Grotesque Characters Essay

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Grotesque Characters The novel Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson is told in a series of loosely interconnected stories that have coinciding time frames and characters. There is no observable main character, unless the town of Winesburg can be thought of as one itself. Anderson uses a variety of literary devices to connect these short stories because there is no common theme for all of them. Although the author has integrated a broad assortment of human emotions, characters and behavioral outlines found in this one specific society, I have noticed Anderson’s use of Grotesques as a literary device to further enhance the story. Anderson defines what a Grotesque is in the first story, The Book of The Grotesque. Through the protagonist, the Old Man a Grotesque, is a character usually solitary and seized upon finding a truth or revelation. The Old Man reflects on his life and in this story, decides to write a book about the many truth’s in one mans life. This focus or obsession is what Anderson portrays as the alteration of each man into a Grotesque. “The Old Man had listed hundreds of the truths in his book … There was the truth of virginity and the truth of passion … Hundreds and hundreds were the truths and they were all beautiful” (Anderson 6) The use of Grotesques in this story help the reader understand the theme of loneliness and interpersonal relationships in this first story. Among the coinciding characters is Jesse Bentley, The owner of the farm and a religious fanatic. Jesse’s obsession with God and the mechanization of his farm is what makes him a Grotesque. His unwanted daughter, Louise Bentley is a bitter dreary woman, perhaps because of her father’s temperament. David Hardy, Louise’s son is the heir to Jesse’s farm. David is the long awaited son for Jesse, giving him yet another thing to pursue obsessively. ”Make a sign to me God,” he
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