An Existentialist Study Of Winesburg, Ohio

Sherwood Anderson(1876-1941) occupied a particular position in contemporary American literature. Winesburg, Ohio, a short story collection, is Anderson’s most celebrated work. This excellent work has shocked the whole American society and formed symbolic meanings throughout the American towns. Meanwhile, Winesburg, Ohio has influenced both developing and developed countries, and touched human beings’ serious reflections on the environment, state and consequences of existence. It vividly depicts a group of people who are lonely and abandoned, distorted by the cruel society in the transition of America in the early twentieth century.When Winesburg, Ohio was first published in 1919, it caused a big stir in American society and among the readers. Most critics focused on the themes of this novel, such as “the loss of love”, “spiritual epiphany”, “trauma theory” etc.. Besides, some critics resort to psychoanalysis, structuralism, deconstructivism, eco-criticism to interpret this novel. However, few reviewers explore this novel from philosophical perspective. There are few essays that endeavor to explore this novel from existentialist theory.The famous French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialism explores the living condition and human dilemma. The main concepts of existentialism are absurdity, alienation, nihilism, free choice and the statement “hell is others”, etc.. Sartre shows that existence is meaningless and life is full of despairs. However, people can make choices to determine what kind of person they will be and be responsible for what they have done.Applying Sartre’s existentialism to explore human existence in an alienated and nihilistic world, this thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One is the introduction which gives a brief idea about Sherwood Anderson and Winesburg, Ohio. Chapter Two described the relevant research studies on Winesburg, Ohio at home and abroad. Chapter Three focuses on the introduction of existentialism. Chapter Four tries to give a detailed description of the life of the inhabitants in a small town Winesburg, Ohio. It explores the miserable life of human beings in the small town from five aspects: the people is absurd, alienated and live in meaningless. Additionally, they can make choices.Based on these analyses above, the author draws the conclusion in Chapter Five that existentialist thoughts are fully embodied in Winesburg, Ohio.Through the existentialist interpretation of this thesis, we can comprehend the contemporary American social conditions better. It gives us a new insight for understanding Sherwood Anderson and his works.