AMERICAN LITERATURE _ FRIDAY (SHIFT 2)

LECTURER: MS. BACH LINH TRANG

GROUP 1: HANDOUT

ADVENTURE

SHERWOOD ANDERSON

I. Author & works: Sherwood Anderson (1876-1941) and his works.

● About writer:
Sherwood Anderson (1876-1941)
- An American _______ and ______________, known for subjective and self-revealing
works.
- His influence on American Literature _____________ between World Wars I and II,
eg: works of Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner.
● Early life:
- Experiencing an ______________________, he self-studied and succeeded as a
businessman in Ohio, but felt frustrated and entered the writer's life in Chicago.
● Main works: _____________________.
- His most celebrated work is generally thought to be in the collection of short stories,
known as Winesburg, Ohio (1919) which launched his career - focused on the life of
the inhabitants in a small midwestern town.
- Initially, it was named ”The book of Grotesque". The theme and its "grotesque"
were also present in "Adventure".
● Writing style:
- ______________ (in the late 19th century): his writing is strewn with naturalistic
elements and the primitive background of the countryside.
- Anderson developed ___________________ and his works feature a psychological
complexity which is inexistent in previous works of American fiction.
II. Summary:
III. Setting:

3.1 Time: 19th century

Alice’s from 16 to 27

3.2 Place: - a fictional midwestern town based on Sherwood Anderson's

childhood memories of Clyde, Ohio, USA
 3.3 Physical environment

- The night on the meadow by Wine Creek: where Alice and Ned became lovers
+ “ ….where a long meadow ran down to the bank of Wine Creek and there in the dim
light became lovers”
- Cleveland and Chicago: where Ned , then was by the
glamorous cities- where Alice’s longing to go to be with her love
+ “Ned Currie went away to Cleveland where he hoped to get a place on a city
newspaper and rise in the world, she wanted to go with him”
+ “….thinking that when she had saved two or three hundred dollars she would follow
her lover to the city”
+ “Then he was caught up by the life of the city; he began to make friends and found
new interests in life” He forgot Alice in Winesburg”
- The dry goods store: witnessed Alice’s for her lover
+ ‘She was glad to be employed because the daily round of toil in the store made the
time of waiting seem less long and uninteresting’
+ “In the dry goods store weeks ran into months and months into years as Alice
waited and dreamed of her lover’s return.”
+ “Her employer…was not given to conversation”

- Alice’s room:

● Where she escaped from the real world

+ “She became attached to inanimate objects, and because it was her own, could not
bear to have anyone touch the furniture of her room”.
+ “When she got to her own room she bolted the door and drew her dressing table
across the doorway.”
● Where she to her lover
+ “When at night she went upstairs into her own room she knelt on the floor to pray
and in her prayers whispered things she wanted to say to her lover”
● Where she the reality
+ “Alice took a pillow into her arms and held it tightly against her breasts. Getting out
of bed, she arranged a blanket so that in the darkness it looked like a form lying
between the sheets and, kneeling beside the bed, she caressed it, whispering words
over and over, like a refrain. “Why doesn’t something happen? Why am I left here
alone?” she muttered”
+ “When she got to her own room she bolted the door and drew her dressing table
across the doorway……and turning her face to the wall, began trying to force herself
to face bravely the fact…..”
- The woodland: kept and where Alice first faced what she had
been avoided
+ “With a shiver of dread, she realized that for her the beauty and freshness of youth
had passed. For the first time she felt that she had been cheated”
 + “….Why do I tell myself lies?” she cried, and an odd sense of relief came with this,
her first bold attempt to face the fear that had become a part of her everyday life”
- The Winesburg Methodist Church: where Alice and
with people.
+ “Alice joined the church because she had become frightened by the loneliness of her
position in life. Her mother’s second marriage had emphasized her isolation”
+ ‘she told herself with a grim little smile, and went resolutely about the business of
becoming acquainted with people’
+ “When Will Hurley, a middle-aged man who clerked in a drug store and who also
belonged to the church, offered to walk home with her she did not protest’
- The rain: highlighted Alice’s stage of feelings
● When Alice was filled with loneliness and missing because of waiting. It came in a
storm and when she was alone, making her more and more lonely but there still
for her love.
+ ‘Sometimes on rainy afternoons in the store she got out her bank book and, letting it
lie open before her, spent hours dreaming impossible dreams… with future husband’
+ ‘On rainy days and in the winter when a storm raged in Main Street, long hours
passed when no customers came in. ……. thought of the evenings when she had
walked with Ned Currie and of what he had said.’
● Alice’s when loneliness became hopelessness, then mad
abandon and resignation to life
+ ‘It frightened and confused her’
+ “She stood by the window hearing the rain beat… and then a strange desire took
possession of her.”
+ ‘She thought that the rain would have some creative and wonderful effect on her
body. Not for years had she felt so full of youth and courage.’
+ +”....face bravely the fact that many people must live and die alone, even in
Winesburg.”

