Realism in Winesburg, Ohio

Sherwood Anderson, an author who strongly influenced American writing between World War I and II, particularly with the technique of psychological realism. In this essay with I will analyze the alluring and cloudy short stories “Hands”, ‘“Mother”, and “Queer”, which are short stories from his book Winesburg, Ohio. Psychological realism came to prominence in the early 19th and 20th centuries. This literary method focuses on the interior motives, psychological processes, and the characters’ mental narratives or internal thoughts instead of simply telling the story.

This writing method and Anderson’s collection of short stories allows us to enter the minds of the complex and eccentric inhabitants of the small town of Winesburg, Ohio, each character finds definition and meaning through their role in the community, we witness to the individual struggles each face as they narrate share their secret life within. In “Hands” by Sherwood Anderson we have multiple themes of confinement, desolation, solitude, angst, and connection. Anderson sets a serious tone, it serves sympathy and benevolence for Biddlebaum, a victim of injustice and discrimination. Anderson writes the story in comprehensive third-person point of view which I’d say adds more depth to the story as we are not restricted to one perspective, we feel the emotions of multiple characters in one story. The story starts with Wing pacing on the deteriorationg porch of his small house near a ravine on the outskirts of Winesburg, Ohio. Anderson describes him as an “old, fat, little man”, watching young adults passing in a wagon on a highway beyond an expanse of weeds.

A young woman sees him and diatribes, “oh, you Wing Biddlebaum, comb your hair, its falling over your eyes” (3). Wing was bald. The narrator tells the reader that Wing “did not think himself as a part of the town where he lived for 20 years” (3). This line implies the idea of desolation and confinement and also serves to inform that Wing has isolated himself from other as he felt “weird” and detached to the community due to the intense mockery. Anderson explores the theme of connection as Wing only really had one real friend, George Willard, son of Tom Willard, a reporter for the Winesburg Eagle. Tom could be seen from Wing’s porch, on the highway walking to the town, in excitement Wing would walk across the field and look towards the town, but in resentment and terror, he would hurry back to the porch and resume pacing back and forth. Whenever Wing is with Willard his awkwardness fades away, he talks without the feeling of getting judged and sometimes even goes to town with him.

Biddlebaum was given the name “Wing” as his hands move like the wings of a captive bird, He wasn’t proud of these hands though as he looks with envy upon those who have them under-control. George had always wanted to question Wing about his hands and their movements as some folks were proud of it. Upon the verge to ask Wing, tears well in Biddlebaum’s eyes as he knew exactly what George would ask him, so he hurries home. George, perceiving the terror in Wing’s eyes, he vows not to ask him about his hand, as he knows his hands are the reason for disconnect and his fear of everyone. A flashback takes place and the narrator tells the story of his hands. Wing’s actual name was Adolph Myers and he taught as a headmaster in a school in Pennsylvania, he was wrongly accused by his student’s parents of inappropriate and sexual behaviour. This accusation is significant as it is though these accusations that Wing has become completely isolated from others. The fact that George is his only friend serves to highlight the theme of angst and confinement. I believe Wing uses his hands to communicate with others and by hiding them he is unable to do so; some people show extra emotions when they talk to show remoteness and intensity completely unaware that they are doing so.

The religious imagery used at the end is also quite interesting. Anderson states that ‘“his fingers might well have been mistaken for the fingers of the devotee going swiftly through decade after decade of rosary” (5). This imagery is significant as Anderson is suggesting that, though his hand were misunderstood by others, his hands are not an expression of evil but instead they are his tools of communicating and expressing love, Anderson compares the use of a rosary while praying or communicating to god to Wing, as he would use his hands to communicate and connect with others. I feel this is one of the best short stories from Winesburg Ohio as there is so much symbolism and depth to the story, Anderson shows how the community is repulsive towards someone just because he’s a different, exhibiting how the closed-minded the past generation was. In “Mother” we have the theme of approval, ambition, desertion, and numbness, the parents of George Willard, the reporter of the Winesburg Eagle, were Elizabeth and Tom Willard, the owners of the New Willard House hotel. Which is on the verge of bankruptcy throughout the story. He uses words like “old, faded, failure, gloom and darkness” when describing the Willard’s hotel, significantly symbolizing their marriage.

