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Wineburg, Ohio Essay

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Wineburg, Ohio

Winesburg, Ohio, also known as the Book of Grotesque is a modern American classic by Sherwood Anderson. He came to be known as the “Father of Realism”, as he left his mark on literature, being the first one to portray authentic moments in American life. He tells the stories of many “faces” he saw in his dreams, describing their deeply moving lives filled with secrets. The twenty-one stories in the novel are united through the setting, Winesburg, and the main character, George Willard. The novel is character driven, and the stories have very weak plots. Winesburg is a small town, full of lonely characters whom Anderson calls “grotesques” because of their inability to express themselves and communicate with others. The …show more content…

During the long years of his residence, he never considers himself as a part of the community. The only person with whom he develops a kind of friendship was George Willard. During a conversation with him, Biddlebaum leaves saying, “I can’t talk no more with you,” (15) because the anguish from the tragic memory overtook him. However, he “still hungered for the presence of the boy, who was the medium through which he expressed his love of man” (15). He runs away from George, but he still wishes his company; this manifestation makes him lonelier and more isolated.

Wing Biddlebaum is gifted with a quality that cannot be seen in most of (us) the people. During the flash-back, when the story goes back to the past and looks at the days when he used to be a teacher at Pennsylvania, Biddlbaum “was one of those rare, little-understood men who rule by a power so gentle that it passes as a lovable weakness” (14). These fragment reveals that he was one of the few people who can not only perceive other people’s feelings, but can also teach them how to dream. Biddlbaum’s “voice and hands, the stroking of the shoulders and the touching of the hair were a part of the [his] effort to carry a dream into the young minds.” He understood his students’ doubts and disbelief. Knowing that the only way to start dreaming is by forgetting all negative thoughts, he was able to get rid of their worries and allow

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