3.4 Social environment: the story reflects some common features in rural communities in
US in 19th century

- :
+ Puritan society prevented women from self-expression
+ Women’ roles were faithfulness and obedience to their husband
- The limitation on women’ desire
+ Their lives were decided by her marriage
+ Women’s rights were underestimated
IV. Plot:
A. Got indulged in the city lifestyle, he totally forgot his darling while she deeply held a
belief that he’d be back.
B. She lay tremblingly, got back to her room and blocked the door with a table.
C. She then cried and called out to a stranger on the sidewalk without considering the
repercussions, but he did not hear Alice’s cry for help because he was somewhat deaf.
D. When a desire to be loved took possession of her, she had an adventure. She ran
naked in the pouring rain.
E. At 27, Alice realized she didn’t want Will, or Ned so she sent him away; Even so, she
was still stuck in her self-created chaos.
F. In the end, she sobbed in bed and learnt to live alone and die alone in Winesburg.
G. In Winesburg, a 16-year-old Alice Hindman had a love affair with Ned Currie.
H. Before Ned left Alice for his life-changing desire in Cleveland, they made love by the
bank of Wine Creek in the dim light.
I. At 25, her mother remarriage somehow made Alice join the Methodist church, then
met Will Hurley.
J. At 22, Alice still clung to Ned’s promises of return so dramatically that she wanted to
follow her lover to the city, later realizing she had been abandoned.
CONFLICT:
- Internal (person vs self): Alice contradicted herself between ______________ and
____________ her life.
- External (person vs person): the protagonist Alice Hindman and the antagonist Ned
Currie.
- External (person vs society): the hidden conflict - Alice’s desire contradicted
_______________ existing in Winesburg.

V. Characters:
A. NED CURRIE: The former lover of Alice Hindman who abandons her for a new life
in Chicago.

*Appearance and background information:

Look:
At Winesburg, Ned "was older than Alice."

Relationship:
"was employed on the Winesburg Eagle."

Ned and Alice "became lovers."

=> Ned was characterized at two stages: when Ned was ______ and
when_______________________.
I. When Ned was in Winesburg with Alice

Action:
"... he went to see Alice almost every evening…"

"Ned Currie took her in his arms and kissed her"

Speech:
"He became excited and said things he did not intend to say."

=> The that Ned did for Alice to show his love.

*When telling Alice about to Cleveland:

Thought:
Ned Currie "was puzzled by the determination … and was also deeply touched."

Ned Currie "wanted the girl to become his mistress but changed his mind … wanted to
protect and care for her."

Action:
On the last date with Alice, "in his sadness, the young man forgot the resolutions he had
made…".

At the Wine Creek bank, they "became lovers" - had their first intimacy.

Speech:
"… I'll let you do no such thing. As soon as I get a good job, I'll come back. … you'll have
to stay here. It's the only thing we can do."

