Isolation in Winesburg, Ohio
Winesburg, Ohio is a story of lost or nonexistent connections with other human beings. Every character throughout the text has a want, a need, to connect with someone or something. Each individual faces a life of isolation. In most cases the solitary nature of their lives is self-inflicted. This self-punishment seems to be the outcome of a deeply personal hatred towards the characters' perceived differences with the rest of the Winesburg population. This is the fact that elevates Winesburg, Ohio above the rest. It is the fact that every man hides a part of himself from the eyes of others.
The hunger was earliest demonstrated in the short story Hands. In this episode the main character, Wing Biddlebaum, in forced into isolation due to a traumatic event earlier in his life. Biddlebaum was at one time a teacher in a small Pennsylvania town. He was a man who urged his students to dream, and he happened to communicate this with his hands. Eventually, a young boy, a student of Wing's took the encouragement the wrong way. As a result a wave of rage swept through the small sleepy town. Biddlebaum was beaten for the use of his hands. HE was beaten for the communication of his dreams, and for possessing a special bond with his students. The end result was the empty shell of a man afraid to share, and afraid to connect. The feat instilled within Wing Biddlebaum is best shown in a rare conversation, if that, that he had had with George Willard. Speaking of dreams, "he raised the hands...and then a look of horror swept over his face" (pg. 7 S. Anderson). Wing, communicating with his hands, had been taught to fear any alliance with others. Yet, the hunger and want s...
... middle of paper ...
...s attempt to communicate this. It was written that Sherwood "approaches the people in his stories as he does the apples, secure in his knowledge that the sources or natures of their deformities are unimportant when compared to their intrinsic worth as human beings needing and deserving understanding" (pg. 1 D. Anderson). It is the need expressed that is demonstrated in all of life, and holds true to the population of Winesburg, Ohio. This is the hunger of life.
Works Cited
Anderson, David. "Sherwood Anderson's Moments of Insight." Critical Studies in
American Literature" A Collection of Essays. Karachi, Pakistan: University of
Karachi, 1964.
Anderson, Sherwood. Winesburg, Ohio. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1995.
Howe, Irving. "The Book of the Grotesque." Sherwood Anderson. New York:
William Sloan Associates, 1957.
A Case For Tragic Optimism by Victor Frankl states “ With the increase of the imperative urge of hunger all individual differences will blur, and in their stead will appear the uniform expression of the one instilled urge.”The one urge this piece discusses is the urge to exist. The basis of human nature is to avoid mortality. All of the experiences of life will blur and all that remains is the urge to exist.
“Winter lies too long in country towns; hangs on until it is stale and shabby, old and sullen” (“Brainy Quotes” 1). In Edith Wharton’s framed novel, Ethan Frome, the main protagonist encounters “lost opportunity, failed romance, and disappointed dreams” with a regretful ending (Lilburn 1). Ethan Frome lives in the isolated fictional town of Starkfield, Massachusetts with his irritable spouse, Zenobia Frome. Ever since marriage, Zenobia, also referred to as Zeena, revolves around her illness. Furthermore, she is prone to silence, rage, and querulously shouting.
The theme of isolation is established and developed through the setting of Crow Lake. Located against the deserted territory of Northern Ontario, Crow Lake is a diffident farming settlement that is “... linked to the outside world by one dusty road and the railroad tracks” (Lawson 9).
When reading ghost stories, a common occurrence or idea often takes place in all these stories. This occurrence is the repeated idea of the female character as either the victim of the supernatural occurrence or is the ghostly victim. The female characters are often the victim either in life, death, or both. This idea often coincides with the theme of isolation, as isolation is often a strong factor in the cause of the female character’s often untimely demise. Isolation in the ghost story genre is common as the mental isolation or physical isolation is from society and impacts emotional connection to others. The isolation mentally, physically and in some case both, causes the female character’s ultimate destruction in the end. Isolation is
The implementation of isolation within the lives of John Steinbeck's characters in his novel Of Mice and Men allows him to discuss the effect isolation has on an individual's life. Through the characters of Lennie, Crooks, Candy, and Curley's wife, Steinbeck is able to fully illustrate how isolation influences one's attitude towards life. Lennie, Crooks, Candy and Curley's wife all live a life led by isolation. Isolation interacts differently with each character, but ultimately negatively influences each of them. Although each of the characters in Of Mice and Men experience solitude, neither of them do so by choice. Steinbeck is able to demonstrate how the concept of loneliness is essential to the unfortunate but inevitable conclusion of the novel.
