小镇畸人中的人物分析

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSI wish to express my sincere thanks to lots of people who have contributed to this thesis.First, I should thank all the teachers of Foreign Language Department for their excellent and patient guidance during my study in Zaozhuang University. My sincere and deep appreciation also goes to my supervisor Ge Xiaoxia for her constant encouragement and valuable guidance for me. She has walked me through all the stages of the writing of this thesis. Without her consistent and patient instruction, this thesis could not have reached its present form.Meanwhile, my thanks would go to my beloved family for their consideration and support all through these years. Without my parents’ patience and love, I can not endure the hardship and pain in my life.Besides, I am grateful to all my fellow classmates and roommates for their help and care when I have difficulties in writing the thesis.ABSTRACTAnderson Sherwood (1876-1941) is one of the most influential American writers in the early twentieth century. He earns an important place in American literature for his famous short stories. Winesburg, Ohio is An derson’s most successful and famous work that consists of twenty five interrelated but independent stories concerning townspeople termed by Anderson as “grotesques”.This paper consists of five chapters. Chapter one introduces the author and the novel. Chapter two analyzes the images of the grotesque people who are painfully struggling in the plight of loneliness, frustration and repression. This analysis helps to understand their character and weird behaviors. Chapter three discusses the fundamental reasons of people’s grotesqueness. They are explored mainly from the external and internal aspects. Chapter four introduces the ways to salvation of grotesques. Although they are unacceptable by the common people, they do not thoroughly feel hopeless and they never give up their pursuit of understanding and love. Chapter five makes a conclusion of the thesis. The analysis of the grotesques helps to fully understand the novel and the social background. Through analyzing, the literature and social significance can also be well captured.The early twentieth century sees a transitional period from an agricultural society to an industrial one. As a spokesman of this period, Anderson shows us the fate of the unknown grotesques with his keen observation. They long for love and freedom but used to isolate themselves. They have the most intense emotion and feeling but fail to express. The industrialized society and the flaws in their character bring them confusion. They begin to say strange words, do odd things, and finally become grotesques.Key Words: Anderson Sherwood, Winesburg, Ohio,Grotesques摘要舍伍德·安德森(1876-1941)是美国二十世纪初期最具影响力的作家之一。

安德森卓越的短篇小说作品奠定他在美国文学史上重要地位。

《小镇畸人》是安德森最成功也是最著名的一部作品。

这部作品由二十五个互相关联又相对独立的故事组成，作品中的人物则是被安德森称为“畸人”的小镇居民。

本文主要有五部分，第一部介绍了作者及所处时代背景。

第二部分是分析畸人形象，了解畸人的行为心理特征，他们行为言语怪异，心理扭曲，心情压抑、消沉。

第三部分是分析畸人形成的原因，既有外在的社会原因又有内在的个人问题。

第四部分是分析畸人的救赎之路。

虽然他们不被常人所接纳，但他们始终对自己抱有希望，用实际行动进行对爱与理解的追求。

第五部分是对论文做出总结。

本论文对畸人进行分析，对于全面理解小说，深入了解作品创作的时代社会背景，以及作品的文学意义和社会意义有一定帮助。

二十世纪初的美国正经历从农业社会到工业社会的转变，作为社会转型时期的代言人，安德森以其敏锐的观察力向我们展示了不为所知的畸人的命运，他们渴望爱与自由却往往自我隔离，拥有最强烈的感情而疏于表达。

