Grotesques’ Choices

As the masterpiece of Sherwood Anderson, Winesburg, Ohio wins a wide applause for its distinctive artistic features. Its author Sherwood Anderson is thus regarded as the representative of the "New Voice" of the American literature in twenties century. The novel is formed by twenty-five independent and inter-related stories, which depicts a town during the period of industry revolution in the early twenties century. The novel is famous for its vivid description of the small town people’s existential conditions and their psychological statements during the transitional period. Corresponding with Sartre’s existentialist ideas, the novel reveals people’s anguish after becoming grotesques in the transitional period and their longing and pursuit for freedom, love and understanding.As the most influential and comprehensive philosophy, Sartre’s existentialist philosophy appeared in the middle20th century. In his theory, Sartre not only exposes human beings’anguished life in the absurd world, but more importantly, he emphasizes that man’s existentialist values can be realized through free choices and actions. Similarly, in Winesburg, Ohio, Anderson not only pays attention to the plight of human existence, but endows these grotesques the freedom to choose as well.The thesis consists of three parts.The first part provides a brief introduction of Sherwood Anderson and Winesburg, Ohio and presents the layout of the thesis.The second part is the main body which is divided into four chapters. Chapter One is a discussion of Jean-Paul Sartre’s ideas concerning "the world is absurd and the life is anguished" and "free choices". Man as a painful being lives in this absurd world, which gives him the endless spiritual depression and disappointments, so life is anguished. Meanwhile, Sartre points out that man has the freedom of choice. Despite their anguished life in this absurd world, they can realize their existential values through choices. In Chapter Two, the absurd world of different grotesques is presented in various aspects. The self-deceiver spends his absurd life all day in self-made illusions and fear. The love pursuer testifies the absurdity of the world through a series of ridiculous behaviors. And the religious believers struggle between the absurdity of their religious belief and the uncontrollable desires. Chapter Three analyzes the anguished life of grotesques, which can be seen from their inability to express feelings, the absence of love and the collapse of faith. Chapter Four is associated with reflection of man’s free choices and actions in the novel. Confronting with the absurd world and the anguished life, the grotesques make different choices. By analyzing their choices of single life, love and resistance, the thesis highlights that people should make their own choices in the existential plight so as to justify their existence as human beings.The last part is a conclusion. It points out that the grotesques realize their true existence through their free choices when facing the existential plight. Meanwhile, it is their courage to pursue happiness and freedom that win readers’love and respect. The novel reflects Anderson’s deep concern for human beings’existence in the predicament and his affirmation for their choices.