SOPHIA LAMARCA P2
As we have been reading Winsburg Ohio, my mind has been flourished and non stop running reviewing each symbol, motif, and theme over and over throughout my mind. In my opinion, this novella is fabulously written and amazes me in every aspect. The fact that we read the book out of order, and it still made sense was amazing to me. The fact that this novel can be interpreted in a different way for each person makes me love this book even more.
George Willard continuously came up and from the introduction of this character, I pieced together the idea that George Willard was in fact the writer of the Grotesques. Within each chapter, each new and introduced character would spill their life story and most important details to George, making me think he was the writer of these grotesque truths.
Reading more into the novella, facts began to pop up taking away the mystery and my justification of George Willard being the writer of the Grotesques. Facts were introduced such as the writer was a civil war veteran. With this said, it is absolutely impossible for George Willard, a boy of age 18, to be a civil war veteran. With this halt to my creation from this mystery, George Willard is proven to in fact, NOT be the writer of the Grotesques. With this in mind, then who else would fit this mystery writer persona so perfectly? George Willard was all things the writer seemed to be. He was a writer in fact, and flawed learning throughout life who he was, maturing and learning through the influence of others. The fact that he is flawed by others and their truths contributed more to my original belief system about George Willards identity.
My latest conclusion is that there is in fact no right answer to who the writer of the Grotesques is. Maybe it is George, maybe it is Wash, maybe it is the reader. Maybe the reader hearing all of these stories makes them act upon these truths and learn and write up an idea creating the reader to in fact be the writer. Maybe Wash in fact was the writer of the Grotesques, being a telephone operator and having the secreted knowledge of everyone throughout the novella.
Throughout all of the books that I have read throughout high school, this happens to be my favorite one. I loved how each character can portray something that seems absurd to one person but completely true to the next, and the idea not be completely wrong. The ideas are endless and the different ways to see this book intrigue me to it even more. The fact that the meaning of everything is seen so differently and interpreted differently by each person amazes me, and proves just how amazing Sherwood Anderson. Throughout the rest of the year I hope that we can continue to read and touch on books that are so interchangeable, as they provide for a desire to uncover ones personal opinion of truth on the novellas purpose.
