. However, the day came when Wick Cutter
was supposed to leave with his wife in Chicago. Before the leaving, he ordered Antonia not to leave
the house and guard the wealth that he had left. Knowing his nature and how he treats women, Jim's
grandmother asked him to replace her and stay overnight instead of Antonia. For several days, Jim
spent the night there instead of Antonia, and everything seemed to go well. One night the boy again
went to bed and in the middle of the night he heard sounds in the room, and then felt languid
breathing above him. When Jim opened his eyes he saw Mr. Cutter and a fight began from which
the boy barely survived escaping through the window. After this incident, Jim for a long time could
not forgive his grandmother and Antonia for the mutilated body and pain, but not only physical, but
also the pain of pride.

It seems to me that the role of Wick Cutter was very large for several reasons, and the first of them
is that Antonia’s life at his job has changed a lot. Antonia, working with him, began to live freely
and began to spend more time in pleasure. If there weren’t this vacancy, she would have to agree
that she would quit dancing and remain in Mr. Harling’s family. However, since there was another
work, Antonia managed to enjoy freedom, but not for long. The second reason why this character is
important is that situation he created temporarily chilled Jim's feelings toward Antonia. After this
fight, Jim could not forgive her for a long time, because it was him who was beaten instead of her.
For a while, he forgot about this girl and this significantly reflected in the future, because after that
we’ll only hear about Antonia a year later, and only when will Jim saw Lena Lingard. The very
last, but no less important reason in my opinion is that Wick Cutter is one of the symbols in Willa
Cather’s novel. With the help of such small, but important characters, the author was able to create
an atmosphere of real life. Indeed, in life, everything is not just like in a fairy tale; there are bad
people and there are good people. Wick Cutter was another test in the life of young Antonia. If there
weren’t people like Krajiek, Wick Cutter, Larry Donovan, she would not be who she became in the
end, a strong and happy mother.

It seems to me that without such negative characters, the author would not have been able to show
the whole essence of real life, in which there is no silver lining. Antonia suffered because of many,
and each of them managed to leave a scar on her life, at which by looking she could recall old
mistakes and never make them again. Wick Cutter was one of such characters and the same greedy
and heartless he passed away from his own hand.