这种自身性格方面的缺陷和对工业文明的无所适从，让他们困惑迷茫、言行怪异，最终成为时代的畸人。

关键词：舍伍德·安德森，《小镇畸人》，畸人CONTENTSACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (i)ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... i i 摘要............................................................................................................................................... i ii CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................... i v Chapter One Introduction . (1)1.1 Introduction of Anderson Sherwood and Winesburg, Ohio (1)1.2 Literature Review of Winesburg, Ohio (2)Chapter Two The Images of the Grotesques (3)2.1 The Concept of Grotesque (3)2.2 The Lonely, Frustrated and Repressed Grotesques (4)2.2.1 Adolph Myers in “Hands” (4)2.2.2 Elizabeth Willards in “Mother” (4)2.2.3 Jesse Bentley in “Godliness” (5)2.3 A special Grotesque (5)Chapter Three The Reasons of the Formation of the Grotesques (7)3.1 External Reasons (7)3.2 Internal Reasons (8)Chapter Four The Roads to Salvation of the Grotesques (10)4.1 Contacting with George Willard (10)4.2 Running Away of George Willard (11)Chapter Five Conclusion (12)REFERENCES (13)Chapter One Introduction1.1 Introduction of Anderson Sherwood and Winesburg, OhioAnderson Sherwood is an important figure in modern literature. His writing has deeply influenced many writers such as Hart Crane, Erskine Caldwell, Ernest Hemingway, Henry Miller, William Faulkner and Nathanael West. William Faulkner once said that he could only write simple poems and amateur stuff before he met Anderson. It’s Anderson that gave him inspiration and led him to a correct road of creation. In the magazine Paris Review, Faulkner declared Anderson’s stature, “He is the father of my generation of American writers and the tradition of American writing which our successors will carry on” (Malcolm, 1971).Anderson was born in Clyde, Ohio, a small and poor town that was experiencing a transitional period from the old handicrafts to modern machines. The Increasing wealth and material production made people feel empty and repressive in psychology and the declining agriculture made numerous people feel more miserable. Due to poverty, in his early twenties, Anderson went to Chicago to make a living. Through many years’hardworking, Anderson became a member of middle class. But wealth did not bring him true happiness. He determined to abandon his business and began literary creation that he liked. Special experience made him have a deeper understanding and interpretation of humanity. He paid attention to portraying human emotion, catching the momentary feelings of the figures, to revealing the personality of the characters and the mysteries hidden in their innermost. In 1919, Anderson Sherwood published Winesburg, Ohio, a short story cycle, in which Anderson well applied this writing style and this novel made him a great success.Winesburg, Ohio is made up of 25 short stories and depicts 23 grotesques in the town Winesburg. These stories can be linked together. They have the same setting: an American Mid-western town and the same theme: loneliness, alienation and desire for communication. Meanwhile, each of the stories can also be seen as an independent biography of a grotesque. The deformed characters have different awkward appearances and odd behaviors. For example, Wing Biddlebaum in the story “Hands”was a fat old man with tangled hair. He always put his trembling hands in his pocket or behind his back because he could not control them. Almost every evening, he walked anxiously on the half rotten porch waiting for George. He expected George to come and converse with him. I n “Paper Pill”, the character Reef was an old doctor with white mustache, big nose and big hands, staying in his empty clinic all day. Alice Hyndmanin “Adventure” was an old maid who nakedly ran on the street in a snowy night. Compared with the successful people in Winesburg, these grotesques are gradually forgotten. Although the grotesques are weird and unacceptable by common people, they never stop the pursuit for others’understanding and acceptance. No matter what the life is like, they always possess their valuable dreams. Wing Biddlebaum once told George that he should start dreaming. In a way, they are a group of lovely people that deserve to be understood and respected.1.2 Literature Review of Winesburg, OhioWinesburg, Ohio is considered as Anderso n’s most outstanding novel which arouses many critics’ attention. Some critics tend to regard it as being naturalistic or realistic. They think that Anderson “attempts to expound the theory of a universe of mechanistic forces operating on his people. He tries to focus on the constant and careful accumulation of realistic details” (Ferres, 1966). Some critics discuss it from a geographical point of view for Anderson sets the background in a Mid-western town. They put Anderson in the same field with Mark Twain who is the master in the native American modern literature.And more recently, many critics analyze the work from a more popular sociological point of view. The work tends to be interpreted with reference to such words as loneliness, frustration, repression and so on. They hold that “Winesburg, Ohio is a systematic exploration of Mid-westerners’ living situation during the transitional period in American history from the