As the 1890s rolled in, there was a shift in the popular literary genre from realism to modernism. Modernism was a new way of thinking for it entailed showing the reality of things. Common trends within books, that defined modernism, were an atmosphere of pessimism and the characters turning out to be something different than what was thought of them. These characteristics of modernism were exposed with the use of a number of literary elements. Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio is a classic novel from the early 1900s that uses the modernism aesthetic throughout its entirety. Within this novel, fragmentation is the most prominent element to describe modernism for it connects with the other elements and shows, through limiting character info, that there is a common thread of eerie characters exposing the modernist ideal of breaking down social norms.
Symbolism is a very effective method of making readers try and understand the true meaning of what is written. In Winesburg, Ohio, symbolism is used to show the true desires of a character which leads one to believe that it is the element which distinguishes modernism. In the chapter Tandy, the little girl who the father neglects says something which describes her true wishes, “I want to be Tandy. I want to be Tandy Hard,” (Anderson 142). This phrase is symbolic in that it shows that she does not appreciate her father’s neglectful nature. She wants to be cared for and nurtured like the stranger had said. However, the fact that she is not given the treatment, which one may find to be traditional in a father daughter relationship, gives the reader an example of how the social norm is being averted. Fragmentation allows for symbolism to be effective in that it allows for the reader to try and see what the point of the message is with only a small amount of evidence to base it off of. Thus, we see that Tandy is a strange character due to her peculiar behavior and having not known much about her past. With the help of fragmentation we conclude this for there is no more information on her. Throughout the book we see that the stories of each character are limited to a chapter which is the nature of fragmentation. In order to make any type of conclusions one must appeal towards other elements to make any sort of thematic conclusion. Symbolism is no doubt an important aspect of modernism but many others add just as much to make modernism a new literary aesthetic.
Comparing characters is important to see the distinguishing qualities that each character possesses. For this reason, we see George Willard being discussed in numerous chapters of the book. In Queer we see the rise of an unsocial young man named Elmer Cowley who finds himself queer in the fact that he is so awkward. In the text it says, “He decided he would have his talk with the young reporter before he left town, that he would tell him about things, perhaps challenge him, challenge all of Winesburg through him,” (Anderson 201). From this, the reader is led to believe that Elmer Cowley feels that George Willard is a person who represents a normal human being. This was Cowley’s mindset but we don’t really get the information as to why he thought this way due to the limited character info. He thinks that George is like everybody else in town, normal and judgmental towards those who are odd. This takes us back to the breaking down of the social norm through the comparison of what is viewed as normal versus what is not. Fragmentation of the chapters allows us to see that all the characters, besides George Willard in the point of view of the characters, in Winesburg, Ohio are considered unusual. Each chapter being based upon a new character or characters and connecting them in some way to George Willard gives a vivid picture of the degrees of abnormal in Winesburg. One can conclude that fragmentation plays the role of limiting character info but provides just enough for us to see George Willard being the most socially accepted person creating a notion that everyone else is considered unusual and under him. Comparison and irony are interrelated in that they both provide for a better understanding of a character’s way of viewing things through the revealing of the truth about characters as well as things that are being said.
Irony has come to be a very important aspect within Winesburg. Irony shows the full extent of what the characters intentions are compared to what is seen by others/readers. A classic use of irony would be in the case of Curtis Hartman. “God has appeared to me in the person of Kate Swift, the school teacher, kneeling naked on a bed,” (Anderson 152). This direct quote from the reverend shows us what he thinks of the actions he is committing. With this quote being within the last of the reverend’s statements readers are forced to make conclusions without further information. He believes that looking at Kate Swift when she is not decent is a sign from God. However, in reality, one would think that watching someone while they are undressed is a sin. The social norm is once again broken in this story through the usage of yet another literary device. What does fragmentation have to do with this one? Well one can see that without fragmentation the peculiarities of characters wouldn’t be as recognizable as they are now due to break up of the characters and usage of literary elements such as irony. With this, we see that fragmentation emphasizes the meaning that comes with the irony further revealing the eeriness of the characters. Fragmentation plays this same role with personification.
Personification is one element that defines the story of Wing Biddlebaum as extremely odd. As the story of Wing Biddlebaum unfolds, the reader gets curious as to why his hands have the tendency to move constantly. Even more unusual is the fact that he backs away when he is about to touch George Willard. As Biddlebaum begins the story of his life, he reveals that his hands have the ability to eliminate doubt. “Under the caress of his hands doubt and disbelief went out of the minds of the boys and they began also to dream,” (Anderson 14). However, the story is fragmentary in that it does not provide for how he got this ability. Through the use of personification, Anderson makes the hands appear to be human in the fact that it can change human emotions. This is no doubt a bizarre ability which defies the social norm completely. Fragmentation plays a big role in this for it was the story Biddlebaum told George Willard that allowed the reader to see what was really up with his hand. The detailed nature of the story that we see through this example is due to the focus on imagery.
Anderson has an extraordinary ability to describe with clarity the many places and characters throughout the town. This allows for the reader to get a mental image of how society may not find these people to be normal. In the text it says, “Wash Williams, the telegraph operator of Winesburg, was the ugliest thing in town (p. 113).” Prior to this, there was a mentioning of an ugly monkey which was compared with Wash Williams. These specific details make the reader think of him as an outcast within society. Fragmentation is the bases of these ideas that form about the many different characters since it is what limits the info about the characters. Thus, we can see that fragmentation is what forces us to use the clear details, imagery, to analyze the characters resulting in what we perceive as an odd character in the case of Wash Williams.
The short stories that make up Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio can stand alone, but together the loosely connected vignettes form a composite picture of small town American life as experienced by one main character, George Willard,” (Kale). This composite picture of a strange community is formed primarily through the use of fragmentation. The many short stories that are seen within the novel allow for readers to see the truth behind each and every character. With the limited information, there is an emphasis of other elements as analytical tools. As fragmentation coincides with the other elements, the characters are seen to be eerie revealing the modernist ideal of breaking down the social norm. With this, there is no doubt that Fragmentation’s role within modernism is highly acclaimed among the literary elements.
Sources:
Anderson, Sherwood. Winesburg, Ohio. New York, N.Y: Penguin Books, 2005.
Kale, Verna. “Winesburg, Ohio”. The Literary Encyclopedia. 7 January 2008.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID;=8811, accessed 17 May 2009.]
