Sherwood Anderson, Winesburg, Ohio

Verna Kale (Penn State University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.3: American (US) Writing and Culture: The Early Twentieth-century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: J. Michael Duvall (College of Charleston), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Tony Papanikolas (San Jose State University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1919

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Story Collection

Resources

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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. Though the tales concern various townspeople, George maintains a presence — sometimes directly, sometimes only tenuously — in almost all of the stories. Often George, like the audience, serves as a listener to someone else’s tale. As a reporter for the

Winesburg Eagle

, and as one of the only characters with an opportunity to escape to the big city, George represents the last chance that the parochial citizens of Winesburg have of letting their voices be heard in the larger world.

When George leaves Winesburg in the final story, “Departure”, more

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920 words

Citation: Kale, Verna. "Winesburg, Ohio". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 January 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8811, accessed 18 April 2024.]

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