pastoral society to the industrial society” (Simolke, 1999). They find that with the coming of the machine age, the old agrarian economy gradually disappears in the town and the townspeople who are struggling in the industrialized world become deformed physically or spiritually more or less. Through exploring the deformed characters in Winesburg Ohio, the paper can get a deep appreciation of Anderson Sherwood and his grotesque images which are so important in American 1iterature. The research on the grotesque characters in this novel can also enlighten the modern people who are in the same plight in an industrial world.Chapter Two The Images of the Grotesques2.1 The Concept of GrotesqueThe origin of the word “grotesque”can be traced back to Italian “grotto”. It refers to decorative ornaments such as rocks, pebbles and medallions sphinxes. In literary field, it usually “signifies what is ridiculous, bizarre, or unnatural” (Crowley, 1988). It deviates from desirable standard of harmony, balance, and proportion. It is often used for comic and exaggerated sarcastic effects in physical and behavioral caricature. In Oxford Advanc ed Learner’s En glish-Chinese Dictionary, “grotesque” is defined as something strangely distorted and unnatural so as to give rise to laughter or fear.Grotesque holds a unique position in American literary history. Dieter Mendel remarks in his American Fiction and the Metaphysics of the Grotesque,“The grotesque presents all important and largely unexplored aspect of the growth and development of American fiction and endows American fiction with a tradition, or continuity of the discontinuous”(Dieter, 1991). This tradition greatly and deeply affects many famous literary writers. Accordingly, numerous excellent grotesque works appear in American literature. The development of grotesque literature greatly influences and shapes the literature of the United States. There are many masters who are skilled in depicting grotesques in America, and among them Anderson Sherwood is an eminent one.In Winesburg, Ohio, Anderson evolves the concept of “grotesque” to make clear what has made his people physical strangers and spiritual outsiders. For instance, i n “Paper Pill”, Doctor Reef was a strange and lonely man staying in his empty clinic with the never opened window hung with cobwebs. He rarely stepped out and he always wore the same clothes. His hobby was to put scrapes of paper recording his thought and feeling into his pocket. When the pocket was full, he poured the small paper ball onto the floor or sometimes threw them at his only friend John.Anderson’s usage of grotesque does not mean disgust or revulsion. Instead, he compares the grotesques to “the twisted li ttle apples” left behind in the orchards for their surface blemishes. However, these imperfect apples are the sweetest ones. As to the townspeople, though their words and behaviors are strange, they also have the beautiful and lovely side. Anderson reveals that the physical and spiritual deformities of the so-called grotesques merely intensify theirlonging for understanding, love and acceptance. The grotesques in the town “were not all horrible. Some were amusing, some almost beautiful” (Anderson, 2004).2.2 The lonely, Frustrated and Repressed GrotesquesWinesburg, Ohio consists of 25 short stories taking place in the small town Winesburg. The novel can be viewed as a whole, because the stories in it are linked together by the newspaper reporter George Willard who witnesses the suffering and struggling of the grotesque people in the small town. Meanwhile, each story can also be seen as independent. Every deformed character has his or her unique experience. Their awkward appearances and odd behaviors are different from each other.This paper mainly analyzes three characters of the novel. They are Wing Biddlebaum in “Hands”, Elizabeth Willards in “Mother” and Jesse Bentley in “Godliness”.2.2.1 Adolph Myers in “Hands”The reader can firstly feel the loneliness, frustration and repression from the first character who is introduced in the story of “Hands”. It told a pitiful grotesque named Wing Biddlebaum who got the nickname for his hands were always restless like the beating of the wings of an imprisoned bird. Wing always strived to conceal his hands in the pockets or behind his back.Adolph Myers in “Hands” was once a teacher often expressing his affection and love for the boys through his warm caresses with his hands. But a foolish boy told the townspeople the teacher did the unspeakable things to him which did not happen in fact. So people in the town were so angry that they beat Adolph Myers and drove him out of the town. Adolph Myers escaped to the town Winesburg, changed his name and lived alone there. Losing the courage and ability to be a teacher, he became a laborer in the small town. With his flexible hands, he could pick great quantity of strawberries. Everyone knew he was a good berry picker. His hands which were used for communication and expression now brought him fame, which sounds ironic. This made an already grotesque more grotesque. Wing always went back and forth on the porch waiting and hoping that George would come and spend the evening with him so that he could get some comfort and be relieved from loneliness, frustration and repression