The Themes Of Homosexualism In Sherwood Anderson's 'Hands'

After carefully reviewing and analyzing my proposed questions to “Hands” by Anderson I can conclude that all of the questions can be answered by a simple search or “googling them’’ as a modern day student would say. However, two questions come to my attention as they require a more sophisticated, deep understanding and thorough research of the Story. These questions are: What was it like to be homosexual in 1919? How literature reflect and shape our society? These questions challenge me to dig deep into Anderson 's head and examine what inspired him to write this story and also examine the theme being portrayed: homophobia.

Literature is written to reflect and shape society. Literature can depict societal deeds and bring them to light or …show more content…
This can be proven by Jonathan Swifts “A Modest Proposal”. In this novel Swift, uses satire to being a light into the injustices of Ireland politics, and suggesting that if these injustices aren’t solved the citizens of Ireland will alter sell their children for money and survival. In doing so, Swift got the attention of the Ireland Politicians because the citizens were willing to adopt such extreme measures. In hands "Hands" by Sherwood Anderson, uses the same strategy by mocking society to condemn and bring light to a behavior that should not exist in the society. Anderson starts telling Biddlebaum’s story by pointing out that it was all due to a “half-witted boy”. Half-witted means foolish or stupid. Anderson questions why one 's fate can be decided by a simple and false allegations by a single foolish or stupid individual. Anderson is indirectly questioning society intellectual of putting an honest man who is sometimes “meant to be a teacher of youth” through hell due to a rumor from a “half-witted …show more content…
All it takes is for one person to point a finger and since everyone else is quick to judge, situations can worsen with no proper investigation. Mod Mentality is defined as instinctual responses that are exacerbated group influences. In modern day society, we have our own "half-witted boys" who judges anything that seems ordinary and strange. And since, Humans in nature tend to question the abnormalities in society, we are quick to judge and throw stones at those behaviors that we do not assent to. But is this necessarily true, that every behavior that seems strange is fallacious? No. People paint a face at everything at categories everything. We have painted a big face on homosexuality and that has created