"Now we will have to stick to each other; whatever happens, we will have to do that."

=> Ned was in sentimental moments and those words were blarney to reassure Alice.
=> Ned did not accept Alice’s request, but the stereotype of men and _____________
affected his decision.
II. When being away
Action:
"For a time, he wrote to Alice almost every day."

"… he was caught up by the life of the city… made friends and found new interests in
life… he forgot Alice in Winesburg."

"At the end of a year he had stopped writing letters"

Thought:
“...he hoped to get a place on a city newspaper and rise in the world…”

=>Although he failed, he did not come back. He _ to Alice.

Effect (on Alice): She also felt psychological and extreme after Ned
abandoned her.

=>The love story between Alice and Ned is the typical type of love of the last century in
which the woman has such a role.
=>Towards Ned, this love affair was nothing but a bypass to his youth.
=>We all know how difficult it is for couples to be in a relationship. But is it a
reason for them to break or not?

*Conclusion
- Ned is a character: He was unreliable, irresponsible with Alice, and an ambitious,
selfish man.
- Ned is a character: After leaving Winesburg, Ned changed his feelings, forgot
Alice and his promises.

B. ALICE HINDMAN
1. When Alice was 16 (Ned was still in Winesburg)

Speech:

“ and , I do not want to harness you to a needless expense that

will prevent your making progress. . We will get along without that and we
can be together. Even though we live in the same house no one will say anything. In the
city we will be unknown and people will pay no attention to us”
=> Alice is devoted to love. She didn't want to be his burden, she wanted to work and wanted
to accompany him and support him, whether he married her or not. Her …… was
love, and her love was Ned.

Action:

“On the evening before Ned left Winesburg…They walked about through the streets…
got a rig… drive in the country”

“… in the dim light ”

=> This action of Alice and Ned marked their milestone, which made Alice love Ned more
and waited for Ned's return.

2. When Alice was 22 (Ned Winesburg)

Thought:

“nothing could have induced her to believe that Ned Currie would not in the end return
to her”

“…the thought of giving to another what she still felt could belong only to Ned seemed
”

“spent hours ”

“Ned always liked to travel about”

“I’ll give him a chance. Some day we are married and I can save both his money and
my own, we will be rich. Then we can travel together all over the world”

“… thought of the evening when she had walked with Ned Currie…”

“With a shiver of dread, she realized that for her beauty and freshness of youth had
passed”

=> She remained loyal to Ned

=> She thought of impossible things.

=> She was stubborn with love >< He stopped writing letter

=> She gradually fell into a psychological crisis

Speech:

“I am his wife and shall remain his wife whether he come back or not”

“Oh, ”

“It is not going to come to me. I will never find happiness. Why do I tell myself lies?”

=> Her psyche was in crisis. She was afraid of being alone but she didn't want to open up.
Something seems to be going on in her head chaotically
=> Ned would not return, but Alice didn't want to believe it was true.
=> She had always kept herself closed to prove she had always been faithful to Ned.

Action:

“…save money…follow her lover”

“When other young men tried to attract her attention, she would have nothing to do
with them”

“… began to practice the devices common to lonely people”

“She arranged and rearranged the stock”

“… when her loneliness seemed unbearable, she put on her best dress and set out.”

“…go into the …”

=> She had always been faithful to Ned, with a small hope that Ned would return.

=> She wanted Ned to know that she was still here and waiting for him

- The - the lovers' site. The that make Alice came here are:
+ Her loneliness

+ Old memories with Ned

+ Get the feeling of falling in love

+ Wanted to let Ned know that she was waiting for Ned here

=> Alice couldn’t stand the loneliness for so long, she wanted to recall her old memories with
Ned, she wears a beautiful dress here to wait for Ned, and she really wants to feel love with
Ned again. She came here to reminisce about the past.

3. When Alice 25:

“ things happened to disturb the of her days”.

