An Analysis Of The Expressionistic Techniques In Winesburg, Ohio

Sherwood Anderson is a pioneer writer in American modern literature, as well asone of the most important personages in the world literature. His masterpiece ofWinesburg, Ohio, after its publication in1919, has been widely reviewed and highlypraised by critics over the world. It is also considered as a milestone in the history ofAmerican short story, which fuses modernism and expressionism in perfect way andbrings the American literature a new perception for its special writing techniques, uniqueexpressions and creative themes. Sherwood Anderson has a profound impact on the laterwriters and he himself is considered as the father of American writers of his generation.Winesburg, Ohio, one of the earliest literary works, explores the sense of frustration,loneliness and depression deeply hidden in the typical life of American small town. Itportrays a group of grotesque people in the town of Winesburg who seem so queer andabsurd. They live in their small isolated world and can’t walk out of it because of theirlack of communication with outside world and their inability to adapt themselves to therapid changing world. Through the recurring description of the grotesque people andimages, Sherwood Anderson vividly depicts the inner emotions and desires of thecharacters and reveals the nature of the society. Winesburg, Ohio attracts the world’sattention for its expressionistic writing techniques and its wonderful description of thenew life style of American small town. They study and appreciate this novel fromdifferent angles, varying from modernism, realism, naturalism to impressionism andromanticism. Their studying perspectives cover aspects from historical to geographical,from thematic to structural, from biographical to its writing skills. A lot of excellentarticles and works come into being as a result of these studies on the novel. However,there are not so many articles and works which study Winesburg, Ohio in the perspectiveof expressionism. On the basis of former studies, this thesis will have a try in the analysisof expressionistic techniques Sherwood Anderson employs in its form andcharacterization.This thesis consists of three main parts: introduction, main body and conclusion.In the introduction, the thesis will mainly discuss the present condition of the studiesand comments on Anderson and Winesburg, Ohio. Then this thesis will state its studyingangle, its theoretical and practical meaning. Among the large and contradictory critics Winesburg, Ohio received, the critics mainly pay their attention to the literary school hebelongs to, the historical and geographical aspects in the book, the theme, structure andcharacterization of the novel. This thesis will have a try in the analysis of expressionistictechniques Sherwood Anderson employs in its form and characterization in order toenrich the theoretical studies on this novel. It also plays important role in helping thereaders further understand Anderson’s particular writing skills and his Winesburg, Ohio.The main body is divided into three chapters.Chapter I will introduce the theory of expressionism and analyze the original rootfor the formation of Sherwood Anderson’s expressionistic writing techniques. Theexpressionism from three aspects, namely, the origin and development of expressionism,the principle and features of expressionism and the significance and influence ofexpressionism in literature will be introduced firstly. Then, it will explain the originalroot for the formation of Anderson’s expression writing techniques in two aspects. Onone hand, his special personal life experience (from poor to rich and then bankrupt) hasgreat impact on his expressionistic ideas. On the other hand, Chicago Renaissance alsoinfluences Anderson a lot on developing his expressionistic ideas. Sherwood Andersonparticipated positively into Chicago Renaissance and communicated closely with theexpressionistic painters, whose idea of seeking the inner truth and feelings of things is soadmirable to Sherwood Anderson that he uses such artistic idea frequently in his writings.Chapter II will try to analyze the expressionistic techniques Sherwood Andersonuses in the form of Winesburg, Ohio in two aspects: its loose form in plot and structureand the unity as a whole novel. On one hand, loose form is one of the most outstandingfeatures. This novel is lacking in suspense and dramatic development and climax in itsplot, unlike the other writers’ works. In its structure, this novel consists of severalseemingly independent stories; each chapter is weakly related with one another. On theother hand, however, when the readers understand the novel as a whole text, they wouldfind a unity in the form of the novel, with the help of the four unifying elements:common setting, common theme, a common character and a common omniscientnarrative tone. These four unifying elements combine together to make this novel awhole text and the emotions of characters stronger.Chapter III will mainly focus on the expressionistic devices Sherwood Anderson uses in the characterization of Winesburg, Ohio in three aspects: the unique languagestyle as expressionistic painters, the use of symbolism and the use of epiphany. Firstly,the way Sherwood Anderson uses words in expressing the inner emotions of characters isjust like the expressionistic painters choose simple but bold colors in portraying thescenes or characters. He uses simple daily words and archaism to show the readers theinner loneliness and desperation of the grotesques, and their eagerness to communicatewith others. Secondly, in the characterization of the novel, Anderson also uses the deviceof symbolism, which mainly can be classified into three parts: symbolic characters,symbolic settings and symbolic objects. The successful use of symbolism helpsSherwood Anderson reveal implicitly the inner frustration and loneliness of thegrotesques in the novel. Thirdly, Anderson uses epiphany, which he once called “the raremoment of captivating the essence of humanity”. Most of the grotesques in the novelfeels extremely despair, lonely and frustrated, and want to tell the others their innerthoughts in their deep heart. In some epiphany moment, they are brave enough to tellothers their inner thought, but their inability to find a correct way to express themselvesalways lead this moment to a tragic ending, which makes them become more ridicule andabsurd. Sherwood Anderson deeply portrays the inner spiritual world of these people inthe town with the set of these epiphany moments.The conclusion, last part of this thesis, will summarize the entire thesis and point outits main purposes and meanings. It analyzes in detail the expressionistic writingtechniques Sherwood Anderson adopts in the form and characterization of Winesburg,Ohio in a new angle of expressionism, the profound influence Sherwood Anderson hason the later writers and the significance stature he enjoys in the American literature.There are not so many articles commenting the novel from the angle of expressionism,thus such a study is quite valuable, both theoretically and practically. The tentative studyon the novel from the angle of expressionism of this thesis will help the readers have abetter understanding of the loneliness and desperation in the deep heart of the grotesquesin the novel and the skillful expressionistic writing techniques Sherwood Anderson usesin the novel.