Abstract

Winesburg, Ohio is a well-known novel of the famous American novelist Sherwood Anderson who lived in the end of 19th century to early 20th century. In this novel, Sherwood Anderson describes the distinctive literature characters — "grotesque" for us. The novel is comprised by 25 independent but interrelated short stories. This thesis first introduces the early life of the writer and the background of this novel. Also, analyzing the grotesques’ personalities and behaviors, we could discuss their psychological activities and the reasons of formation by using Freud’s new introductory lectures on psychoanalysis, to make people think about the topics of humanity, morality and society through grotesques’ tragic fates. Futhermore, people could know and solve their own psychological problems if possible.

Key words: Winesburg Ohio; Sherwood Anderson; grotesque; 

           psychological activities; Freud

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-１

2. Literature Review-２

3. Grotesques’features and behaviors in this Novel-３

3.1. Ugly appearance-３

3.2 Abnormal behaviors-４

3.3 Funny dialogues-４

3.4 Distorted relations-５

4.Causes of Formation-５

4.1 Background of America-５

4.2 Grotesques’ inner world-６

5. From the Perspective of Freud＇s Theory-７

5.1 Theory of personality: Id, Ego and Superego-７

5.2 The interpretation of dreams-８

5.3 The life instinct and death instinct-９

6. Conclusion-１１

Works Cited-１２