Effects:

“emphasized her isolation”

“had become frightened by the loneliness of her position in life.”

=> Alice started feeling more .

=> Joining the church and frequently attending meetings of an organization to
herself with the community.
Thought:

“I am becoming and . If Ned comes he will me. In the city where he

is living men are . There is so much going on that they do not have time
to grow old”

=> Alice felt that she was no longer worthy of Ned because while she was getting , Ned
was still .
Look:

“a grim little smile”

Action:

“Becoming with people”

“Every Thursday evening when the store had closed she went to a prayer meeting in the
basement of the church and on Sunday evening attended a meeting of an organization
called The Ep-worth League.”
=> Alice wanted to be with other people to lessen her loneliness.
3.2 When Alice met Will Hurley:
Relationship:
● Will Hurley:

“a middle - aged man who clerked in a drug store and who also belong to the church”

Action:

“Alice was trying at first , but with growing , to get a new

hold upon life. Beside the drug clerk she walked in silence, but sometimes in the darkness
as they went stolidly along she put out her hand and touched softly the folds of his coat.”

Thought:

When Will Hurley “offered to walk home with her she did not .”

“Of course I will not let him make a practice of being with me, but if he comes to see me
once in a long time there can be in that”

“It is not him that I want”

“I want to avoid being so much alone. If I am not careful I will grow unaccustomed to
being with people.”

=> She attempted “ .” Even though she apparently

realized that she could marry him, she wouldn’t settle for such a sterile life.
=> Finally, she was “still determined in her to Ned Currie”.
=> Her failure to create relationships with Will Hurley demonstrated her lack of ability to
socialize.

4. When Alice 27
4.1 Physical Appearance:

“Her head was and overshadowed her body”

=> The author implies that she devotes her life to her thoughts rather than living it.
“Her shoulders were a little ”
=> Alice may be carrying a burden from the past.
4.2 Before the adventure:
Thought:

“… a passionate restlessness took possession of Alice.”

“She could not bear to be in the company of the drug clerk”

“Deep within her there was that would not be by phantasies and
that demanded some definite answer from life.”

=> Alice failed in her attempt to build a new relationship with Will Hurley.
=> here could be her mind. Love made her blind but she was aware of
being betrayed little by little. Her heart might be taken away but her mind was still well
aware that she had been abandoned.

Action:

“He came to walk with her she sent him away.”

“took a pillow into her arms and held it tightly against her breasts. …arranged a blanket
… looked like a form lying between the sheets and, kneeling beside the bed, she caressed
it, whispering words over and over, like a refrain.”

=> She treated the blanket as her lover and whispered the desires in her heart.

Speech:

“Why doesn’t something happen? Why am I left here alone?”

Thought:

“... she no longer depended on him. Her desire had grown . She did not want
Ned Currie or any other man. She wanted to be loved, to have something answer the call
that was growing louder and louder within her.”

=> Alice desired for love and wanted to be cared for.

 4.3 In the adventure:
4.3.1 Background:
Nobody's home:

She “found the house ”

“Bush Milton had gone off to town.”

“Her mother to the house of a neighbor.”

=> She felt so lonely.

“Alice … undressed in the darkness.”

=> Alice was free from all the and that have shackled her in the past.
=> She was completely in her free world.

“one night when it rained Alice had an adventure”

“the rain beat against the glass and then a strange desire took possession of her.”

“She thought that the rain would have some and effect on her
body.”

=> She made a bold decision to have an adventure.

4.3.2 Alice’s adventure:

Action:

“she ran downstairs through the dark house and out into the rain. As she stood on the
little grass plot before the house and felt the cold rain on her body”

=> Alice wanted to have physical touch, and the rain could satisfy her. Under the rain, the
tears mixed with the raindrops and washed it away, as if washing away her past, she wanted
to regain freshness and wash away the past.

Thought:

“Not for years had she felt so .”

“She wanted to leap and run, to cry out, to find some other lonely human and embrace
 him.”

