An Analysis Of Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg,Ohio As A Bildungsroman

Sherwood Anderson(1876-1941)was an American writer who made outstanding achievements in the field of short stories in the early 20 th century.To a certain extent,he changed the situation in the field of short stories that the United States had been deeply influenced by traditional European literary forms,and made American short stories obtain the unprecedented development.At the same time,Anderson was the first to pay attention to people's inner world.His works have exerted a noticeable influence on later writers.William Faulkner regards Anderson as “the writer's writer”.However,most of Anderson's works have not received much attention.Winesburg,Ohio(1919)is Anderson's most outstanding representative work,whose publication has established Anderson's pivotal position in the history of literature.As a classic collection of short stories,Winesburg,Ohio tells the story of different characters in the town Winesburg during the transitional period from agricultural civilization to the early industrial revolution in the United States.Facing the invasion of industrial civilization,all kinds of characters in the novel were confused and unable to adapt to it,and gradually became “grotesques”.On the other hand,in the depiction of different “grotesques”,Anderson presents the growth track of a small town boy,George Willard,in fragments.George's growth is closely related to the small town and the “grotesques”.His growth is a clue running through the whole text,and the setting of this special plot has profound meaning.Therefore,this thesis aims to analyze George Willard's growth in Winesburg,Ohio from the perspective of Bildungsroman.This paper is divided into five parts.The introduction firstly introduces the main background information of Sherwood Anderson and his representative work Winesburg,Ohio.Then,it summarizes the research status of Winesburg,Ohio from two aspects at home and abroad.Besides,this section gives a brief overview of the theory of Bildungsroman in order to provide theoretical support for the main body.The first chapter discusses George Willard's early growth predicaments.When George was growing up,he was inevitably hindered by his family environment and social environment that was Winesburg Town.Meanwhile,George's growth predicaments are actually the exposure of the living conditions of small town residents in that particular historical period.Under such a severe situation,town people gradually became “grotesques” and George Willard was also in danger of becoming a “grotesque”.The second chapter explores George Willard's initiation mentors in his growth.The “grotesques” provided George with guidance and companionship in dreams,emotions and self-knowledge,acting as initiation mentors.George was able to get rid of the early growth predicaments and gradually grew mature.At the same time,the process of “grotesques” guiding George Willard is also a process in which they actively seek self-help and get out of loneliness.The third chapter explores George Willard's journey to maturity.The death of his mother worked as a turning point in his maturing process.Through his mother's death,George went through a series of epiphanies.George finally walked out of the small town Winesburg,which was the beginning of his pursuit of his ideal and the realization of the expectations of the small town and the “grotesques”.It symbolized George's maturity and also indicated the success of the “grotesques” in self-rescue and growth.The last part of the thesis is the conclusion.This section points out that Winesburg,Ohio is a Bildungsroman which is different from the traditional Bildungsroman and shows the growth track of the growing protagonist through fragments.With the help of “grotesques”,George Willard gradually walks out of confusion and frustration,gains insights,and finally heads for a new journey to harmony and understanding.At the same time,Sherwood Anderson uses George's growth to provide a solution to the confusion and loneliness experienced by people as they go from the old era to the new era.That is to communicate with others,speak out the loss of love in modern society with the language of love,and gradually understand and adapt to the changing society.