for a while.2.2.2 Elizabeth Willards in “Mother”In the fourth story “Mother”, the character Elizabeth Willards is described as a woman who embodies the spiritual loneliness and sexual frustration of the women in the town. She has the desire to express herself, but is too silent to do so. In the story, Elizabeth Willard who was brought up by her careless father had a miserable childhood. Getting no maternal love, she grew up and became a woman with strong desire for love and change. At that time, she was a beautiful girl who once surprised the townspeople by wearing men’s clothes and riding a bike on Main Street. She liked adventures in life and dreamt of becoming an actor. But it failed when people inthe theatrical company told her that “it’s as dull and uninteresting as here” (Anderson, 2004). So she attempted to realize her dreams by dating with men at night, which could not be accepted by the conventional rules.Through this way, in fact, Elizabeth seeks for the meaning of her life and what she really pursues is the true love. But she still feels lonely and repressed for these adventures do not change her life. Later she met Tom and her hope was once again ignited. But her hasty marriage to Tom brought her nothing but more frustration and repression. Her husband was a big talker, a not so responsible member in the family, instead of a desirable mate which she sought for in her whole life. Her sense of frustration and disillusionment made the woman hopeless and spiritless. “Everything in the life of the suppressed spirit turns out to be grey and disappointing”(Ren, 2007). Disappointed at love, marriage and her own life, she was unable to love or respect her husband and she focused her love and interest on her son George Willard. When she found that the conversation between her husband and George had a bad effect on her son, with great hatred, she wanted to kill Tom with the scissors as the dagger. Though she was full of hope and love towards George, she did not know how to express her thoughts and feelings. Every time when she wanted to talk with her son, she trembled with excitement, never showed her joy and sorrow for it’s impossible for her. In the story “Death”, Elizabeth’s hope dashed when she was approaching death because George did not come to see her or receive her financial assistance. Desiring for the meaning of life, passion and love during her whole life, Elizabeth Willards finally died lonely at the middle age. The family that should bring her happiness was hostile and indifferent. Elizabeth’s failed marriage and life was an epitome of the families in Winesburg.2.2.3 Jesse Bentley in “Godliness”In the story “Godliness”, the main figure Jesse Bentley longed for success and fantasized that he could become such outstanding figures as the celebrities in the Bible, establish his own kingdom through his own efforts. For this, his wife worked day and night and this damaged her health. After giving birth to their first child, the poor woman died. When his grandson David visited him, lots of queer ideas appeared in his mind. He brought David to the forest imagining he was the father of David in Bible. David was scared by his grandfather’s terrible expression. Later, he brought David to the depths of the forest again. Jesse Bentley knelt down and prayed loudly, fantasizing the ancient sacrifice. When he was carrying a knife towards David, the frightened boy shot his head and run away. During all his life, Jesse Bentley lived in his fantasized ancient times. At last, he lost all his relatives and lived lonely.2.3 A special GrotesqueIn Winesburg Ohio, George Willard is portrayed as a young artist who works for Winesburg Eagle paper as a reporter. He is a special character. He is called “grotesque” because he also has the similar characteristics as other grotesques, such as loneliness, frustration and repression. Especially when he faces his mother, he is at a loss and does not know what to say and how to express his thoughts and feelings. In the story “Mother”, he answered his mother’s question about his departure, “I suppose I can not make you understand, but oh, I wish I could” (Anderson, 2004). George shows his love and sympathy to the grotesques in the town, while he seems powerless in front of his mother. In “Death”, facing his mother’death, George’s innermost emotion which was never shown to his mother burst out. He muttered “The dear, the dear, oh the lovely dear” (Anderson, 2004). These words are uttered too late for his mother, a woman lacking in love, will never hear them.However, to some degree, he is ungrotesque. He is not like other grotesques.On one hand, the other deformed characters seldom contact lots of people in town. They are used to confining themselves to their small personal world. Doctor Reef is a very obvious example. For many years, he shuts himself in his small clinic; even do not opens the window that is covered with spider webs, while George is different. He deals with different townspeople. As a reporter, he gathers every piece of information about the events that is happening in the town. It is accessible for him to get in touch with a lot of people. George is the thread that links all the inhabitants’ life.On the other hand, George Willard is different from other outcasts because he has the