Winesburg, Ohio Lit Circles Live- "Adventure"

It’s definitely been made evident to me that Winesburg, Ohio is surely not a book that should be judged by its cover (which can actually be scrutinized as well). In other words, Anderson does not construct this novel to be interpreted with nonchalance and indifference, but rather with immense inquiry. With that said, after re-reading “Adventure” I am surprised to find so many literary elements that I failed to recognize the first time around. Anderson’s is most certainly not the simplest or most clear-cut novel that ever existed, but rather it possesses some underlying fundamental qualities that render it applicable to all aspects of human nature. Likewise, “Adventure” is one of the stories in the novel that exhibits some principal elements that inherently exist within all human beings, despite our differences.

 

Alice Hindman’s story illuminates Anderson’s theories, as exemplified by the old man in “The Book of the Grotesque,” of various life-contesting truths that occupy Alice’s mind and manifest the true grotesqueness of her character in this story. Thus, like many of Anderson’s other grotesque characters in the novel, the truths that trap Alice inside her own mind expose her grotesque soul, which is noticeably marked by ludicrous or incongruous distortion. In “Adventure,” Alice’s tendency to limit her own opportunities due to her child-like adamancy and tenacity gradually intensifies over time as she ultimately severs her ties with the world around her. In her own delusions, Alice becomes completely immersed in the absurd fantasy that she concocts of a picture-perfect life with Ned Currie, whom has left Winesburg to seek his fortune in Cleveland. Initially, Alice falls for Ned because she is so eager and restless to discover what she assumed to be love, to the point that the “outer crust of her life, all of her natural diffidence and reserve, was torn away and she gave herself over to the emotions of love” (Anderson 94). Her unnatural response to Ned’s affection indicates that she is clearly over-indulged in this ephemeral romantic affair with Ned Currie.

 

In Alice’s mind, the lines between dream and reality are blurred as she envisions a truth that plagues her mind and blinds her from the reality in front of her. Her reluctance to encounter other suitable men in Winesburg after Ned’s departure further embodies Alice’s unwillingness to accept the harsh reality of her situation. In her desperation to be with Ned and no other man, Alice is blinded by her “dreams of saving money so that the interest would support both herself and her future husband [Ned]” (Anderson 96), making her a grotesque. Essentially, she becomes so enveloped in her own little world, much like Alice in Wonderland, that she neglects to realize that she truly seeks love and revitalization from her monotonous life of misery and loneliness.

By succumbing to her unrealistic expectations of love and romance, Alice is blinded by what she perceives is the truth about life. Instead of liberating herself from these confining thoughts, she becomes adhered to the idea of living a long and fulfilling life with Ned, which further dug her into an abysmal hole of long-lasting loneliness, which could have been prevented. She becomes so caught up in this impossible truth that she does not realize that her dreams to be with Ned will never ensue, thus rendering them falsehoods and making Alice a grotesque.

Winesburg, Ohio: What is Anderson's Message?

After thoroughly analyzing the plethora of short stories or “mini”stories that join to create Winesburg, Ohio, a somewhat perplexing, yet innovative novel, I have hesitantly come to the conclusion that Sherwood Anderson has presented us with some form of unspeakable truth in the form of an almost unpromising jigsaw puzzle. Needless to say, this marvelous concoction of short stories that synthesize this enigma of a novel, if it is even that, serves to engage the reader in ultimately discovering the truths of humanity, which is initially introduced in the first story,“The Book of The Grotesque.” I think Sherwood Anderson was very clever in constructing such a collection of stories that can each individually stand on their own, but at the same time, can all be strung together in one coherent composition because of the fact that all the characters possess some connection to the town of Winesburg, Ohio.

Essentially, I think Anderson’s tactics arguably suit his purpose in carefully implying or suggesting certain ideologies about humanity and all that it entails, while still allowing room for judgments regarding each story’s basis. In effect, I think Anderson was consciously aware of the fact that this book is fairly difficult to decipher since it contains so many different symbols, images, patterns, and motifs such as the reference to the old man, hands, facial hair, youth, and light (to name a few), which represent some notion or concept.

Although Winesburg, Ohio contains an array of biblical allusions such as the old man (who may exemplify God) and the reappearing image of the garden and poisonous apples (which may signify the Garden of Eden), I think it’s very challenging to determine exactly what Anderson is getting at, much less what he’s inferring. In any case, I do believe that Anderson is somehow trying to bring to light the harsh realities of life, whether it’s isolation, love, mortality, illness, destiny, or even continued unhappiness. While I was reading this book, I came across a lot of hints that could indicate some form of epic realization or understanding of life through experience and acquired knowledge.

For instance, in “Adventure,” Anderson tells the story of a young girl of sixteen years, Alice Hindman, who falls madly in love with Ned Currie, a man who sweeps her off her feet. Despite the obvious fact that Alice is far too young and naïve to risk getting heartbroken by Ned, Alice firmly establishes her desire to remain with Ned forever, as he is her one and only true love. Almost predictably, Ned must move to Chicago for his job, leaving young and vulnerable Alice behind, where she is eventually forgotten by Ned as he creates a new life for himself. Years later when Alice turns 22, she must endure her father’s death, along with her broken heart over the fact that Ned has neglected her for so many years. However, these burdens do not thwart Alice’s determination to win Ned back, as she grows desperate to mitigate her expanding loneliness without Ned in her life. In her despair and hopelessness to find happiness and love, Alice becomes lost in this fantasy, but eventually, she reluctantly accepts the fact that she “must live and die alone, even in Winesburg” (101). I think this short story in the book clearly depicts the message that transpires throughout the whole book regarding the brutal truths of life, whether it is loneliness, the betrayal of our loved ones, or the culminating misery and sorrow that may lie within us.

