Winesburg, OH

In Winesburg, Ohio, I noticed very concrete differences between Anderson's writing style and Joyce's writing style. I feel the narrator actively distances himself much more from the action, whereas Joyce dabbles more in free and direct discourse, inhabiting the voices of the characters inhabiting the work. As in Dubliners, there is a profound sense of isolation in many of these stories, with characters missing points of connection that seem to have a very small window through which their wishes and desires can be made manifest. Anderson seems to build moments like these up, with the characters eventually experiencing a paroxysm of emotion that is frustrated by the close of the story.

Anderson's collection also differs from Joyce's collection because some of the stories are not only interconnected ("The Strength of God" and "The Teacher" as particular examples, interdependent on one another to form a more complete understanding of what the situation really is), but the character of George Wilard, whom everyone puts their hopes into, recurs in every story in the narrative. Often, the driving action of a story will have the central character attempting to track down George Wilard and attempt to them him their story, but language will fail them, such as in "Queer," when Elmer Cowley tries to locate George Wilard. His efforts are frustrated and he only ends up seeming more queer to the outside world. Perhaps the reader does not feel this way, because we are able to witness some of the interiority of Cowley and can feel a measure of sympathy for him. "The Untold Lie" is another story where the main character, Ray, feels a swelling to tell his friend not to ruin his life, yet, at the crucial moment, he cannot articulate these words.

The narrator stresses the impact of the industrial age and how it has isolated and paralyzed his characters. At the end of "Adventure," for instance, Alice Hindman, the central character, realizes that "many people must live and die alone, even in Winesburg" (Anderson 120). The story “Death” also contains this theme – George Wilard’s mother and Doctor Reefy find themselves quite literally separated by the mother’s death. This is a theme that reverberates throughout the stories, driving this loneliness and isolation home.