In English class, we have started to read Winesburg, Ohio, an episodic novel by Sherwood Anderson. In Winesburg, Ohio, Anderson uses a lot of symbolism, but one thing I noticed repeatedly appears is tightening of form.Tightening of form is giving the structure of the story and physical objects in the story symbolic meaning. This is accomplished mainly through the use of motifs. Tightening of form is present in many of the short stories within the novel. One story it occurs in is “Hands.” In “Hands,” Wing Biddlebaum lives in a small house “near the edge of a ravine near the town” (27).The location he resides possesses a lot of symbolic meaning. He literally lives on the outskirts of town to symbolize how he is an outcast and isolated from the community because he is believed to have molested a child when he was a school teacher. Wing also literally lives on the precipice of a ravine which is symbolic of his mental state. He feels lonely and frustrated at what happened to him because his downfall was his urge to inspire his students. He is on the edge of depression and he displays somatization as a way to handle his frustration; he takes his hands and “[beats] them upon a table or on the walls of his house” (29). This behavior shows that he is standing on the edge of madness and depression, just like his house stands on the edge of the ravine.
Tightening of form is also present in “Paper Pills.” In the story, Doctor Reefy physically isolates himself after his wife's death, which reflects his emotional state. He “[sits] all day in his empty office” and “he never [opens] the window” (35). He feels isolated and lonely after his wife dies and, so, he makes himself actually isolated. One day he tries to open the window, “but [finds] it stuck fast and after that he [forgets] all about it” (35). This is symbolic of Doctor Reefy trying to assimilate back into society, but failing because he had isolated himself for so long, just like a window becomes jammed if it is never opened. In both short stories, physical isolation is used to symbolize mental and emotional isolation. This tightening of form adds more depth to the stories and their analysis. It both informs the reader about the mind of the characters and enhances the quality of the writing by using symbolism to show instead of tell.
I find it quite amazing that Sherwood Anderson was able to fit so much symbolism into each of these stories. Normally, I question whether or not an author actually intends for their book to be analyzed as deeply as we do in English class. In Winesburg, every detail has a purpose and no phrase is insignificant.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Dan, I find it very interesting, and to some level impressive how much symbolism he adds to these stories, as well as the quantity of references to Freud and his theories. Its amazing how well these things all fit together, and in my opinion there is little doubt that it is all intentional.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrew, god analysis of how Anderson uses tightening of form in "Hands" and "Paper Pills." In our class we talked about Doctor Reefy's refusal to open his window as an indication that he is trapped in the anal stage of development and he likes to keep everything bottled up.
ReplyDeleteGood observations on tightening of form. While we have a lot of focus on Freud right now, its good to remember that Anderson is a modernist author whose work shows modernist traits. Thanks for the enlightening observations and now I'll try and stay more aware for other modernist attributes.
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