Winesburg, Ohio: Two Thinkers Essay, Research Paper

Attention, I truly screwed up the writer? s name in this. His name is Sherwood, non Sherwin. I guess that comes from composing the paper at 3am. I really spent several yearss rewriting this paper. The paper compares and contrasts two narratives from Winesburg, and received an 89 or 90, I don? t remember. It was submitted in an Honors English category, the hardest English degree at my school. I hope it? s high quality Irish bull. Have a nice twenty-four hours.

Sherwin Anderson? s aggregation of short narratives about a little farm town, Winesburg, Ohio, contains an thought he footings? grotesques? . The term outlines the inclination of adult male to hold on a truth, and hold so strongly on to this truth that it becomes distorted. In the two narratives, ? Paper Pills? and? A Man of Ideas? , the reader witnesses grotesques who have distorted the truth due to their self-importances. The self-importance of the chief characters direct them to believe they contain the greatest truths of all the townsfolk in Winesburg. Dr. Reefy, in? Paper Pills? holds back the information from his fellow Winesburgers because his self-importance tells him they do non merit the mountains of truth. Joe Welling, an oil trader, spreads his cognition and observations, because he believes his ideas enrich the townsfolk? s? lives. The sarcasm that these two work forces boil over with a complex soup of ideas yet express their thoughts clearly to merely a smattering of willing persons reinforces the thought of the grotesque. The truth they hang on to? the? truth? of their domination in intelligence? distorts their communicating accomplishments to a point where they lose their audience. The symbolic ( myocardial infarction ) usage of custodies as a agency of communicating and the symbolic usage of names and businesss besides strengthen the subject of the grotesque as an egotist. The grotesques become so cloaked up in the authority of their ideas because their self-importances begin to blow up its importance. Their fixed? truth? ( reinforced by their self-importances ) of higher aptitude causes isolation and grotesquery. ? A Man of Ideas? and? Paper Pills? demonstrates the subject of narcissistic grotesques through a combination of character, symbols, and sarcasm.

Dr. Reefy and Joe Welling appear an improbable brace when foremost viewed, but they shortly look similar really likewise distorted grotesques as the two narratives advancement in Winesburg, Ohio. The kernel of their similarities and differences lies in the nature of their ideas. The rubric of the narrative, ? A Man of Ideas? , which falls after? Paper Pills? in the aggregation, brings to mind an discoverer, or superb scientist with its grandiose rubric. However, the writer describes Joe Welling? s lines of idea as tantrums, instead than a topic of survey. Welling? s existent ideas have the possible to intrigue people, yet his bringing of the energy contained in these startling disclosures overwhelms the receiver. ? The aroused adult male breathed into his face, peered into his eyes, pounded upon his thorax, ? demanded, compelled attending? ( 103 ) . Joe Welling usually goes about his concern of covering oil, but sometimes, he reveals his inclination for covering out religious energy. He wants to permeate the closest adult male with a reflecting truth, bettering the neighbour? s life with a little humor, or brightly crafted penetration. Joe Welling? s avidity? possibly right termed an overeagerness? to supply these truths causes his grotesquery. The really thing which makes some of Welling? s thoughts so superb, their energy, besides disturbs his audience. He states vague facts, anticipating a response worthy of the? intelligence of the triumph of the Greeks in the battle at Marathon? ( 195 ) If he could merely pump his thoughts and energy into a individual like his oil, so he would go possibly the greatest mind in the whole town. Alternatively, the adult male? s self-importance consumes him in a desire to show to everyone his great intelligence and thoughts. ? He was beset by thoughts and in the throes of one of his thoughts was unmanageable? ( 103, my italics ) . The ground Welling loses his audience lies in his grotesque overeagerness to turn out himself a smart adult male. The? unmanageable? tantrums of condescending self-importance cause uncomfortableness in his mark audience. Conveying a message becomes a goad, forcing, and herding of the hearer in the way of the of Joe Welling? s thoughts. The indifference and irritation caused by his effusions limit the figure of townsfolk who subscribe to his personal energy supply.

