Sherwood Anderson's Theory of Language in "Winesburg Ohio"

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to indicate Sherwood Anderson's assumptions about language as revealed in Winesburg Ohio; and to see that from these assumptions a theory of language can be hypothesized. This is not to say that Anderson systematically or expressly defines a theory in the book, but that his assumptions about the nature of language, implicit in his own use of words, indicate an attitude toward language which can be presented as a theory. The theory based on Anderson•s.assumptions will be used to indicate why the characters in Winesburg Ohio are "grotesques."