An Analysis Of Absurdity In Winesburg, Ohio

Sherwood Anderson is one of the most important personages of the 20th century world literary arena, one of pathfinders of American modern literary style. In 1919, Sherwood Anderson published his masterpiece, Winesburg, Ohio, which caused the huge sensation and won high praise immediately. Looking over the American modern literature history, this novel of Sherwood Anderson definitely might be a milestone in the history of American short story. It fused the realism and modernism perfectly, manifested the rich modernism feelings regardless in the creative theme, the writing technique or in the ways of expression. However, Sherwood Anderson is just like a falling star in literary arena, which loses its flame in a very short time. There is only Winesburg, Ohio which deserved the name of great work.It is almost obvious that Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio is one of the early books in the literature fiction which has expressed the inhibition, loneliness and frustration behind the typical small town's life in America. Sherwood Anderson is different from the most contemporary writers who are always glorifying the life in American small towns what has been talked about above. The grotesque inhabitants who live in the town of Winesburg are unable to express and communicate their need for understanding and love with the others, alienated from the other people in this town, and seemed as agonizingly lonely and weird. The curiosity and enthusiasm of both the critics and the readers have been aroused by the book of Winesburg, Ohio which has showed us this new type of people who live in the American towns and this new picture of life in American small towns.Because of this, Winesburg, Ohio has been a great literary work in the America and the world. It has been widely and deeply read and studied by lots of critics and readers from home and abroad. The study of this book of Winesburg, Ohio includes so many kinds of perspectives from historically to thematically, from geographically to biographically, from structurally to writing techniques. The famous foreign scholars who have studied on Sherwood Anderson and his works include such critics as David Anderson, John Ferres, Brom Weber, and Malcolm Cowley and so on. Miao Chunqi and Wang Changrong, who are both Chinese critics, have also studied on Winesburg, Ohio and do have made some comments of Sherwood Anderson and his masterpiece, Winesburg, Ohio.The book of Winesburg, Ohio always gives the reader the strange feeling of absurdity. Meanwhile, after the close and deep study of it, we would find that it is just the enchantment of this work. This thesis would mainly concern the analysis of absurdity of Sherwood Anderson and his masterpiece Winesburg, Ohio, hoping that would make sure that more and more readers could realize the true beauty of this great author and his work.The thesis is inclusive of three chapters which could represent the absurdity of Sherwood Anderson and his Winesburg, Ohio in three different aspects.Chapter One mainly introduces the absurdity in the life experience of Sherwood Anderson. It is exactly that the own life experience and background of the time he live in make Sherwood Anderson and his writing. Both his life experience and background enabled him to create this remarkable novel, Winesburg, Ohio.In Chapter Two, after the representation of absurdity in Sherwood Anderson's life experience, the thesis would focus on the absurdity that appears in the theme of the book of Winesburg, Ohio. It would naturally discuss in two different stages: one is the personal depression and the other one is social alienation.Chapter Three focuses on revelation of absurdity in writing styles of Winesburg, Ohio. Sherwood Anderson's special writing styles are other important reasons which make Winesburg, Ohio a classic work in American literary history apart from its theme. The absurdity in this book could be also found in the special writing styles as well.The last part is conclusion, which makes a summary to the preceding critique, and points out the main purpose of this thesis.