possibility and ability to change. His job provides him with the chance to come into contact with other people and the townspeople are willing to tell him their concern for they think George is a passionate young person and he can understand them. Through getting along with others, George gradually refreshes his vision of knowledge. His determination to escape from the gloomy small town signifies he has stepped out the confinement which impedes the development of the townspeople. So he can be regarded as the only one who changes thoroughly in Winesburg.Chapter Three The Reasons of the Formation of the GrotesquesIt is known that every thing has its causes. In Winesburg, Ohio, many factors foster the formation of the so-called grotesques. This paper mainly analyzes two reasons: external reasons and internal reasons, or social and personal reasons.3.1 External ReasonsIn Winesburg, Ohio, the stories took place in the transitional period in the United States, from the end of the Civil War to the beginning of 20th century. At that time, America was undergoing great change from an agricultural society to an industrial one and industrialization greatly promoted the rapid development of the American economy. However, this process also brought about the side effects, such as the increasingly serious environmental pollution, ecological damage and the rapid growth of population. A seat of factories, mines and cities were built, which gradually destroyed the life of the idyllic and beautiful countryside. Man and nature were isolated from each other. The industrialization brought modernization, while the competition became more fiercely. This had made commerce hold an irreplaceable place in the economy in America and made men become the tool of money and profit. All the simple goodness of virtue was lost in the 19th century, the noisy era. The establishment of the factory system made the exploitation more convenient. Under the bad conditions of the workplace and the unbearable labor intensity for a long time, large numbers of workers prematurely get old and deformed. Selfishness, cruelty, luxury, hypocrisy had become the distinct characteristics of Western social morality in the 19th century. Many people’s value reduced to a transactional basis. In Anderson’s autobiography A Story Teller’s Story, he declares, “In their fingers the beginning of that love of surfaces, of the sensual love of materials, with which no true civilization can ever be born” (Anderson, 1969).During that transitional period, the small towns like Winesburg in America were just starting to be affected by industrialization and mechanization. Increasing wealth and material production made people feel empty, repressed and frustrated. Everywhere was permeated with the desire for money and power. Agriculture declined as a result of the manufacturing. The handcraft and the traditional means of living were also destroyed. Men and women had to leave the villages to big cities and what they did in the city was to work under the exploitation of the owner of the factory for they had to struggle for survival.Under this changing society, Winesburg lost its previous harmony.People lost their spiritual substance and their orientation. In his letter to Jerome and Lucile Blum, Anderson vividly pointed out the changes in the small American Middle Western towns like Winesburg at this transitional period. “There are not many dare lovely people, even a little. People shiver along, quarrel, say nasty things, then go home and pray to God”(Anderson, 1953). The changing society let them become more and more depressed, confused and frustrated. Thus the psychological crisis gradually appeared. People inclined to retreat to a self-constrained life, became angry and cynical, and responded to the outside world with a mixed emotion and negative attitude; they could not adjust themselves to the changing world and finally became grotesques.3.2 Internal ReasonsThe external reasons that play a role in the formation of the grotesques are explained above. In this section, the internal reasons will be illustrated. In Winesburg, Ohio, a number of figures become grotesque or “outsiders”. Besides the influence of the social change, their own psychological problems also foster their grotesqueness. On one hand, they seize upon one or several “truths”that barrier, isolate, and estrange them. On the other hand, their lack of love, understanding, and their incapability of communicating with others further lead to their loneliness, repression, frustration and grotesqueness.In “The Book of the Grot esque”, Anderson pointed out that it’s the truth that made people grotesque. The following is how he explains it:“There was the truth of virginity and the truth of passion, the truth of poverty and of wealth, of thrift and of profligacy, of abandon and carelessness. Hundreds andhundreds were the truths and they were all beautiful.And then people came along. Each snatched up one of the truths as he appeared and some who were very strong snatched up dozens of them.It was truths that made the people become grotesque. It was his notion that the moment one of the people took one of the truths to himself, called it his truth, and triedto live his life by it, he became a grotesque and the truth he embraced became afalsehood”(Anderson, 