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George Willard It is not by sheer accident that Sherwood Anderson referred to his critically acclaimed novel Winesburg, Ohio as the book of grotesque. The stories of Winesburg's residents cannot be described as having anything in common, except for the fact that they are being related to Winesburg Eagle reporter George Willard. By adopting a very loose approach to connecting the chapters of his book, Anderson wanted to emphasize the absurdist nature of living in American small towns, at the beginning of 20 th century. The novels protagonist George Willard is not presented to us as three dimensional character from very beginning.
It is only through reading the entire book that we can describe his personality as having a distinctive features. Modern critics suggest that the character of George Willard is largely autobiographical. Sherwood Anderson was known as very idealistic person, when his was young. The idealism also appears to be main trait of Willard's character. In chapter Departure George is described as being inclined to take a lengthy walks in open field, so that nothing could interrupt his flow of thoughts: All through his boyhood and young manhood George Willard had been in the habit of walking on Trunion Pike. He had been in the midst of the great open place on winter nights when it was covered with snow and only the moon looked down at him; he had been there in the fall when bleak winds blew and on summer evenings when the air vibrated with the song of insects.
On the April morning he wanted to go there again, to walk again in the silence (Departure, 4). It appears that there was also a practical reason for Willard to seek self-seclusion, because he needed some time to contemplate on the stories that towns folk used to tell him. Even though that George Willard is described as young adult, his worldview has not been completely formed; this is why he wanted to be left alone, while adjusting his empirical observations to his beliefs. For the idealistic young person, it is very uneasy to accept the idea that strange and often despicable characters, which he got to know, while working as reporter, once were also an idealists.
Doctor Parcival had probably affected him more than anybody else, because he told Willard that he was also a reporter, before the objective reality turned him into the cynic, who liked to take pleasure out of shocking people with his weird tales: I was a reporter like you here, Doctor Parcival began. It was in a town in Iowa was it in Illinois? I dont remember and anyway it makes no difference. Perhaps I am trying to conceal my identity and dont want to be very definite (Philosopher, 10). If there is anybody in the town of Winesburg that Willard could truly relate to, except for his parents, it would be Doctor Parcival. George considerably changes his act, after Parcival's visits, because his sense of compassion towards people becomes well concealed.
Willard begins to wonder about what is going to happen to him in the future. Under no circumstances does he want to turn into the weirdo, like Doctor Parcival. Yet, deep inside, George feels that he and Doctor Parcival are psychologically related. This frightens him and becomes one of the reasons that prompted him to leave Winesburg, at the end of novel.
The main motivation in life for Willard was gaining a social prominence, as his father convinced him. However, he was slowly beginning to realize that in contemporary society, individuals qualities that are based on the sense of idealism cannot be very helpful, when it comes to becoming socially successful. This is why Willard is being a bit skeptical towards his fathers advice to always stand your grounds, because Tom Willard always lived by this principle, yet, he his was never able to achieve his goals: Tom Willard was ambitious for his son. He had always thought of himself as a successful man, although nothing he had ever done had turned out successfully (Mother, 11).
Georges father wishes his son the best, but he never thought of him as being special, as his mother does. There are many odd things about George, which Elizabeth Willard interpreting as sign of her son destined for something greater. For example, George is shown as someone who has a habit of talking to himself. Elizabeth thinks of it as another proof of her theory: He is groping about, trying to find himself, she thought. He is not a dull clod, all words and smartness. Within him there is a secret something that is striving to grow.
It is the thing I let be killed in myself (Mother, 8). There is no doubt that George Willard is not dumb. At the same time, we cannot refer to him as being overly smart. This is because he is still too young. His idealistic belief that justice will always triumph prevents him from perceiving the surrounding reality in logical manner. At the end of the novel, George seems to become more rational.
The stories of numerous visitors to his office convinced him in the fact that only one thing has a universal value in this world money. He does not want people to take advantage of his naivety anymore, this is why his foremost concern becomes how to look respectable: George glanced up and down the car to be sure no one was looking, then took out his pocketbook and counted his money. His mind was occupied with a desire not to appear green (Departure, 9). Throughout the novel, George Willard tries his best to comfort people who come to tell him of their problems.
He does not understand that he is already helping them by listening to their stories, because all they need is an audience. George cannot embrace the fact that most of them are just a mental wrecks, who cannot focus on anything else but their own problems. Some of the visitors to Willard's office are just plain crazy, like Reverend Curtis Hartman, who at the beginning appears to be a very sensible person and only as he continues to talk, it starts to dawn on George that Reverend has many marbles missing from his brain: Reverend Curtis Hartman turned and ran out of the office. At the door he stopped, and after looking up and down the deserted street, turned again to George Willard. I am delivered.
