The Universality of Winesburg, Ohio

Abstract

Winesburg, Ohio는Sherwood Anderson의 첫번째 단편집인데 이 작품은 미국 역사에서 가장 의미있는 전환기의 하나인 남북전쟁 이후 중부지방의 한 가공의 소도시에 사는 일단의 소외된 사람들을 묘사하고

작품에 나오는 대부분의 인물들은 Anderson이 Chicago에 거주하고 있을때 같은 집에 지내던 동료하 들로부터 택해진 것이다. 그가 알고 있는 이들은 이전에 한번도 소도시에서 살아본 경험이 없는 사람들인데 이러한 사실은 Winesburg, Ohio의 보편적 성질을 말하는 이유가 되기도 한다.

작품의 중심사상인 사랑과 이해는 작품의 전개를 통하여 반복되어지는데, Anderson은 인간은 자신과 다른 사람들을 가로 막고 있는 장벽을 허물어 버리고 오직 사랑과 이해를 통하여 인생을 가치있는 것으로 만들 수 있다고 하고 있다. Anderson은 또한 사랑은 인간의 소외를 극복하는 길이 된다고 말하고 있다. 작품에 나오는 대부분의 인물들은 grotesques라고 불리어 질 수도 있으나 사실에 있어서는 그렇지가 않다. 그들이 안고 있는 병은 그들 모두가 다른 사람들로부터 사랑을 받기를 원한다는점에서 보편적인 것이다. Anderson은 grotesque image를 통하여 문학만이 보여줄 수 있는 객관적인 인간경험을 묘사하?? 있다.

Winesburg, Ohio is Sherwood Anderson's first collection of tales. It describes a group of isolated people living in a small imaginary Mid-American town during the post-civil war age, which is one of the most significant transitional periods in the history of America. Most of the characters in the stories were taken from Anderson's fellow lodgers in a large rooming house which he was living in Chicage. Those whom Anderson knew in Chicago had never lived in a small town before. This explains why the stories of Winesburg, Ohio have the universal quality.

Love and understanding which are the main ideas of this story are recurring through the development of the stories. Anderson shows that man can break down the walls which separate him from other people and that man can make life worth living only through love and understanding. Love is also the weapon used by Anderson to penetrate human isolation. Most of the characters could be called grotesques, but in fact they are not. The disease they have is universal in that they all need to be loved by others. In the image of grotesques. Anderson shows the objective human experiences which only literature can give.

Winesburg, Ohio is Sherwood Anderson's first collection of tales. It describes a group of isolated people living in a small imaginary Mid-American town during the post-civil war age, which is one of the most significant transitional periods in the history of America. Most of the characters in the stories were taken from Anderson's fellow lodgers in a large rooming house which he was living in Chicage. Those whom Anderson knew in Chicago had never lived in a small town before. This explains why the stories of Winesburg, Ohio have the universal quality.

Love and understanding which are the main ideas of this story are recurring through the development of the stories. Anderson shows that man can break down the walls which separate him from other people and that man can make life worth living only through love and understanding. Love is also the weapon used by Anderson to penetrate human isolation. Most of the characters could be called grotesques, but in fact they are not. The disease they have is universal in that they all need to be loved by others. In the image of grotesques. Anderson shows the objective human experiences which only literature can give.