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Willa Cather's Characterization Technique In Neighbor Rosicky

Willa Cather's Characterization Technique in Neighbor Rosicky

" Neighbor Rosicky ", written in 1928 and collected in the volume Obscure Destinies

in 1932, is generally considered one of Willa Cather's most successful short stories. It

is a character study of Anton Rosicky, a man who, facing the approach of death, reflects on

the meaning and value of his life. In tracing Rosicky's journey from Bohemia to

Nebraska,Cather explores the intimate relationship between people and the paces they inhabit.

The story also celebrates the small triumphs of life. ( Wilson 1)

The protagonist, Neighbor Rosicky is presented from the point of view of an observer,

an omniscient narrator, who enters the consciousness of several different characters and sees

the world from their point of view . Rosicky's person evokes sympathy of the reader and

appreciation of human drama from Cather's part. She has a very careful way of drawing the

character and exploits all the usual methods of characteriztion technique, through which she

creates "a hero that can be examined from all sides, as a rare object in the middle of the table"

(Seargent 139). Nevertheless, the essense
of the character is given by the extremely deep

psychology applied by Cather.

As we can see while reading the story we are given a lot of information referring to the

character of Rosicky: dialogs between characters, their actions, others' descriptions provide a

clear picture how should we imagine Cather's hero. Dialogue is often used to display the

interaction between the family members and friends. Through these we get the feeling of the

endearing qualities of their family life. From the dialog between Anton and Dr.

Burleigh, the family's doctor and very good friend, we learn that he has problems with his

health and that he must be a well-known and liked person in his community. We are led

further when we enter his warm and very lively...