Have no fear. He held up a bleeding fist for the young man to see. I smashed the glass of the window, he cried. Now it will have to be wholly replaced.
The strength of God was in me and I broke it with my fist (The Strength of God, 21). We cannot say that Georges behavior changes drastically, throughout the book, but there is no doubt that he slowly begins to evaluate people from psychiatrists point of view, even though he has no formal training. The last couple of visitors he treats as if they were mental patients, by totally agreeing with them on everything. From being a compassionate helper, George turns into an unemotional observer. Anderson does not suggest it openly, however, it is read between the lines that peoples social alienation comes as the result of society becoming too mechanistic. Young people are more sensitive towards the inadequacy of social ethics.
This is why Anderson needed the character of George Willard as protagonist, because it is through him that author is able to give his novel a moral sounding. In his introduction to Andersons book Irving Howe says: What the grotesques really need is each other, but their estrangement is so extreme they cannot establish direct ties -- they can only hope for connection through George Willard. The burden this places on the boy is more than he can bear (Howe, 5). We can say that George serves as a measure scale, which helps us to distinguish truth from lies. His humanistic attitude towards people allows him to be really interested in their stories. However, it is the social dynamics in American society that begins to preoccupy him, towards the end of novel.
By doing this, George acts as a true intellectual, because he is shown as someone who can keep his emotions under control, in order to remain logical. It would not be an exaggeration to say that George is only the intellectual in Andersons novel, even though that he does not know a lot, because of his age. Still, being able to memorize a lot of factual data does not make one an intellectual. A real smart person understands what he might not know. George instinctively understands the hidden motivational factors, behind his visitors erratic behavior, even though that he does not know where this understanding comes from.
The answer is simple George comes from a good stock. He is mentally and physically healthy; this is why his sense of depravity and sickness is very acute. Therefore, we cannot agree with Irving Howe, when he suggests that: Misunderstanding, loneliness, the inability to articulate, are all seen by Anderson as virtually a root condition, something deeply set in our natures (Howe, 4). George is shown as not being affected by loneliness of misunderstanding. At the same time, those novels characters that show signs of mental instability, are also often represented and being physically deformed.
This is being done by author on purpose. Anderson was well known for his belief that eugenics is absolutely appropriate social policy. It is not by a pure chance that George is being described as having Nordic facial features. Author wanted to show that the root of peoples inability to organically fit into society lies in their biological inadequacy.
It is very symbolic that at the end of the book George gets on the train, which is heading West. West is the land where people are able to realize their true essence, because it is vast and free. George is leaving Winesburg, as if he wanted to say that this town is simply unredeemable. Even though that Winesburg is very real, George does not want to think of it as anything else but a dream: With the recollection of little things occupying his mind he closed his eyes and leaned back in the car seat. He stayed that way for a long time and when he aroused himself and again looked out of the car window the town of Winesburg had disappeared and his life there had become but a background on which to paint the dreams of his manhood (Departure, 13). Andersons novel has a great literary value.
However, it seems that Winesburg, Ohio would not become quite as popular among people, if author had not included the character of George Willard in it. Readers subconsciously compare their attitude towards novels characters with how George sees them. It is because of his character that Andersons book cannot be referred to as utterly pessimistic. Author probably wanted to say that the spiritual depravity among people, which could be seen in Mid West urban areas, at the beginning of 20 th century, cannot be associated with America as whole. Therefore, we can say that the character of George Willard, in Winesburg, Ohio represents a new hope.
Bibliography: Anderson, Sherwood Winesburg, Ohio. 2006. Bartleby. Com. 19 Apr. 2007. web Howe, Irving Introduction. 2007. Page By Page Books. 19 Apr. 2007. web Ellis, James Sherwood Anderson's Fear of Sexuality: Horses, Men, and Homosexuality. 2001.
Questia. 19 Apr. 2007. web Sherwood Anderson. 2007. Wikipedia. 19 Apr. 2007. web Winesburg, Ohio (novel). 2007.
Wikipedia. 19 Apr. 2007. web (novel) Abstract: This paper discusses the character of George Willard from Sherwood Andersons novel Winesburg, Ohio. Outline: Introduction. P. 1 Main part. Pp. 1 4 Conclusion. P. 5
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Research essay sample on 20 Th Century George Willard