=> The and in the love that Alice suppressed for so long suddenly
burst out in the rain with a bold thought. Alice dared to do what she thought and nothing
stopped her, she wanted to free herself from loneliness.

“What do I care who it is. He is alone, and I will go to him,”

=> This was the first time she risked herself to be exposed to strangers, she put all her trust in
this time. She had been washed away by the rain, and the hug represented the new happiness
she secretly longed for. She just wanted to be loved.

Speech:

“Called . “Wait!” she cried. “Don’t go away. Whoever you are, you must
wait.””

“The man on the sidewalk stopped and stood listening. He was and
somewhat . Putting his hand to his mouth, he shouted: “What? What say?” he
called.”

=> Alice desired for love, but her call was too small. The represented
at the time, which was full of indifference to her plight.
=> This scene showed that, even when she spoke up, she acted, but her fate did not allow her
to seek happiness, but had to live in this loneliness for the rest of her life.

Action:

“Alice dropped to the ground and lay trembling. She was so frightened at the thought of
what she had done that when the man had gone on his way she did not dare get to her feet,
but crawled on hands and knees through the grass to the house.”

=> She was frightened because she realized that Ned would never come back and she had to
live alone for the rest of her life
=> All events happen when it is dark and rainy, it implies that Alice will continue to be
lonely and she will have no hope of love.

“When she got to her own room she bolted the door and drew her dressing table across
the doorway.”
 “Her body shook as with a chill and her hands trembled so that she had difficulty getting
into her nightdress.”

When she got into bed she buried her face in the pillow and wept brokenheartedly.

=> She herself from the outside world .

=> She insisted that she would not accept anyone's love.

Thought:

“What is the matter with me? I will do something dreadful if I am not careful,”

“...began trying to force herself to face bravely the fact that

=> She accepted the reality of life and thought she would be alone until she died.
=> It reflected the social reality at that time, a woman only loved and remained faithful to one
man her whole life.

Question: Alice and Ned’s love ended up in a break-up although it was never so openly
declared.
We read a whole short story but there is no clear evidence that Alice and Ned’s love ended up
in a break up. However, we can see when “He was caught up by the life of the city; he began
to make friends and found new interests in life”. A woman attracted his attention and he
forgot Alice in Winesburg. At the end of a year he had stopped writing letters.” At that
moment, their relationship seemed to be over. Maybe Anderson chose to not have any
breakup has 2 reasons:
He made readers still believe in love and hoped for a happy ending for the story when
Ned turned back and their love was still beautiful. However, he threw a twist to the story and
claimed that women's waiting is helpless and powerless.
Ned probably wanted to keep things quiet rather than end things formally in order to
avoid being regarded as a . Alice will eventually forget him as time passes.
Or Alice will become a backup plan if he doesn't have anything, he will return, because he
knows Alice still waits for him.

5. Conclusion:
- Alice is a character.
+ When she was 16, she absolutely believed in Ned Currie's love
+ Then there were times when she doubted but in the end still chose to trust
completely.
+ When Alice was 27 years old, she had an adventure. She is completely
desperate, she thought she had to live alone for the rest of her life.
 - Alice has an conflict inside herself.
+ Alice wanted to be with other people to lessen her
loneliness. However, she was “still determined in her to Ned
Currie”.

VI. Narrator:
- “Adventure” was depicted with the third person unlimited omniscient POV
- Anderson depicted the character's mind specifically. In addition, the historical context
as well as the unobserved incidents are lively described
Evidence:
➔ Alice's thoughts: “Why doesn’t something happen? Why am I left here alone?” she
muttered.”
➔ Ned’s thoughts & actions: “when he was lonely or when he went into one of the city
parks and saw the moon shining on the grass as it had shone that night on the meadow
by Wine Creek, did he think of her at all.”
➔ Ned’s actions: “He didn’t stay at Cleveland and went to Chicago, found new interests
in life, boarded at a house where there were several women and was attracted by one
of them.”
VII. Theme + Haiku:
Loneliness
My life is lonely