The flow of ideas from Dr. Reefy besides spills out, although he expresses them otherwise. ? Paper Pills? focuses on a adult male unable to show his ideas to others, because he believes them unworthy of something so great. With the exclusion of the tall dark miss, Dr. Reefy keeps these thoughts to himself. Alternatively of cornering person with a choice morsel of truth, he writes his thoughts onto little faux pass of paper, which form into balls after being placed in his pockets. ? On the documents were written ideas, the beginnings of ideas, the terminals of ideas? ( 37 ) . He believes in the domination of his ideas, although he does non portion them as Welling does. He records his profound ideas and uses them to raise monolithic thoughts before they fade off into another monolithic thought. He toys with these ideas and performs mental gymnastic exercises to turn out his mental domination to himself. In the narrative? Paper Pills? , the physician ne’er one time accepts an thought from an foreigner for his faux pass of truth. His self-importance tells him the wisdom of his equals does non fit his ain, because? ? In Doctor Reefy there were the seeds of something really all right? ( 35 ) . Because he knows his instruction provided him with better mental modules, the physician? s ego undertakings himself beyond the negligible traffics of the town? s citizens. In the narrative, he does non try to pass on his thoughts to anyone but the tall dark miss. He and Joe Welling, the oil trader, clasp in common this denial of their fellow adult male? s intelligence. Both characters? egos underestimate the aptitude of the townsfolk? s heads to apologize their sermon of thoughts, or withholding of thoughts. Joe spouts strictly energetic idea, trusting person can tackle his glare, while the physician hides his paper pills before flinging them. Neither adult male can show his thoughts to Winesburg successfully, but Joe Welling? s inability consequences from his teasing character to portion everything ; Doctor Reefy? s privacy? a refusal to portion with those less than him? from the little society outside his window causes his deficiency of audience.

Ironically, both characters manage to drop, merely one time, the foibles caused by their self-importances in order to impact a few persons. This modesty delves into the grotesque? s old nature, before they became distorted by their narcissistic dispositions. Neither Dr. Reefy nor Joe Welling manages to convey the townsfolk as a whole an apprehension, or at least an grasp of the degree of deep idea which they hold. Nevertheless, Welling? s address to the two King work forces holds their attending. ? As he [ Tom King ] strode along, he leaned over, listening? absorbed, fascinated? ( 111 ) Welling drops his narcissistic attitude of learning everyone the right manner? his manner? to discourse a subject of deep involvement. Anderson? s thought of the deformation of a truth by a individual appears relevant in this instance. As a grotesque in Winesburg, Ohio, Welling distorts his truth: that all his thoughts deserve an audience battered into regard for them. He expects people to listen, because his thoughts are more of import than their personal businesss. ? I thought I? d Tell you? it? s interesting, eh? ? ( 105 ) , he says, after cornering Ed Thomas for a address. This involvement in keeping attendings through rapid fire of ideas designed to affect the hearer merely causes uncomfortableness for the hearer and isolation for the talker. ? An look of incapacitated irritation crept over the faces of the four? ( 105 ) . Welling creates a buffer zone around him because of his annoying nature. The distinguishable sedateness and surprisingness of the talk with the Kings deepens the character of the grotesque. This sarcasm of character shows us how successfully Joe Welling could convey his thoughts without the hyperactive goad. He can non let his thoughts to travel to blow, but in this instance, he portions them without forcefully forcing the Kings in the way of his thoughts. The in-your-face narcissistic desire to convert them of his righteousness remains conspicuously absent from this scene. Dr. Reefy? s dry openness besides comes with the sharing of thoughts with a occupant of Winesburg. He has isolated himself already, hence, his opportunity at an audience for his ideas ne’er materializes. In blunt contrast, the sarcasm in the narrative? Paper Pills? comes when Dr. Reefy reads his most cherished personal ownerships, his ideas, to another person. Unlike the oil trader, the physician portions his innermost thoughts for the first clip. He lacks the nervus to travel out and face person with his ideas ; the tall dark miss comes to him at his office. After doing her familiarity, he eventually acknowledges the worthiness of a townsperson to understand and accept his thoughts, something he ne’er did earlier. The aggressive, forceful push of Welling for an audience makes him a grotesque, although for different reaso

