An Analysis Of Sherwood Anderson 's Winesburg, Ohio, The Term `` Grotesque ``

   Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, sheds light on the importance of appearance through the tale of an unwanted creation that is never given a chance by society. Ironically, the supposed beast was initially much more compassionate and thoughtful than his creator, until his romantic and innocent view of the human race was diminished by the cruelty and injustice he unduly bore. Not only does the creature suffer the prejudice of an appearance-based society, but other situations and characters in the novel force the reader to reflect their own hasty judgment. The semi- gothic novel includes several instances of societal prejudice that include the isolation and outcast of Frankenstein's creation,

Most people when asked to describe what the word grotesque means they might refer to the dictionary’s definition of the word, which according to The American Heritage Dictionary the meaning of grotesque is “characterized by ludicrous, repulsive, or incongruous distortion, as of appearance or manner.” Not only can one be grotesque with one’s appearance but also their behavior. Sherwood Anderson in his book Winesburg Ohio mentions that “the grotesques were not all horrible. Some were amusing, some almost beautiful”. Anderson lets the reader know that a grotesque is not so just because of their physical appearance but, “was the truths that made the people grotesque.” People in Andersons book “took one of these truths to himself, called it his truth, and tried to live his life by it, he became a grotesque and the truth he embraced became a falsehood.” (Anderson 8). Elizabeth Willard by this definition is the “worst” grotesque in this book. She has been transformed by her beliefs into a sad, ugly & dangerous grotesque. Her appearance, beliefs, and actions are all contributing factors to her

Alienation is a product of society’s inherently discriminatory bias, catalyzed by our fear of the unknown in the realm of interpersonal conduct. Mary Shelley, in her novel, Frankenstein, dissects society’s unmerited demonization of individuals who defy—voluntarily or involuntarily—conventional norms. Furthermore, through her detailed parallel development of Frankenstein and his monster, Shelley personifies the tendency to alienate on the basis of physical deformity, thereby illustrating the role of the visual in the obfuscation of morality.

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 Book of the Grotesque."

Society, as a whole, thrives the concepts of all things uniform and orderly. Examples of this effect are everywhere, from the songs played on the radio, to what clothing styles are sold more in stores. This concept of regularity has a profound effect on judgments made on people, due to physical appearance, personality, and other factors that make each individual, individual. Beauty, vanity, always wanting to be the next size slimmer, have almost always been around in modern culture, even in the 1800s. Some novels truly show how an appearance, in particular, can have an impact on how a person is treated, and how that individual starts to treat themselves. In the novel Frankenstein, one major cause of the monster's isolation and change in personality

Surrealism, an art and literature movement aiming to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind began in the 20th century. In surrealism, authors attempted to juxtapose irrational images such as a fork and a bird’s foot. Charles Simic, a famous surrealist author, grew up in a war-torn Europe which shaped his perspective of the world and deeply affected his writing. In his brief poem “Fork,” he initially leads the reader into thinking his two stanza poem will depict a concise image of one eating food. However, as one reads on, the poem instead guides the reader to a far darker purpose, there is violence hidden behind everyday normalcies. Using sinister language, Simic immediately sets a disturbed tone. It is only when one reads “Fork” a second time that the horror of his writing sinks in: our everyday lives are filled with small acts of violence that Simic depicts through the use of language, structure, and juxtaposing imagery. A break of white space separates the first stanza from the second, creating a long pause for the reader to question what he or she just read. Second, Simic uses sickening language to describe what one does with a fork in the second stanza. He draws us into a world in which a simple object like a fork can be transformed into nightmare.

Humans are known for bestowing their judgment irrationally and based on the “book cover” of a person, they may degrade their fellow human into the worst positions of the social ladder. Mary Shelley, in her novel Frankenstein, expands on this perspective by using mood and tone to parallel with the circumstances of an event occurring in her novel with shifts throughout the context of the book, symbolized by the changes in nature and seasons. This shift is made frequently between the agonized, desperate, frightful, maybe even suicidal mood and tone with the occurrence of dreadful acts of murder and execution, to the more calming, soothing, optimistic and life-full during a physical and spiritual recovery.

The topic of appearance and judgment is greatly exemplified in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as it becomes apparent that

The presence of light and dark imagery is a significant motif in the novel Winesburg, Ohio, vital to the understanding of characters’ suppressed identities and the hidden beauty found within all of their seemingly grotesque personas. Throughout the book, darkness is prevalent whenever a character reveals a secret about themselves to George Willard or the reader, and characters regularly walk around at night. Many of the most important experiences occur in the dark, and within these moments, the characters appear their most extraordinary. The juxtaposition of light and dark portrays the contrast between the characters’ authentic identities and the pretenses they express to society.

Often in society, people are separated or ostracized, from the town people, due to their appearance or persona. In Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein, many characters are alienated from their community due to the value of attractiveness versus ugliness, self-proclaimed solitude, and the balance of loneliness and companionship. Victor Frankenstein, Victor’s creation, and Robert Walton are examples of the moral values of the time period and atmosphere surrounding the characters.

This example of the significance of appearance in modern society is also echoed in Frankenstein. The parallel between the society in the novel and modern society is that of snap judgements based solely on appearances. In the novel, Victor Frankenstein is a perpetrator of such judgements. Victor “selected his features as beautiful.” Here it is seen Victor’s shallowness as he picked the most perfect body parts and beauteous features, all to be pieced together in great anticipation. However as one can see, the result is horrific and due to the hideousness of the wretch that he has created, he abandons him. This same shallowness of judgement due to appearance again surfaces when Victor accuses the creature of murdering William

Anguish, pain, torment and suffering are all a part of our day to day lives. These may issue from a variety of causes such as great deprivation, hardships to emotional and physical loss. Many texts, such as that of Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelly in the early 1800's, depict unalleviated suffering caused by living within societal norms. However very often, these sufferings are inflicted upon people by one individual and in the case of Frankenstein, this source is Victor Frankenstein. This statement becomes evident when examining the intersecting cultural beliefs of gender, class and ethnicity of the time.

What is a grotesque character? In literature, a character or location that is irregular, extravagant or fantastic in form. When used as a device, the purpose is often in the style of expressionism, making the grotesque a parody of human qualities or a distorted reflection of a familiar place. In many ways grotesque characters have some kind of problem in society, and example would be a veteran who lost a limb in war and trying to fit back into society, or anything that we see as not normal in our society. Characters in this particular subject can be deformed, obsessed, or in our terms just not normal or right. Another definition of a grotesque

Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein conceptualise how the confusion between central character’s appearances and the reality of their personality marginalise the capacity for independence from that character. The unique implementation of characterisation, setting, and symbolism are used by both authors in their respective texts to illuminate the complexity of human relationships both with each other and with themselves. Characterisation is used in both texts to explore how protagonists are unknowingly trapped in the preconceived ideas about their appearance held by society. Ibsen and Shelly use the social setting of both texts to explore how the independence of an individual can promote a change in societal views. Additionally, both authors utilise symbolism in their texts to communicate how the characters view their situation and to incorporate foreshadowing within the texts. Ibsen’s naturalistic modern tragedy and Shelley’s gothic novel both examine the relationships between the protagonists and the culture they were created in to explore how a society can marginalise a person by their appearance.

A person could then appropriate a single one of these truths and try to go by it. That is when he or she would become a grotesque. The stories in Winesburg, Ohio do grapple with Anderson 's intended theme, and a story such as "Hands" clearly illustrates what he means by grotesque (Ellis 2).