Obsession With Truths In Winesburg Ohio By Sherwood Anderson

In the book Winesburg Ohio by Sherwood Anderson, he states that one becomes grotesque when obsessed with one or more truths. Some of these obsessions include freedom, lost love, sex, innocence, age, power, money, indecency. With that in mind, the information that will be given backs up claims on why Anderson is correct. Included the book, Winesburg Ohio is a story that a character is obsessed with one or more of their truths. In the story Godliness: a tale in four parts, Jesse Bentley, an old farmer obsessed with God waits for a sign from him. Also, another example of an obsession is the story of hands concerning Wing Biddlebaum. Biddlebaum being obsessed with his hands touches the boys' shoulders and tousle their hair. In the story The Strength

"Here I stand with the boy David. Come down to me out of the sky and make Thy presence known to me." (Anderson Sherwood 35) This makes David's grandfather not seem like his usual self but rather someone else that is dangerous and wants to kill him. David runs away, but trips on the roots of a tree and cuts his head that leads him to pass out briefly. Jesse looked at the trees and again he cried out to God. "What have I done that, Thou dost not approve of me." (Anderson 36) Jesse thought it was a sign from God telling him that he had failed. Time passes by and Jesse brings David to the forest again, he believed he should give God a blood sacrifice. In an article Fathers and sons: Winesburg, Ohio and the revision of modernism by Conner C Marc says "Jesse takes along a lamb "as a burnt offering," which soon becomes identical with David himself--when Jesse approaches with a long knife, it is unclear whether it is the lamb or the boy he will offer. As Clarence Lindsay argues, at this point, Jesse "shows every sign of actually sacrificing his grandson." (Conner) This showed that Jesse's obsession with God was so intense that he had no problem offering his grandson to

To his surprise, Hartman sees a figure of a woman, that woman is Kate Swift. Hartman tries to find the strength not to look anymore, but he could help but stare. In the article "Pedagogy of the undressed: Sherwood Anderson's Kate Swift" by Belinda Bruner, she mentions, "Kate's bared body is the "strong sweet new current of power" for which the Reverend has been praying. He becomes more confident in himself after seeing Kate through her window. He is more aware of temptation..." (Bruner) Hartman starts to think that it is okay for him to look at Kate's body. Curtis Hartman is obsessed with Kate Swift that he would go to the bell tower and wait for Kate Swift just so he could see her body. Furthermore, In the novel, Anderson states that hours have passed in waiting and he began to come down with a fever; Also, that his throat was hurting and his teeth chattered. But, he told himself that he would not give up and that he will see this woman and would think the thoughts he had never dared to think. Hartman almost died because he waited for Kate on a cold day. Hartman seems to be sexually unhappy that's why he goes to the bell tower to spy on Kate Swift because he has lustful feelings for