... living with this memory, not understanding what he did wrong just knowing it was because of his hands. In the opening scene Wing Biddlebaum is pacing his veranda, as the author would make you think he did this often to free some of his emotions. Because he ... him into trouble like they did before. From across a field, a young girl shouted, "Oh, you Wing Biddlebaum, comb your hair, it's falling into your eyes." She, being of such an innocent age, had no knowledge of Wing's disability. She talked to him as she would any other towns person; and for a moment in Wings ... him to stay conne...

• Word Count: 1446
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... living with this memory, not understanding what he did wrong just knowing it was because of his hands. In the opening scene Wing Biddlebaum is pacing his veranda, as the author would make you think he did this often to free some of his emotions. Because he ... him into trouble like they did before. From across a field, a young girl shouted, "Oh, you Wing Biddlebaum, comb your hair, it's falling into your eyes." She, being of such an innocent age, had no knowledge of Wing's disability. She talked to him as she would any other towns person; and for a moment in Wings ... him to stay conne...

• Word Count: 1349
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... many of the novel's stories. The two stories following "The Book of the Grotesque," "Hands" and "Paper Pills," exemplify the themes of isolation and failure to communicate. The story of Wing Biddlebaum, an old Pennsylvanian schoolteacher, unfolds. Gaining his name from his hands that shake "like the beating of the wings of an imprisoned bird ... Pennsylvania to avoid a lynching after being unjustly accused of molesting one of his students. Settling in Winesburg, Wing lives isolated in the outskirts of the community, breaking his solitude only to talk with his friend George Willard. Wing...

• Word Count: 1325
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... the course for the theme of isolation in the first three chapters, excluding The Book of the Grotesque. The first chapter is called Hands and involves the sad story of Wing Biddlebaum. Because Biddlebaum is accused of having molested students that he taught, his hands embody the shame that he carries. Fearing that the presence of his hands will be misinterpreted ... , Biddlebaum hides his expressive hands. By creating the symbol of hands in this chapter, Anderson creates an effective symbol to express the theme of isolation in the novel. Because a person's physical ... is innocent to t...

• Word Count: 1457
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography