Hands by sherwood anderson

Good morning!  Hope all is well!

 

 

Best Regards,

 

 

Billy Johnson

 

 

 

On Jun 16, 2025, at 2:24 AM, Gin Chung <Youginchung@outlook.com> wrote:

Hands by sherwood anderson

Monday, June 16, 2025

2:00 AM

I want to speak of misunderstanding today on reading Hands by Sherwood Anderson.

 

— Would be okay to write : Here are some thoughts on “Hands” by Sherwood Anderson. It’s clear that you’ll likely have some ideas, thoughts, and potential disagreement / misunderstandings about the text.  It’s implied in “here are some thoughts.” 

 

Hands is a story from a collection of stories titled Winesburg, Ohio written by an author named Sherwood Anderson.

 

(Good set up toward your analysis) -  (can remove “written by an author” and just put "by Sherwood Anderson")

 

The tragic hero of the story is Adolf Myers or Wing Biddlebaum as he is known in the Winesburg, Ohio town

(You could just say “as he is known in Winesburg) (otherwise, perfect!)

 

He was a dedicated and loving teacher in a town of Pennsylvania where he met with a scandal and moved far to Winesburg.

(He was a dedicated teacher but rumors of scandal forced him to move to Winesburg)

He was the owner of a pair of very delicate hands and the hands that so carefully expressed love and care and guidance to the boys he taught was misunderstood and mistaken for a sexual medium.

 

(Biddlebaum's hands were delicate and he used them to express love, care, and guidance to the group of boys he taught. This love and care was often misunderstood as perverse)

He had to suffer horror of his own hands under this new accusation and he became truly terrified of the innate power they held.

 

(He suffered his own hands under such accusations, terrified of the power they wielded.)

 

He lived (as a) recluse after. Wrapped up in agony and fear, allowing only a few to approach him.

 

(Could combine if you’d like  — The accusations brought with them agony, fear, limited interactions with others, and reclusive living.)

 

America is a very much open society I feel. However, there exists narrow understanding at times of those little understood or mistakenly mistook for a named particular.

 

(Not sure of the full thought being intended) (If I’m understanding correctly, you might say it this way …. America is an open society and yet, at times, readily misunderstands or mislabels others for that which they are not. 

But I do know that America also offers a very much individualized approach to this.

Where there is misunderstanding, there aptly tends to exist someone somewhere who tacitly understands the hidden issues.

 

(Might rewrite this for clarity — not sure of the full thought here — my guess is that you’re saying something like : America takes an individualized approach to such issues and in that approach there are those who tacitly comprehend that which is otherwise appears hidden. 

 

I wonder if this is not only America but the world at large that exists.

We humans have limited perceptions of what things really can be and often mistake beautiful art to be things ugly and repulsive by what seems.

 

(I wonder if this issue is broader in scope? Surely America isn’t the only country where beautiful art is maligned as deviant and repulsive. 

 

I believe Hands is a story that speaks to this issue.

What can be done?

(Asking questions certainly demonstrates a willingness to interact with the author, the story, and the issues at hand!) (Excellent!)

Let us keep an open mind and leave room for possibilities yet unimagined.

Let us leave room for humanity and true understandings in obscure situations.

Let us love and teach ourselves to see the woman in the prostitute sinner as Jesus has done.

 

(Could be a bit more concise — When it comes to others, let us keep an open mind, leaving room for possibility and understanding, and let us love one another with the love of Christ)

 

People can thrive only where true hearts are understood and seen and treasured.

Wouldn't you agree?

(People thrive when truth and understanding are central life tenets) 

 

(Engaging the audience with a question is well done!!)(and yes, I agree!!) 

 

Enjoy your day!