ns Dr. Reefy besides makes himself a grotesque. The physician? s complete deficiency of communicating ( accomplishments ) sets him apart, and causes him to go a grotesque. Absorbed in bring forthing ideas of great importance, he fails to recognize that the truths he holds onto demand to be shared. In a weak effort at communicating, ? ? old Doctor Reefy took from his pockets a smattering of the paper balls, and threw them at the baby’s room adult male? ( 36 ) . Accumulating a luck in wisdom in cognition by his ain resources, Dr. Reefy? s truth would possibly emerge as a great plus. It shines, ironically, but merely one time, and ne’er plenty to promote him to emerge from his grotesquery. When he fell in love with the tall, dark miss, ? he read to her all the odds and terminals of ideas he had scribbled on the spots of paper. After he had read them he laughed and stuffed them away in his pockets to go circular difficult balls? ( 38 ) . He stuffs his ideas back into his pockets, a topographic point where his thoughts are stored. However, the physician ne’er retrieves the thoughts in his pockets to portion them. The ironically open-minded physician becomes a grotesque one time once more with this action. Joe Welling? s overeagerness, nevertheless, seems less violent at the terminal of the narrative? A Man of Ideas? . The Kings walk along, beside him, in the street, as peers. He does non endorse them into corners with forceful goad, or go on with his grotesque insisting. With his large thoughts and his little audience, ? He gets everybody working together. You merely watch him? ( 107 ) Although he still remains narcissistic, because he craves attending, Joe Welling discontinues the hassling attitude which caused his unpopularity. The thought of his righteousness slices slightly, and the reader can non see Joe Welling a grotesque any longer. Dr. Reefy? s act of puting his ideas back into their secluded pocket besides dooms him to go on his grotesque isolation. The two characters? little dry turns take different waies ; Joe Welling? s leads to a less monstrous character, while Dr. Reefy? s self-importance resumes its push towards an unshared life of thoughts.

A overplus of symbols abound in the two short narratives? A Man of Ideas? and? Paper Pills? . In Winesburg, hands hold particular precedence, because the town relies on the custodies of the workers to back up itself. In the novel, Winesburg, Ohio, hands besides mean more than the ability to carry through a difficult twenty-four hours? s work. The symbolism of custodies as a window to the character of an single becomes evident when Sherwin Anderson jumps into symbolic custodies shortly after the debut of each short narrative. Hands represent the individual? s personality, and possibly traits or foibles manifest themselves in the custodies of a individual. Dr. Reefy? s brass knuckss stand out as his manus? s most obvious characteristics, and they represent a affinity between the physician, and the gnarly apples which strongly resemble his brass knuckss.

? Winesburg had forgotten the old adult male, but in Doctor Reefy there were the seeds of something really all right? One the trees are merely a few gnarly apples that the choosers have rejected. They look like the brass knuckss of Doctor Reefy? s custodies. One nybbles at them, and they are delightful. Into a small circular topographic point at the side of the apple has been gathered all of its sugariness? Merely the few know the sugariness of the distorted apples. ( 35-36 )

