The Many Themes in Sherwood Andersons Winesburg, Ohio Essay

The Many Themes in Winesburg, Ohio Winesburg, Ohio is a compilation of short tales written by Sherwood Anderson and published as a whole in 1919. The short tales formulate the common themes for the novel as follows: isolation and loneliness, discovery, inhibition, and cultural failure. In order to examine these themes, Andersons history must be understood and examined to provide illumination upon why Anderson came to such beliefs about human life. Sherwood Anderson was born on September 13, 1876, in Camden, Ohio. In 1884, Anderson and his family moved to the small town of Clyde, Ohio. Clyde, Ohio, is the model for the town of Winesburg. Anderson hated his father because of the lack of love shown to his mother and†¦show more content†¦At the end of the story Adventure, Anderson writes began trying to force herself to face bravely the fact that many people must live and die alone, even in Winesburg (Anderson, Sherwood). The themes of loneliness and isolation are expressed by describing the characters as grotesques. The grotesques are the people who have become obsessed with an idea or mannerism, such that, they have lost contact with their fellow Man. Anderson sets the course for the theme of isolation in the first three chapters, excluding The B ook of the Grotesque. The first chapter is called Hands and involves the sad story of Wing Biddlebaum. Because Biddlebaum is accused of having molested students that he taught, his hands embody the shame that he carries. Fearing that the presence of his hands will be misinterpreted, Biddlebaum hides his expressive hands. By creating the symbol of hands in this chapter, Anderson creates an effective symbol to express the theme of isolation in the novel. Because a persons physical hands are used to communicate feeling, Hands is a tale about one of the sources of isolation, the inability to communicate feeling. Paper Pills is the second chapter of the novel and deals with another cause of isolation, the inability to communicate thought. Because Doctor Reefy is afraid of communicating directly to another person, he writes his thoughts on little pieces of paper to prevent hisShow MoreRelatedThe Power Of The Grotesque1766 Words   |  8 Pagesâ€Å"what is the true definition of beauty?† Writers such as Sherwood Anderson and Thomas Mann depict the beauty of life through the usage of the grotesque. The grotesque is used to reveal the absolute truth and reality of humanity. However, no matter how terrifying these truths may be, it is evident that the messages depicted and the passion evoked through them are truly beautiful. Winesburg, Ohio is a collection of short stories by Sherwood Anderson. 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