Cuzak’s Boys: Summary

Book five, Cuzak's Boys, is about some of the adventures of Jim and his return home to Nebraska. Jim traveled to Bohemia and Prague, sending pictures of Antonia's old home to her. He traveled to San Francisco to see Tiny Soderball and Lena Lingard who live there, and there he learned more about Antonia. He heard she was married to a Bohemian cousin of Anton Jelinek, had many children, and was living a hard life on the farm. Twenty years after Jim promised to see Antonia, he kept his promise. As Jim drove on to the Cuzak farm, he saw two boys leaning over a dead dog. He asked them if they were Antonia's children to which they replied yes. He asked if their mother was home, and when he was told she was, he went on his way up to the farm to see her. As Antonia opened the door to him, Jim was surprised at what he saw. "It was a shock, of course. It always is, to meet people after long years, especially if they have lived as much and as hard as this woman had. We stood looking at each other. The eyes that peered anxiously at me were—simply Antonia's eyes. I had seen no others like them since I looked into them last, though I had looked at so many thousands of human faces." At first, Antonia did not recognize Jim, but after a few moments, she did and was extremely glad and excited to see him. She showed him her children and told their ages, and then she asked him to stay and wait for her husband and eldest son. When they all meet, they enjoy music, old photographs, and stories together. Mr. Cuzak tells Jim his story of his life and how he met Antonia, and the two men have a good time. Jim promises again to come back and go hunting with the boys. When he comes to Black Hawk, he feels very lonely as most of his friends and family there are dead or have moved away. He walks down the road that would take him to his grandparents' old farm and remembers the land there and the good times that were shared there. Then he realizes that even though life has changed, his and Antonia's friendship has not neither has their pasts.