Questions
What does George hope to accomplish by meeting with Louise Trunnion and what is his reaction to their night meeting?
Given the importance Anderson lays on the "grotesque-ness" of his
characters, what truth do you think Louise Trunnion has grasped too tightly?
How does the setting influence the story's mood?
Rideout suggests that when George Willard stands "listening as though for a
voice calling his name" (29) at the end of the story, that this represents
"a projection of guilt feeling at having violated the overt moral code of
the community " (176); how do you support or contradict this
interpretation?
Critical Sources
- Papinchak, Robert Allen. Sherwood Anderson: A Study of the Short Fiction. New York: Twayne, 1993. On reserve.
- Small, Judy Jo. A Reader's Guide to the Short Stories of Sherwood Anderson. New York: G. K. Hall, 1994. On reserve.
- Rideout, Walter. The Simplicity of Winesburg, Ohio." Shenandoah 13 (Spring 1962): 20-31. Rpt. Rpt. Winesburg, Ohio. By Sherwood Anderson. Ed. Charles E. Modlin and Ray Lewis White. Norton Critical Edition. New York: Norton, 1996. 169-77.