Winesburg, Ohio Study Guide

1. Winesburg is a small town in which state?

• Oregon
• Ohio
• Maine
• Illinois

2. Who is the main character of the Winesburg, Ohio?

• Seth Richmond
• Helen White
• George Willard
• Louise Trunnion

3. What type of text is Winesburg, Ohio?

• collection of poetry
• screenplay
• collection of short stories
• novel

4. In "The Book of the Grotesque", the old writer feels more alive when he lies in bed and thinks of what problem he is likely to encounter?

• lung cancer
• depression
• bankruptcy
• heart attack

5. Because of a past scandal, Wing Biddlebaum panics when he ________ George Willard.

• tricks
• touches
• snubs
• shouts at

6. Symbolically, why must Doctor Reefy's paper balls of truth be spilled from his pocket every once in a while?

• He grasps one truth too absolutely, making it false
• The paper fades as the truth because less important to him
• His pocket is too full
• He is unable to decide whether the thoughts have formed a truth

7. Drab and walking around in silence except for the passion in her soul, Elizabeth Willard is a classic representation of which of Anderson's themes?

• The antiheroic
• Rite of passage
• Rebellion against values dominating American culture
• Life in death

8. What thematic reason is there for Dr. Parcival's vagueness surrounding the location of his youth?

• The pastoral functions as a vague representation of old America
• He is an everyman as Winesburg is a microcosm of the universal
• He is trying to trick George, representing the deceit inherent in man
• He is vague because he is an ineffective communicator

9. After George Willard's experience with Louise Trunnion, what did George want "more than anything else to" do?

• run in the rain
• talk to some man
• see Louise again
• go home to bed

10. How does Jesse Bentley represent a modern man?

• He is very masculine and strong
• He ignores his human bonds and searches for money and power
• He does not allow his wife to work but wishes to bring in all of their income himself
• He is greatly religious and rejects a life on the farm to be a minister in the city