Problem
"Hands"- Sherwood Anderson
Answer the following questions and come prepared to discuss in class.
A. Define Wing Biddlebaum's relationship to his community as it is implied in the first paragraph. To what extent is the impression created here borne out?
B. Why does Wing hope George Willard will come to visit? Does George ever arrive?
C. Wing's name, which refers to his hands, was given to him by "some obscure poet of the town," and telling the full story of those hands "is a job for a poet." What connotations of "wings" are appropriate? Why is "Wing" a better name for Biddlebaum than, say, "Claw," or "Hook," or "Picker"?
D. Why does Wing tell his dreams only to George?
E. Why did the people of the town in Pennsylvania nearly lynch Adolph Myers? Why was he unable to defend himself?
F. Are the people in Ohio any different from those in Pennsylvania? Explain. What about George Willard? Evaluate his decision not to ask Wing about his hands.
G. Explain the implications of our last view of Wing. What is the pun in the last line?