Sherwood Anderson：Death in the woods

SherwoodAnderson1876-1941HislifeexperiencewhichhadanimportantinfluenceonhisworksSherwoodAndersonHisliterarycareerDeathinthewoodsMajorworksLifeexperience•BornintoapoorfamilyinsouthernOhio,thethirdofsevenchildreninafamily•ThefamilywasforcedtomoveshortlyafterSherwoodwasbornbecausehisfather'ssmallbusinesshadfailed.•TheyfinallysettledpermanentlyinClyde,Ohioin1884.•Duetothefinancialdifficulties,Anderson'sfatherbegandrinkingheavily.•Whenhewas12yearsold,hebegantotakeonoddjobs.•Hefinallylefthighschoolbeforegraduating.•HeworkedasamanuallaboreruntilenrollinginthearmyforserviceinCubaduringtheSpanish-AmericanWar.•Whenhereturnedtothestates,hecompletedhishighschooleducation.•ThisledtoanewjobinChicagoasancopywriterandsolicitor.•Duringthistime,hewroteandpublishednumerousessaysonavarietyoftopics,rangingfrombusinesstoliterature.•Inthefollowingyears,hemarried,hadthreechildren,andbecameasuccessfulbusinessman.•At36,Andersonstoppedhiswork,lefthisofficeandneverreturned.•Iwasabusinessmanandgotsickofit,andwentintowriting,nottomakeasuccess,buttogivemyselfaninterestinlife•Hedivorcedandremarriedforfourtimes.•OnMarch8,1941,onhiswaytoagoodwilltourofSouthAmerica,Andersondied.Hehadswallowedabitofatoothpickatafarewellparty,whichthenpenetratinghisintestines,causingtheperitonitisthatkilledhim.HisLiteraryCareer•Hepublishedeightnovels,fourcollectionsofshortstories,threebooksofpoemsandplays,morethan300articles,reviewsandessays,andthreevolumesofautobiography.•HeisbestknownforhisworkWinesburg,Ohio(1919),acollectionofstoriesaboutcharactersinafictionalsmalltown.Majorworks:·WindyMcPherson'sSon《饶舌的麦克佛逊的儿子》1916hisfirstnovelwithautobiographicstyle·MarchingMen《前进的人们》1917·Winesburg，Ohio《俄亥俄州的温斯堡》1919·PoorWhite《穷白人》1920·TheTriumphoftheEggandOtherStories《鸡蛋的胜利及其它》1921·ManyMarriages《多种婚姻》1923·DeathintheWoodsandOtherStories《林中之死及其他故事》1933DeathintheWoodsIntroductionPlotAnalysisSymbolismandliterarytechniqueThemeDeathintheWoods,waspublishedin1933,ofwhichDeathintheWoodsdepictsanoldwomanwho,afteryearsofastrenuousandhardlife,finallydiedinthewoods.HereAndersonrevealstoreadersthebeautyofherheart,andassertsthatherdeathisakindofextrication(解脱).TheshortstoryhasbeenhailedasoneofthebestAmericanshortstoriesinthe20thcentury.IntroductionDeathintheWoodsispresentedasafirst-personnarrativebyanunreliablenarrator,whotellsthestoryofanoldwoman,Mrs.Grimes.Mrs.Grimeslivesontheedgeofsocietyandsurvivesbysellingeggsandusingtheproceedstobuyfoodforherself,hersmallfamilyandtheanimalsinhercare.Herhusbandisconsideredtobeahorsethief,andthecoupleislookeddownonbyothers.Mrs.Grimes'personalhistory,accordingtothenarrator,isthatshewasabandonedandgrewupasanservant.TheGermanmasterandhiswifewerecrueltowardher.Laterly,Mrs.GrimesagreestomarryJakeGrimes,whohelpsherescapeherGermanmasterandhiswife.PlotMrs.GrimesandJakeGrimehaveasonandadaughter,butthedaughterdiedinchildhood.Theirsongrowsuptobelikehisfather.BothofthemtreatherinamannersimilartothewaytheGermanandhiswifehadtreatedher.Shedoesnotknowlifecouldbeanydifferentasthisisallsheeverexperienced,accordingtothenarrator.Hermainconcerninlifeistakingcareof,andfeedingtheanimalsandpeopleinhercare.Herduty,shefeels,istofeedanimallife.Onthelastdayofherlife,Mrs.Grimeswalksintotowntotradesomeeggs.Herdogsfollowherintotown.Shewalkedhomelateintheday.PlotShewalksthroughthewoods,probablyashortcut.Onthisshortcutshereachesaclearingwhereshesitsdowntorest.Whilesittingdown,shedies.Thedogs,thathadbeenfollowingher,runaroundherincircles,anddevourthefood.Thebodyisdiscoveredbyahunter.Agroupofmenandsomeboyswalkintothewoodstoexaminethebodyandbringitback.Whenthenarratorandhisbrotherreturnhome,theolderbrothertellsthestory.Ournarratorsetdownhisversionofthestorymanyyearslater,becausehefeltthathisbrotherhadnotbeenabletoproperlyandefficientlyexplaintheevents.AnalysissimilarexperienceThenarratorrelatesthatwhenhewasayoungmanheworkedonthefarmbelongingtoaGermanandthatthehiredgirlwasafraidofheremployer.Thehired-girlwasalsohatedbythefarmer'swife.ItisimpliedthatthismemoryisturnedintotheexperienceofMrs.Grimes.Thenarratordescribesthathehimselfhadanexperiencewheredogsranincirclesaroundhiminthewoods.ThisiswhyhecomestotheconclusionthatthismustbewhathappenedtoMrs.Grimes.Heexplainswhathebelieveshappenedtoherbyrelatingittothedirectexperienceofwhathappenedtohim.Thereasonofre-tellingherstoryistosortthroughhismemoriesandfindareasonableexplanationorunderstandingofpreviousevents.AnalysisUglinessofLifeMrs.Grimeslivesinadeprived,uglyenvironment.Herhusband,JakeGrimes,isarude,roughandill-manneredcountryfellow.Hedoesn'tcontributetothefamilyeconomy.Heexpectshertoprovideforhimbuttreatsherwithindifferenceandcruelty.Hersonisill-mannered,too.Oncethesonbringsagirlfriendtothehouseandslepttogetherjustasthoughtheyweremarried,withoutanyheedingtothemother.when“JakeGrimeswasawayandthesonandhiswomanorderedtheoldwomanlikeaservant”StrangeBeautyofLifeMrs.Grimes’sdeathinthewoodsisastrangebeauty.Theoldwoman’sbodyisfoundinthecenteroftheopenclearing,withherdresstornfromherbodycleartothehips.Theslimgirlish-lookingandmarbl