In the 'Book of the Grotesque', the reader is introduced to the narrator. He is an old man, who i reflecting back on his life. This, of course, causes the reader to wonder... Who is the narrator? Who is the old man recounting his tales? Is he one of the characters? Reading through the stories, I realized that George was the only character present in every story. He linked them all together.
I thought it made sense because the old man with the white mustache "spent all of his life writing..." the book (6). This leads to the possibility that George is the old man, writing down the stories all throughout his life. George is even a reporter. The job of a reporter is to listen to people's stories, gather information, then write about it. This would fit with what the old man is doing, which is writing about the people in his life. He is comparable to a small town reporter. This link between George and the old man is undeniable. The old man created the truths, then people "snatched up one... some who were quite strong snatched up a dozen..." (6). Each person took a truth and became a grotesque, so the old man wrote about that grotesque. The only person throughout the novel who doesn't do the same but also happens to be the only one listening? Why, it's George Willard!
George, like the old man, does not become a grotesque because of a woman. A woman saves them both. The old man feels that "...something inside him was altogether young... it was a woman..." (4). George and Helen, when they kiss, drop "... into the animalism of youth..." (247). Thus, both of them stay young and whole. They had "taken hold of the thing that makes mature life possible" (248). Both George and the old man stayed young because of a woman. Furthermore. both are heavily influenced by spirits. "Ghosts of old things creep into his consciousness..." as George matures (238). The old man reflects back on his life through spirits. While reflecting, "figures began to appear before his eyes..." (5). Both are influenced by these ghosts or spirits that remind them of the past.
Finally, the main reason the George is most likely the narrator/old man is because he leaves. George leaves and just then he realized Winesburg is a 'background on which to paint the dreams of his manhood" (252). As a reporter, it would make sense that his dreams involved writing, making it possible that writing down these stories is how he achieved his dreams. Plus, he leaves and is reflecting back at his life.
I'm not sure if the old man is the narrator, but I definitely agree with you that there is a large amount of evidence that points towards the conclusion of George Willard and the old writer being the same person. I think its even more interesting too think about what happened between the time George left Winesburg and the first chapter of the book. Throughout the novel, artists venture into the city to seek to better themselves somehow but always end up damaged and grotesque. This is especially true in "Loneliness" where Enoch Robinson moves to New York City to hone his artistic abilities and after years of trying to adapt to the city, is made grotesque and damaged. George and the old writer both write, which is a form of art. Besides physical art, George and the old writer also fit into Socrates' role as philosophers because through their art, they capture the essence of lives of others to come up with a truth about life. Even though the old writer says he is not grotesque and that he is saved from grotesqueness, he has many qualities that would suggest that he is grotesque. Maybe, like Enoch, George also experienced a traumatic betrayal that made him almost grotesque if it wasn't for the young thing inside him that Enoch did not have.
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