As a result of the Industrial Revolution and urbanization in the United States and Europe, places like Dublin, Ireland, and Winesburg, Ohio 'Ohio, would be on opposite sides of the spectrum by far. as geographic size, population and industrial production. However, Sherwood Anderson and James Joyce share many similar techniques in painting a bleak picture of life in their respective works of Winesburg, Ohio, and Dubliners. The titles of both works are very misleading in that they boldly suggest that the book is a portrait of the lives of the people of Dublin and Winesburg in the 1910s. Certainly, they both describe certain aspects of life that 'apply only to small or large towns or something more specific like Irish nationalism, but they are irrelevant when comparing what is undoubtedly the most fascinating element of the two collections, namely psychology characters. While all of the statements made about small town living and city living are valid, as they come from the author's own life, none of the works are written with the sole purpose of describing a specific region of the world or a certain type of city. The beauty of both books is that the authors convey the feelings and emotions of the characters when they are placed in these bizarre and often tragic and downright disturbing scenarios. They present life as it exists, without any dilution for fear of giving a bad image. Besides the books' shock value, they share other similarities in form, style, and themes. As story collections go, they are both extremely significant for their stylistic innovation and rebellion against conventional short story forms. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay One of these new features was creating characters in their stories who seem to go against the grain of society, so to speak. In Winesburg, Anderson calls them grotesques in the prologue, although he gives a very vague description of what they actually are. Joyce does not give labels to these characters, but he places figures similar to Anderson's grotesques in the stories of the Dubliners, and they are always central to the story or have a profound effect on the main character. It is important to note that, as Anderson says, "not all grotesques were horrible" (Anderson 5), and what he means is that they often led what seemed to be perfectly normal, and yet, inside, they have a burning passion. for something that will inevitably remain unfulfilled. Others, due to a traumatic or effective event in their past, are controlled by emotions that lead them to adopt behavior that the reader understands as scandalous by all moral and social standards. In both cases, the character demonstrates a fascinating psychology. They seem to be motivated by a fixation on an idea, either something from the past that they cannot get out of their minds, or a desire in life that will inevitably remain unfulfilled. Sometimes, among the Dubliners, much is not known about these grotesques, if I may now apply the term to certain characters of the Dubliners, who embody the former. Sometimes Joyce doesn't give as much information about these characters, while Anderson usually manages to give a full description of what makes these characters who they are. But enough generalization; Now let's look at somespecific examples and let's see what makes these grotesques so unique, what motivates them psychologically, and what is so disturbing about their behaviors. Both Anderson and Joyce present one of society's most alarming taboos early on. , still a major issue today especially with the recent scandals in the priesthood, which is pedophilia. Authors from the early Romantic period and before would be reluctant to even discuss such a twisted and controversial subject, but after Freudian psychology and a renewed interest in sexual desires, modernist writers were keen to depict the side sex taboo. Anderson writes, in “Hands,” his first grotesque, Wing Biddlebaum. Accused of molesting a "silly boy," Wing, then known as Adolph Myers, was run out of town after other students told him how Myers ran his fingers through their hair. It's a depressing first story, in that Myers seems to have been an excellent, if rather affectionate, teacher, but because of the paranoia of others, he becomes a recluse for the rest of his days, "forever afraid and beset by a ghostly band of doubters” (Anderson 9) Even though he never committed the act he is accused of, everyone in his past considers him a sex offender and a homosexual Even if years. have passed since the incident, Wing does not associate with anyone, probably out of fear of knowing or even wanting to know his past. Because Wing has never committed an act of pedophilia, Anderson instead makes a statement about the incident. manifest concern "with homosexual panic and the privilege of self-confident heterosexual men to mark and brutalize those who differ in appearance, speech and behavior (Yingling115). this case because he seems different (sexually) from the others. He is grotesque in Winesburg due to his inability to function socially within the town. Ray Lewis White attributes this to the fact that "self-ignorance and public stupidity destroyed the good that Wing Biddlebaum could have brought to a world already starved for intellect and inspiration" (White 58). Similarly, the second Dubliners story features an unnamed character visibly twisted by a desire for young children. "An Encounter" culminates with the story's narrator and his friend Mahoney sitting in a field having a seemingly normal conversation with a strange old man. The man apologizes and they watch as Mahoney says, "I say! Look what he's doing!" and "I say... He's a funny old Josser!" (Joyce 20). Joyce leaves it up to us to decide what he actually does, but from what Mahoney says and the ensuing conversation regarding the old man's love of whipping children, one would assume that he gratifies himself in front of these young . Although Joyce gives us little information about the man, he is the grotesque of this story because he is obviously a sexual anomaly. Although almost everyone agrees that what the characters desire (or appear to desire) is very wrong, these characters demonstrate sexual repression, and this theme is important in many other stories as well. The similarities in other grotesques from each book will be discussed again, but let us now turn to some major themes of psychological motivation that can often be applied to these grotesques. A major theme that cannot easily be missed in either collection is that of escape. The feeling of being trapped, whether geographically or emotionally in a relationship, comes up again and again and is often the root cause of the grotesque's twisted personality. At the beginning of Winesburg, Anderson talks about George Willard's mother, Elizabeth, daughter ofblatantly grotesque owner, born partly of physical illness, but also of deep-seated emotional frustrations. She is obsessed with death, especially her own, as if she felt