Winesburg ,Ohio
In Anderson's novel, Winesburg Ohio, the protagonist George Willard maneuvered through a motley group of acquaintances, learning and changing as he went. Dr. Parcival wanted him to listen, and others like Louise Trunnion, wanted love. Many of Winesburg's residents saw George as someone special, someone who would be different. However, he may not have been what they thought, since he had many lessons to learn himself. Moving on from adolescence to manhood can be a difficult and often frightening journey. The guidance and support of competent adults can ease the anxiety. Did George have that support? How does he struggle to adulthood? And finally, how do his relationships with others in Winesburg aide in his growth? Throughout Anderson's novel, George experienced a wide variety of encounters which all contributed to his maturation from an awkward adolescent to a "sophisticated" young man. Some who helped George mature were Wing Biddlebaum, Wash Williams, Louise Trunnion, and Helen White. Many of the grosteque men of Winesburg had a significant effect on George's life. Wing Biddlbaum wanted to help George improve his life or improve his vision of life. Anderson states, "You are destr
oying yourself," he cried. " You have the inclination to be alone and to dream and you are afraid of dreams. You want to be like others in town here. You hear them talk and you try to imitate them." Wing encouraged George to be himself, to strive for his goals and dreams in a way that he was not able. Wash Williams is an interesting grotesque who helped George mature by showing him that people aren't always what they appear to be or say they are-appearances can be quite deceiving. Although "Wash Williams, the telegraph operator of Winesburg, was the ugliest thing in town" at one time he was a young handsome suitor (Anderson 104). His bride was a tall, blonde girl with blue eyes. Wash was passionately in love with her and confessed to George, "When the hem of her garment touched my face I trembled (Anderson 108). On the surface, they were the perfect couple, yet underneath, the marriage was corrupted. Wash's appearance was foul and unclean, which seemed to reflect his thoughts about women and marriage. He hated everything. Wash tried to impress upon George the disgust of women, relationships, and marriage. Wash felt the need to help George mature in his views about women because he saw George kissing Belle Carpenter. Wash averred to George, "What happened to me may next happen to you. I want to put you on your guard. Already you may be having dreams in your head, I want to destroy them" (Anderson 107). After Wash's tirade, George felt sick and weak. Wash had somehow managed to corrupt George's idea a perfect marriage or even the perfect woman. The images that Wash introduced in
Some common words found in the essay are:
Louise Trunnion, Wash Williams, Wing Biddlbaum, I'm Anderson, Carpenter Wash, Helen White, Helen George, Wing Biddlebaum, Throughout Anderson's, Women George's, wash williams, louise trunnion, george mature, helped george mature, helen white, heart caused, george's mind, george's life, life wing, help george, immature boy,
Approximate Word count = 1083
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