Elizabeth is frequently ill and has become a ghostly figure, wandering in remorse through their home. As a girl, Elizabeth was passionate and restless, she always wanted be a compelling actress so she would travel with men at the hotel for the theatre and let her be used, some disease had killed the fire inside of her causing her to look older than forty-five. The relationship between Elizabeth and her son’s relationship is stiff and uncomfortable, they frequently sit together for long periods of time without even talking. When George was out of the house, she would crouch in his room and pray to God that he would live to express meaning of “life” for the both of them and not become a mess like herself. When she’s ill, George would sit with her in silence. One night, after Elizabeth has been in bed for several days, she realizes that George has not come to see her, and becomes concerned. She gets up and hears Tom haranguing their son, urging George to "wake up" and make something of himself which infuriates Elizabeth. Her weakness suddenly gone, Elizabeth strove to punish Tom and save her son from his influence. She had felt a general hatred toward Tom for years but now it became directed and Elizabeth decided she would stab him.

After Tom died, she too would die. Looking at herself in the mirror, she decides that she must make herself appear more impressive, more beautiful she kills her husband, just like in a movie as she’s always wanted to be an actress. This plan is inadequate because she is still grasping at an absolute sense of being. Instead of learning to be herself, she strives to be someone more powerful in hope to impress Tom. Playing an actress and covering herself in make-up symbolize Elizabeth's pretence. The scissors that Elizabeth intends to kill Tom with may also be symbolically significant. As the reader would be aware scissors are used to cut something and by introducing them into the story Anderson may be symbolically suggesting that Elizabeth wants to not only kill Tom but to also cut all her ties to Tom. The ending of this story is interesting as Anderson repeats the same sentence he has used earlier in the story, highlighting how repetitive Elizabeth’s life is and how she’s faced more downs then ups. it is clear to the reader that Elizabeth is happy that George has decided to leave Winesburg and pursue a career as a writer she may not actually be able to express this joy due to how beaten or defeated she herself may feel having had to spend all her life living in Winesburg.

Enhancing the bond Elizabeth has with George, you see how Elizabeth sees that spark in George as she has never been able to follow her dreams or ambitions and is proud of her son to leave this rotting town. As her urge and energy fades, she slides easily back into her ghostly routine and continues on with life. In “Queer” we have the themes of acceptance, guilt, anger, and alienation. Elmer Cowley hates his father, they run a shop together that sells “everything and nothing”. Elmer’s father proved to be a failure as a merchant and a farmer. Elmer was painfully embarrassed by his family, and by the fact that everyone is laughing at him. Elmer manages to create a "truth" of being "queer" as a barrier between him and his family on one side, and the rest of Winesburg on the other. Elmer’s father got many opportunities to make good trades but was always afraid to make them, as he was afraid he would never sell anything again. A Jewish peddler comes in one day to talk to Elmer’s father into buying a supply of metal, Elmer gets angry of people talking advantage of his father that he snaps. He grasps and brandishes a revolver towards the man, forcing the salesman to leave. He sympathises with his father, he thinks they’ve been queer long enough and it’s time to put an end to all the mockery. Elmer advises his father to not buy items until its already in a store to get sold to prevent them from getting robbed.

The use of the word “queer” in this story and time in the United States means "strange" or "out of the norm" rather than a designation of sexual preference as it does today. Tired of all the mockery, Elmer seeks out advise, he tries to tell some half-witted farmhand mook about his problems, he listens and shakes his head warning Elmer to leave with all the agony inside him before he hurts someone. Elmer believes the whole town is laughing at him and his father, and he tells George how he feels. The conversation left Elmer so furious that now he’s determined to show he’s not going to go on being a queer like his parents. He thinks being “normal” like George is going to solve his problems. Elmer steals some money from the store, and sends words to George stating that he is running away. Elmer is so desperate to get away from something; he hasn't given a single thought about what he's going to or planned for the future. He even gives George money stolen from the store, then knocks him down in fury, and leaps aboard a moving train. Sherwood Anderson expresses psychological realism more significantly compared to Edgar lee masters, Edgar lee masters presented us with short epitaphs in The Spoon River Anthology in which he presented all of his characters as dead which lead them to speak the honest truth about their lives. Sherwood Anderson creates these beautiful short stories in which we see the complete lives of these townspeople in depth. The three short stories I analysed all express psychological realism and the characters unravel the ugly truths about their lives and we see how they’re minds influence their actions.