Grotesque In Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio

Although the idea of a grotesque has negative connotations, grotesques come in several forms and can actually have positive effects on characters. It has become the norm among grotesques to teach a lesson on what not to do, however Kate Swift, of Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio, is a divine example of the theory that grotesques can lead to a deeper understanding of the world. Kate Swift attempts to aid in George Willard’s ability to throw his heart and soul into his writing, to love deeper, and to see past the words that humans use as a blockade to the inner workings of their mind. Swift’s job as a teacher is to prepare her students for the world and provide insight and guidance to her children. George stands out to her due to his profession as a writer and the fact that she sees a spark of genius in him that her previous students have lacked in. She tells George, "You must not become a mere peddler of words...The thing to learn is to know what people are thinking about, not what they say." (147). Kate tries to broaden his horizons by trying to get him to understand that people may not always say what they feel; the trick to succeeding in life as a writer is to recognize why people say what they do. What has to be going on in people’s mind to make them spit out the words they feel fit the
Anderson explains her fervor on page 148, “A great eagerness to open the door of life to the boy...had possession of her. So strong was her passion that it became something physical.” The fact that her passion developed into a physical reaction, shows her level of devotion, however it also reveals her grotesque: extreme zeal. Although she was teaching a valuable lesson, her reaction into a physical attempt to kiss George Willard blinded him to what she was trying to