Winesburg Ohio Essay
George’s Steps to Maturation
Winesburg, Ohio, by Sherwood Anderson, is a novel put together by a collection of short stories. Each story focuses on various inhabitants of Winesburg, a small town at the beginning of the 20th century. The accounts are intertwined within each other, and one by one, the character’s role in society is revealed through their narrative. Every short story concerns at least one inhabitant as the main character of that story; however, there is one character that emerges in the majority of the accounts—George Willard. Winesburg, Ohio is a novel about his development from a youth to the threshold of adulthood.
George Willard is a young man who lives in his mother’s hotel. He writes for the local newspaper and dreams of becoming a writer. At the beginning of the book, he is a youth who had new ideas and fancies and sexual adventures with “strange wild emotions” (46). George’s journey takes place in the background of the novel; the characters seek George to talk to and to tell their stories. For the most part, he is …show more content…
This is in stark contrast to the majority of the inhabitants of Winesburg, in whom the emphasis was placed their hands as a means of expression. She became inspired by the boy and “a great eagerness to open the door of life to the boy…had possession of her” (164). She wanted someone to understand her and to be loved by a man. To Kate, George “looked no longer a boy, but a man, ready to play the part of a man” (165). Again, we see a false representation of George’s entrance into manhood. He could not understand why she began to beat him and then ran away; “I have missed something. I have missed something Kate Swift was trying to tell me” (166). Because he is unable to grasp her message, he has not yet transitioned into being the man that he wants to be and he is left confused about love and
Winesburg, Ohio, by Sherwood Anderson, is a novel put together by a collection of short stories. Each story focuses on various inhabitants of Winesburg, a small town at the beginning of the 20th century. The accounts are intertwined within each other, and one by one, the character’s role in society is revealed through their narrative. Every short story concerns at least one inhabitant as the main character of that story; however, there is one character that emerges in the majority of the accounts—George Willard. Winesburg, Ohio is a novel about his development from a youth to the threshold of adulthood.
George Willard is a young man who lives in his mother’s hotel. He writes for the local newspaper and dreams of becoming a writer. At the beginning of the book, he is a youth who had new ideas and fancies and sexual adventures with “strange wild emotions” (46). George’s journey takes place in the background of the novel; the characters seek George to talk to and to tell their stories. For the most part, he is …show more content…
This is in stark contrast to the majority of the inhabitants of Winesburg, in whom the emphasis was placed their hands as a means of expression. She became inspired by the boy and “a great eagerness to open the door of life to the boy…had possession of her” (164). She wanted someone to understand her and to be loved by a man. To Kate, George “looked no longer a boy, but a man, ready to play the part of a man” (165). Again, we see a false representation of George’s entrance into manhood. He could not understand why she began to beat him and then ran away; “I have missed something. I have missed something Kate Swift was trying to tell me” (166). Because he is unable to grasp her message, he has not yet transitioned into being the man that he wants to be and he is left confused about love and