One of the main symbols of the story is the setting. It takes place in a normal small town on a nice summer day. "The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full summer day; the flowers were blooming profusely and the grass was richly green." (Jackson 347).This tricks the reader into a disturbingly unaware state,
There is no hiding the provocative use of isolation in the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Isolationism can be defined as a policy of remaining apart from the affairs or interests of other groups. Steinbeck uses people of different race, sex, and mental capabilities to uncover the isolation and alienation society throws down upon people who are different. Lennie, a main character in the novel, is mentally handicapped and must obey George in order to make a living. Lenny is a large man and an excellent worker, but due to his mental deficiency, he is isolated from the rest of the workers on the ranch. The incorporation of isolation and alienation in the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is brilliantly used to open the eyes of the reader about the apathy shown towards people who are not lucky enough to be considered “normal” by society’s standards.
Of Mice and Men is a colorful piece of American literature that depicts the lives of multiple individuals in the Great Depression over the course of a few days. The author, John Steinbeck, approaches several themes and topics throughout the novel and really makes the reader think and ponder over the issues being discussed. One key theme that is always present in Of Mice and Men is the idea of loneliness. In the novel loneliness can be found in the relationships characters have with others, sexism, and racism. Even the town that the novel takes place in is Soledad, which is Spanish for loneliness. Of Mice and Men accurately shows the hardships that loneliness can inflict on people in the Great Depression and even today and is a topic that a myriad of readers can connect with and sympathies for.
I believe the foreclosure crisis will only continue and worsen until we understand the needs of the American public. Giving money is not the answer entirely. Each situation is unique and different from another. What works for one citizen may not be the solution for another. This is not only a financial situation but a social situation in my opinion. If he or she has a legitimate reason why they are in a foreclosure panic, such as death, divorce, sudden medical illness, or recent job loss, then the American government and banks should lend a helping hand. We cannot punish the unfortunate. We have only made a step in the right direction. We need to start sprinting to the finish line, because if we follow these steps, the foreclosure crisis will be gone in a flash.
Thousands of hardworking American families are being dragged down the path to foreclosure with no escape in sight. Despite hard work, they struggle to make the mortgage payments, lose hope, lose pride in homeownership, and eventually abandon payments altogether. We need to revive hope and rebuild the concept of pride in owning one’s own home by helping them make the payments through this plan. My solution does not require mere government giveaways, but rather allows for the recapture of government investments. One home at a time, we can successfully reconstruct the American Dream of home-ownership and end the foreclosure crisis.
The social conventions that are set up in this book play out in a small black community in Ohio called "the Bottom." The community itself formed when a white slave owner tricked his naïve black slave into accepting hilly mountainous land that would be hard to farm and very troublesome instead of the actual bottom (fertile valley) land that he was promised. The slave was told "when God looks down, it's the bottom. That's why we call it so. It's the bottom of heaven-best land there is" (4), and on the basis of this lie a community was formed. Its almost as if the towns misfortune is passed down ...
Othello’s own insecurities lead to his self-destruction. Porter writes, Othello is uncomfortable and insecure within the world of Venetians society (30), which ultimately makes him feel as an outsider. If not for his military heroism, Othello would be nothing more than a moor . His insecurities enable Othello to fall victim so effortlessly to Iago’s deception. Iago feeds on his insecurities, reinforcing Othello’s self-image by pointing out the qualities that he values in himself (31). His need to feel accepted is demonstrated through the importance of ones self-image. “My parts, my title, and my perfect soul/ Shall manifest me...
...ate the night before the mid-term instead of studying and he bombs the test. As a student athlete in high school this has happened to me before and now that I look back at it I wish I would’ve studied.
It’s hard when a home becomes a house: left with walls, stripped of memories. It’s disheartening when a family becomes a number: left with foreclosure, stripped of dignity. In 2007, over-extended borrowers began to default on their sub-prime mortgages; mortgages that increased as more and more families chased the American dream during the housing boom. The interest rates were “teasingly” low, but more detrimentally, they were variable. When mortgage rates were readjusted, homeowners found that they could no longer pay the upped monthly payments. Such sucked them in to the dizzying downward spin of heightened debt and negative equity. Such sucked them into the foreclosure crisis.
The ability of water to make solutions is used for washing. The importance of water in personal hygiene cannot be over-emphasized. Human beings need to wash their bodies regularly in order to feel fresh, and wash hands in order to minimise the risk of cross infection.