Goodbye Winesburg
As the first quarter comes to an end, so does our reading of Winesburg, Ohio. For some it was enjoyable. For others it was stressful. That doesn't matter, though, because it is all over now. Unfortunately, we will never escape this first quarter, because what we have done over the course of this quarter is the first domino in a long chain of pieces that make up the rest of our lives.
Similarly, it is impossible for George Willard to escape Winesburg. Despite physically leaving Winesburg, the events and people there shaped his manhood and life in a way that will always stay with him. Winesburg will always be there in the background of his life. He may be able to leave Winesburg, but Winesburg will never leave him.
I hope everyone had a good high school career, because how well they did will affect the rest of their lives.
Just kidding.
Or am I?
Certainly our high school career will haunt us forever, but our childhoods will. This is not in a negative way, as our childhood memories will often evoke nostalgia and happiness. I believe that the only thing that will stick with us, as it does with George Willard, is our superego that developed in childhood and through high school. While our grades will not follow us to our next job, our superego will and with it our childhood. There is an interesting archive of confessions on the Internet known as Whisper, which allows people to anonymously post confessions or thoughts. One such confession was by a teacher who said, "I can't bring myself to treat the popular girls nicely because I hated them when I was in high school." In that sense, high school will haunt us, but not our grades (hopefully).
ReplyDeleteJust like senior year is the last phase of our childhood, Winesburg, Ohio, follows George through the end of his childhood. In the book, George does a lot of things that are typical of teenagers such as fighting, dating, and getting drunk (not that anyone in Reading does that). At the end of the book, George leaves Winesburg to follow his dreams and becomes a man by doing so. All of us will be leaving very soon to pursue our hopes and dreams and to become adults
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ReplyDeleteI don't think that our grades will be the greatest indicator of type of the people that we develop into, but our childhoods will be the mold for our transition into adulthood and beyond. It is in our childhood that our id, ego and superego develop, so the concepts and morals that we have always been taught growing up will be forever burned into our subconcious. The situations that George faces when he leaves Winesburg will help shape his manhood, but the foundation of who is will forever be his experiences in Winesburg.
ReplyDeleteI definetly argee with what kevin said. George Willards childhood and growing up in Winesburg will have a massive impact on the rest of his life, just as our childhoods in Reading will influence our lives in the future. I know think that our grades specifically will have that big an impact on our future.
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