Family Dynamics to the Extreme

 

Lately, the more and more I read about families and family dynamics in literature, the more I’m tempted to consider my family dynamic, despite the fact that the families I’ve been reading about recently in “Teenage Wasteland” and “Fiesta” are so extremely disparate from mine.

In Friday’s discussion about “Teenage Wasteland,” we briefly mentioned the intricacy of the family relationships in the short story, and how each member of the Coble family is portrayed in that aspect. I was actually pleased to find that my fellow classmates observed and distinguished almost exactly the same explanation my group did for each character’s role in the short story. It was kind of unexpected (in a good way) to see the majority of the students in my class pensively examining and questioning the main characters, Daisy, Donny, and Cal, and their perceived objective/purpose in the short story. Especially since Daisy’s character is so crucial to the story’s progression and essential in its heightening plot. Plus, many seemed to discern Cal’s seemingly malicious and sinister character that distinctly possesses very questionable incentives and intents for Donny in the story. Fortunately, practically everyone detected vile Cal’s disconcerting and obscure role in the story as far as his particularly uncanny smile that strikes Donny’s mom Daisy as “feverish and avid—a smile of hunger,” accentuating Cal’s devious, peculiar, and parasite-like nature (106).

All in all, I was able to grasp a better understanding of the closing paragraph of the short story, which is arguably of the utmost significance, when we carefully went over it as a collective group and logically substantiated and concluded that Donny’s disappearance left a permanent and lasting impact on the family, especially Daisy, as she visualizes a basketball that “flies up, sinks through the hoop, descends, lands in a yard littered with last year’s leaves and striped with bars of sunlight as white as bones, bleached and parched and cleanly picked,” signifying Donny’s battle and conflict throughout the story through the basketball as it rises for an ephemeral moment, but then rapidly plummets down on a bed of leaves (112).

At first I couldn’t ascertain and comprehend the implication of this consequential description until it was thoroughly explained in the discussion. The significance of the “bars of sunlight as white as bones” was relatively difficult for me to assess because I didn’t fully associate the representation of innocence and purity of the white with the transitory, but powerful periods of happiness and serenity that Donny occasionally experienced throughout the duration of his visits to Cal’s house, or the ultimate “teenage wasteland.” The reference to the “cleanly picked bones” as a representation of Cal’s predatory motives is now apparent to me, as this could imply that alas, the rapacious Cal was successfully able to seize and ferociously “devour” his “prey,” the vulnerable, defenseless, and unsuspecting Donny, who never saw it coming.

What is a "Teenage Wasteland'?

Despite the burden of having such a hectic week, I found my short story, “Teenage Wasteland” to be a refreshing little escape from my teenage wasteland, in terms of insight and perspective. The short story is a creative and almost condensed composition by Anne Tyler that cleverly explores the instantly familiar feel of a typical family dynamic with an interesting twist. Tyler’s work ingeniously scrutinizes the complicated bonds and interactions that exist amongst ordinary families nowadays, as she divulges the source that these deep-rooted issues could possibly be derived from in everyday circumstances. Similarly, I think Tyler carefully and very accurately constructs the underlying tension that brews within Donny and Daisy Coble and how these sentiments eventually bubble to the surface, wrecking the family’s foundation forever. At first when I read the story, I couldn’t help but think about how strangely identifiable this household was in its intricate and delicate nature because Tyler truly uncovers the fundamental issues that many families must encounter when raising a teenager.

On that note, I think it’s very worthwhile of Anne Tyler to unravel these challenges through the window of literature by depicting actual familial relationships in a thoughtful and sensible manner that can be open to various interpretations. Not only does her work induce thorough deliberation and consideration, but it also requires a certain level of understanding of both sides of the story.

“Teenage Wasteland” commences with an intriguing introduction that instantly captures the Coble home dynamic between the parents, Daisy and Matt, and their children, Amanda, and their troublesome teenager, Donny. Immediately, the reader’s focus is drawn to Donny, a “noisy, lazy, and disruptive” student who is “always fooling around with his friends” at school (par. 2), already implying Donny’s teenage irresponsibility and insolence from the get-go. Soon enough, we discover that the story, told by the third person, mostly emphasizes the mother’s standpoint and mindset which is understandably very realistic and maternal-like.

As the story progresses and further dives into the difficulties that Daisy must face in justifying Donny’s rash and reckless behavior, I find myself empathizing with the mother and the magnitude of concern and distress she must feel because of Donny’s actions. No matter how hard she tries to understand and help Donny clean up his act at school and to stop getting into different pickles, the constant presence of miscommunication clearly obstructs her futile efforts. Unfortunately, Donny’s misconducts only worsen throughout the story, regardless of Daisy’s final attempt to restore Donny’s decency in her employment of the most suspicious and untrustworthy tutor, Calvin Beadle, who, in my opinion, possesses the most questionable motives.

Ultimately, after a hectic and unbearable few months of intense emotional encumbrances of trying to alter Donny’s unreasonably rebellious personality, Daisy finds herself emotionally drained. In the end, I was shocked to find that one day after school, Donny decides not to return home, and completely disappears. It was a sad ending that took me by surprise, but really made me think about the story as a whole and what inherently triggered Donny’s decision to run away in such a turbulent chain of events.