it approaching. Most importantly, as a young woman, Elizabeth dreamed of escaping Winesburg to join a touring theater company and see the world. This, of course, never happened, but Anderson suggests that she would sleep with travelers in the order and share her fantasies with them, and they would only tell her that their lives "[is] as boring and uninteresting as this one,” referring to his life in Winesburg (Anderson 31). She hates her husband, Tom, who "defeated" her by marrying and taking over the hotel, leaving her wishes unfulfilled. Her grotesqueness really shines through when she becomes obsessed with not letting George fail like her, enamored with his idea of ​​leaving home because she feels she will be able to live through him. From the way Anderson describes this, it seems like she wants George to succeed more out of spite for Tom than anything else. This need for geographical escape is also evident among Dubliners. The aforementioned boys from "An Encounter" have a youthful sense of adventure and long to escape from school at the end of the year. In “Eveline,” Eveline struggles with the idea of ​​escaping, because it would mean giving up caring for her aging father. Escape is used differently here than with Elizabeth Willard, as Eveline is torn between her need to escape Dublin with her new husband, Frank, and her devotion to her father. It is clear throughout the story that she is wondering what the right thing to do is. Ultimately, she becomes grotesque because the struggle in her mind proves too strong to be able to behave with such finality, and she stays. There is a simile used here: “She turned her face toward him, passive, like a helpless animal” (Joyce 36). She is like a helpless animal because, because of her own thoughts, she is so overcome by fear that it paralyzes her and leaves her unable to do anything (Riquelme 76). Escape is also used in these two works in a more metaphorical sense, as wanting to escape the reality of the past and what has become. Alice Hindman presents an interesting case in "Adventure". She shows incredible faith in her lost lover, Ned Currie, even though she knows he will never return. She is obsessed with her past relationship, but she desperately wants to escape it. Since it is too late to leave Ned, his need to escape results in bizarre behavior. Her undressing gives her the impression of being reborn, as if she had escaped her old life to start a new one. By calling any man to "accompany" her, she finally escapes her relationship with Ned. Seth Richmond, "The Thinker", is trapped in a world of isolation, unable to express himself adequately. Even when he opens up to Helen White, she still rejects him. We leave him convinced that "when it comes to loving someone, it will never be me. It will be someone else, a fool who talks a lot..." (Anderson 137). “A Little Cloud” in Dubliners features the character Little Chandler, frustrated with every aspect of his life, desperately wanting to escape. Meeting childhood friend Gallagher for drinks, who is on a business trip from London, Little Chandler can't help but compare the lives of the two. Even though Little Chandler is superior to Gallagher in terms of upbringing and upbringing, Gallagher was clearly more successful. The idea of ​​a physical escape is brought up when Chandler informs his friend that he has never traveled beyond the Isle of Man. However, as the story draws to a close, heseems like Chandler feels most trapped by his marriage and family life. He views marriage as "putting his head in the bag" and seems to regret doing it himself (Joyce 79). Everything comes crashing down when Chandler comes home with his usual domestic problems; he forgot his wife's coffee and now his baby won't stop crying. In a moment filled with frustration and clarity, Chandler yells at the baby; the child stops for a moment, then cries even more. When his wife picks up the baby and calms him, little Chandler begins to cry himself. In this story, little Chandler longs to escape because he hates his life. His dream of becoming a famous poet will not come true as Gallagher is now a famous journalist, due to leaving Dublin. Chandler never escaped, but now he longs to escape the life that has become his. He regrets getting married and also longs to escape this relationship; he ends up unleashing everything on the innocent child. Many other examples of escape recur in both works, but, for the sake of space, let us move on to the theme of mortality, or more precisely, the search for life in death. Although at times in Dubliners and Winesburg it may seem as if time has stood still, the characters remind us that time inevitably progresses with their fixation on death. Often, it is death that will be the only escape from the alienation of the characters, thus finding life in death. Elizabeth Willard, as we have already seen, knows that she will soon die with her dreams unfulfilled. Although she has a taste of a new romance with Doctor Reefy, she embraces death, as she passes with "her lovers, Death and Doctor Reefy, held in her arms." Jesse Bentley, in “Godliness,” has an obsession with finding life in death. in a more biblical sense. Certainly grotesque, he was willing to sacrifice his grandson, David Hardy, to satisfy a religious passion within himself, thereby finding life in death, having looked death in the face in the form of his own. his own grandfather, fled never to return. Eventually, Enoch Robinson has a twisted encounter with death when he abandons his world of imaginary friends to get married because "he began to feel lonely and touch flesh and blood." daring people with his hands” (Anderson 169). This practically erases his fantasy world to live a more conformist life with a wife and children. His longing for his past world eventually proves too much, and motivated by this, Enoch banishes his family, only to discover that his old friends are also gone for good. Among Dubliners, mortality is a problem from the very first story, “The Sisters.” The deceased priest was a friend of the young narrator, and this shows the indelible impression that death leaves. on young people. The story demonstrates life in death in two ways. First, there is an unmistakable transition from old to young since the narrator is a child and Father Flynn was an old man. His death is replaced by the narrator's youth. Additionally, the way the sisters talk about Father Flynn's bizarre behavior after his death gives it new life in that the narrator will never remember him the same way after hearing about him "sitting alone in the black in his confessional.” .laughing softly to himself" (Joyce 11). Another beautiful example of life in death is in the story "The Dead", the last tale of Dubliners, which will be linked to another simile, which is the ending of both books, at the end of "The Dead," Gabriel Conroy is grappling with a number of feelings, primarily how The Lass of Aughrim affected his wife, Gretta, and the reason behind it.. 99-125.