It’s one and only

- Living alone can make you comfortable; however, it doesn’t mean that you ought to
be lonely; opening your heart and enjoying your life are more effective for finding
happiness.
Love
Love has
Love you to the moon and back
Love and stop your clack
Immersing in love can make us fall into unfulfilled fantasies, which gradually damage our
real life.
Abandoned
I was abandoned
Lying soul, drinking brandon
My life’s
- Lying to yourself and abandoning your soul are not the way to improve your life or
reduce your stress; only facing and solving problems can help you overcome it.
VIII. Figurative language and symbolism:
8.1. Figurative language:
________:
“In the town bell rings and occasionally a train passed, looking like a toy thing in the
distance”
->___________________________________________________________________

“Her imagination, like a child-awakened from long sleep, played about the room”
->___________________________________________________________________

“She arranged a blanket so that in the darkness it looked like a form lying between the
sheets and kneeling beside the bed”
->___________________________________________________________________

“She caressed it, whispering words over and over, like a refrain”
->___________________________________________________________________

________:
“In the dry goods store weeks ran into months and months into years as Alice waited and
dreamed of her lover’s return.”
->___________________________________________________________________

“Her imagination, like a child awakened from long sleep, played about the room”
->___________________________________________________________________

“He was caught up by the life of the city.”

->___________________________________________________________________

“Dropping to her knees, she tried to pray, but instead of prayers, words of protest came to
her lips.”
- > _________________________________________________________________

As you can see, Ned had betrayed and
cheated Alice “He was attracted by
several women and forgot Alice in
Winesburg.”
Alice didn’t know about what
happened, she still loved him and waited
for Ned’s return “For a number of years
nothing could have induced her to believe
that Ned Currie would not in the end
return to her.”
Alice’s desire for love grows more
and more “She wanted to be loved”. Her
loneliness and desperation is too much to
keep calm. “Wait”, “Don’t go away”.
Whoever you are, you must wait”
She is disillusioned and it’s different
with what she expected “He was an old
man and somewhat deaf”

8.2. Symbolism:
8.2.1. Alice’s adventure: In the story, the term "adventure" represented Alice's
___________________, throughout which she had touching moments and came to recognize
important life lessons. Alice's experiences therefore occurred ______________.
+ First adventure: a new experience at 16 years old -> Alice and Ned “became lovers”
+ Second adventure: 22 years old, she realized the fact that her youth had gone, waiting
for hopelessness, Ned didn’t return -> She found out she had cheated.
+ Third adventure: Escaping from cruel truth and she determined to run naked through
streets -> Reckless decision but it is a journey to find herself and live a life like she
would.

8.2.2. The character:

- Alice: represents women's images in the previous century. Sacrificing youth and purity to
wait for their lovers/ their husband.
- Ned: sympathizes for men in the previous century, they are unfaithful people and
polygamist.
- The deaf man: represents the idea that no one in that society could comprehend her
situation, her loneliness and her desire for love.

8.2.3. Alice’s appearance at 27 years old: “Her head was large and overshadowed her
body.”  → Her large and overshadowed head symbolized the idea that Alice was a sort of
person who constantly_________________rather than genuinely _______________.

8.2.4. The letters: That is a reliable and romantic communication tool in love. Letter-writing
manuals provided sample love letter language for those who are in distant relationships. And
the letters are the only ones to connect love between them. “For a time he was lonely and
wrote to Alice almost every day.”

8.2.5. The rain: is symbolize of a new life, it sweeps away all loneliness, sadness,..
-> ________________.

8.2.6. Her mother’s remarriage:_______________________________________.

8.2.7. Alice closing her room (“When she got to her own room she bolted the door.”):
represents the idea that Alice tried to disconnect herself from the outside world and close her
heart.