Anderson extends the metaphor and stretches it into a symbol of huge proportions. The gnarly apples and Dr. Reefy remain untasted and undiscovered admirations, except by? the few? . The unit of ammunition apples find their manner into places and stores, but still the best fruits of the Earth prevarication undetected in the little, quiet town of Winesburg. The symbol of the sweet apple with an imperfect visual aspect represents the townsfolk? s position of Dr. Reefy. He retains a quality inside which many people wear? Ts have, and his? sugariness? inside? his myriad of ideas? collect to organize a fruit akin to the apple in the garden of Eden. However, his luring thoughts merely become apparent when trying the old adult male. The? seeds of something really all right? seal themselves inside the ugly fruit, go forthing merely the rough outside of the old, gnarled custodies to deter people from tapping this depot of free idea. In contrast, Joe Welling? s thoughts cause him to utilize his fingers and even thrash his whole arm for the intent of doing a grander statement. Alternatively of leting sugariness to win over the audience for his thoughts, he drives them place with his custodies. ? His finger crush a tattoo upon Ed Thomas? s wide thorax? ( 104 ) . With nudging and jab, Joe? demanded, compelled attending? for his thoughts. This method of communicating causes a bitterness among his fellow Winesburgers. Because of this, no one approaches him for suggestions or fresh thoughts. Though his ugly custodies symbolize a passive, non aggressive communicating of thoughts, people besides ignore Dr. Reefy in his moldy office. Joe Welling instantly pounds his ideas place, but possibly Dr. Reefy expresses all his most desired hoarded wealths in composing for find subsequently by person worthy of their illustriousness. What the work forces accomplished with their custodies, their businesss, besides symbolizes their personalities. Joe Welling, an oil trader, spouted thoughts. His name reminds the reader of an uncapped oil well, hiting black gold into the air. The? welling up? of his thoughts represents the apparently unlimited supply of energy coming from an oil well. The oil trader sells energy as his occupation, denoting his persistent efforts to? sell? his tireless watercourse of thoughts to other persons. However, his energy blooms like a mushroom cloud from an atomic bomb: excessively quickly to be harnessed for utile intents. Both his business and his name symbolically exemplify his character as a jerkily energetic individual. Dr. Reefy? s method of administering his ideas besides harks back to his business. His paper thought pills look like medical specialty for stupidity and ignorance. The town fails to see Dr. Reefy? s glare because of these complaints and for some ground, he holds no desire to handle them for the disease. However, he attempts a weak signifier of communicating with them when he cried, ? This is to confuse you, you blithering old romanticist, ? ( 36 ) and so threw the paper pills at the baby’s room adult male. By throwing out thoughts, he tries to pass on some of his huge thoughts to another friend, but he does non win. The epigram from the physician displays his desire to show his high quality. He remarks how the ideas confound the adult male, a adult male of ordinary schooling. Merely by straight reading the garbages, before they roll into pills, does he eventually pass on his thoughts to the full. The truth may be such a acrimonious medical specialty that none of the townspeople want for a remedy. Name callings besides play an of import symbolic function in the narrative? Paper Pills? . The? tall dark miss? opened the physician? s bosom and softened him into sharing his thoughts. The absence of her name belies the fact that the miss represents anyone. The figure merely took notice when no 1 else had. She symbolizes the few people who realize gnarly apples taste the sweetest, and that Doctor Reefy holds a pocket full of invaluable wisdom. The tall dark miss represents anyone? who has discovered the sugariness of the distorted apples, she could non acquire her head fixed once more upon the unit of ammunition perfect fruit that is eaten in the metropolis flats? ( 38 ) . The anon. individuality of the adult female belies a common trait for anyone who wishes to understand the physician: the find of the sweet side to the physician. Possibly the physician stands right in his premise that merely a smart individual deserves his ideas. Dr. Reefy? s anon. friend remains the lone person in the narrative perceptive plenty to place his? sugariness? indoors. The physician? s grotesquery temporarily vanishes with a bite into the gnarled apple by an single with adequate bravery to seek the untasted fruit. The symbolic names, businesss, and custodies in these narratives represent the different facets of the grotesquery of the two characters. Although the custodies of both work forces may be symbolic of their personalities, their significances, like the other symbols, differ greatly between the two persons.

Joe Welling, in? A Man of Ideas? and Dr. Reefy, in? Paper Pills? both think grandly of themselves, and keep their ideas in high regards. However, the manner their egos blow up this? truth? into grotesqueness contrasts every bit greatly as the physical visual aspects of the two work forces. Dr. Reefy, with his big custodies, nose, and beard, shrinks back into a shell. He conserves his ideas for his personal usage in raising mountains of truth, because no 1 else deserves them. However, the little, ardent oil trader, Joe Welling, gushes energy and thoughts like an oil work stoppage, and he tries to forcefully portion his wealth of thoughts. The two minds? self-importances disrupt their heads, and pervert their truths and them until they become grotesques. The grotesques result from believing they represent the concluding truth. Stretching righteousness fusss Anderson, and in these narratives, he demonstrates how grotesques signifier from people excessively willing to believe in their eye-popping ground and logic. His witty narratives filled with symbols, sarcasm, and carefully drawn imitations demonstrate the narcissistic way to grotesquery.