2004: 5-6).Although these grotesques long for understanding by others, they fail to step out of the “truth”prison to have normal exchange with other people. What they do is to retreat into isolation as a defense against the outside world. They suppress themselves to express feeling, thought and love, lest the heart get hurt again.In this novel, the grotesques have keen desire for love and understanding, but they rarely get them. In “Hand”, Wing Biddlebaum attempted to express his love for his students through caressing them with his hands. But he was misunderstood and punished by the citizens for they thought he was a homosexual. He was driven out of his hometown losing the courage to express his feeling again. In “The Teacher”, Kate Swift was tortured by lack of love and understanding. She always repressed her inner thought and passion because few people got close to her or really understood and appreciated her. In “Paper Bill”, Doctor Reef met his true love who could understand him. Unfortunately, that woman died one day. From then on, Doctor Reef confined himself into the small clinic and seldom walked out. One thing he had been used to doing was to write down his feelings and thoughts on scrapes of paper. Elmer Cowley in the story of “Queer”tried to gain love and respect from his neighbors but what he got was just contempt, which greatly hurt him and let his courage disappear. The seemingly normal man, Seth Richmond in “The Thinker”even had no courage to show Helen White his love for her and thus lost the possibility of getting love.In the story “Mother”, Elizabeth Willard was a person who was lacking in love. She never got her parents’ care and her husband’s love even if she had struggled for gaining it. She was also a good example of weakening in expressing love, especially to her son George. She wanted George to live the life that he really liked, not the way her husband ever told him. But when they sat together, the words they said were always the same. “I thought you had better go out among the boys. You were too much indoors”;“I thought I would take a walk” (Anderson, 2004). The conversation between them is just like this. What they say is meaningless. It is not difficult to see that language here loses its communicative function. Though Elizabeth Willard has so many words she wants to talk to her son, the utterances are never spoken out. She can not find right words to express her true feelings. If she communicates well with her son, maybe she will get released from her painful and miserable life. She will not feel so hopeless, lonely and repressed.Chapter Four The Roads to Salvation of the GrotesquesIn Winesburg, Ohio, Anderson Sherwood compares the grotesques as the twisted but sweetest apples, which signifies he gives a deep sympathy for the lonely and miserable life of the grotesques. But where is the road of the grotesque leading to salvation?4.1 Contacting with George WillardIn the novel, George Willard is a reporter contacting different townspeople. He has the chance to know about the grotesques. In these grotesques’eyes, George is an innocent and promising young man, he can understand them with compassion and love, and they are willing to talk with George so as to find some comfort and consolation. Their contact with George reflects that they are seeking their roads to salvation.For a long time, the grotesques have suffered many blows from various aspects and their bodies and minds have become weak and frail. They withdraw from the noisy outside world, healing their broken heart in their small personal world. But at the bottom of their heart, they have the same need of emotion; even the need is more intense than the normal people. They are desperately eager to communicate with people, to get love and care, and they long for the life of ordinary people. Industrialization deforms them but as the persons in society, they still want to adapt to the world. So they make friends with George who will not bring them harm. They want George to be the bridge of communication with other people. Their behaviors indicate their efforts to be a normal man, to seek salvation. In a sense, George Willard brings the grotesques great hope.In the story “The Teacher”, Kate Swift was an indifferent and stern person. She was not very pretty. Everyone in the town felt there was something biting and forbidding in her character. She thought her student George had the gift for writing. Kate Swift was ablaze with thoughts of George Willard. “She thought she had recognized the spark of the genius and wanted to blow on it”(Anderson, 2004). Finally on a snowy night, she found George and talked with him. Her behavior signifies she still holds her dream and never gives up the pursuit of it.In “Hand”, the grotesque Wing Biddlebaum always waited for George’s coming. Through the contact and communication with George, he could get a moment of tranquility and ease. During their conversation, Wing Biddlebaum often acted as the protagonist while George acted as a listener and learner. With the young reporter by the side, he talked excitedly. His low and trembling voice became shrill and loud. Only at this moment, Wing Biddlebaum is happy and free. He finds his dream and shows the true self. “With a kind of winkle, like a fish returned to。