January 1, 2009
Eh 200 Spring 2011 MWF: Week Three Day One
Review your draft of the précis. What changed between your first and second draft? Describe in detail how and why this draft is an improvement over the last draft?
Re-read “The Untold Lie” and annotate for details that relate to class. Identify four examples and explain them in a one page blog post.
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[...] Day 1: Review Précis. Considering “class.” [...]
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Logan Brown
In order to give examples of class that occur in The Untold Lie you need to understand what my meaning of class is. Class is how people are characterized into groups. It is almost like a ranking system each class has similar tastes and characteristics flaws and attributes. I also see class as being divided into mannerism. This definition may not be accurate, but at least now one can understand why I chose certain examples such as these that characterize class in The Untold Lie.
Windpeter slashed at Henry with his whip after Henry had warned him about the train that would be coming along and to get off the tracks before it killed Windpeter. Henry was a butcher but Windpeter thought of himself being better then Henry and that Henry was the lower classmen so he didn’t feel bad about slashing him with his whip.
Windpeter’s children were the bad ones in town. They were woman-chasers and fighters. They didn’t show respect for women they only wanted them for one thing then be able to move onto another. Their class would be characterized by those of a lower class who lie and manipulate their way through life; never settling down. They would get along with all the guys at the bars and flatter the woman that wouldn’t be able to turn away.
In this story Saturday afternoons are devoted to walking through town with the guys. All these men enjoy wandering through the streets and being in ones company. They may also all be farm hands so they share the same demands of the job. They can talk about work and discuss the benefits and flaws of it. This would be a class due to the similarities and traits one another share.
Comment by Logan Brown — February 1, 2011 @ 4:42 pm |
Peter Tallau
February 1, 2011
Prof. Crowley
EH 200
The first example of class, or lack thereof, in The Untold Lie is when old Windpeter gets drunk and threatens the butcher, Henry Brattenburg. Brattenburg was merely trying to help Windpeter and instead he gets threatened for it. Windpeter disrespects the butcher and shows a total lack of class in threatening him. He also further showed how little class he had when he stood up in his wagon cursing out the train before he rushed into his death.
The next example of lacking class is when Hal steals boards from his father’s mills to steal them. This is a very direct example of not showing class. When people have class, they use what is theirs without taking from what is not. Hal disrespects his father by taking what isn’t his.
A great example of showing class is when Ray runs after Hal to give him advice. Hal had asked Ray for advice while they were working in the field, and Ray didn’t say anything. Ray fixes this by running after Hal to give him the proper advice and set Hal off on a better path than he would have been going down.
Hal shows a great deal of class in the end of the story. He decides that he is going to do the right thing and marry Nell. He does the right thing and steps up to the plate, accepting responsibility of his actions and setting out to correct them to the best of his ability.
Comment by Peter Tallau — February 1, 2011 @ 9:17 pm |
In Sherwood Anderson’s “The Untold Lie”, many of the character’s traits can be identified as being related to income and many of their actions can be related to play. There are however some other characteristics that can be attributed to the characters’ class. Take Hal Winters for example. In this short story, Hal would most likely be considered low-class and it is his actions that place him in that category. At the very beginning of the story Anderson informs the audience that Hal “was a bad one”, setting the tone for what the audience will soon read about Hal. Anderson tells a story about Hal’s past where he stole from his father and then used the money to buy a nice looking suit. Stealing is a low-class action. People in the lower-class do immoral things, such as stealing, and conduct themselves in a manner for which everyone else in their community looks down at them.
Though Hal already has the negative legacy of being Windpeter Winters’ son, his actions only reinforce the negativity. Before Hal lost his father, he made an even worse name for himself by getting into a fist fight with his father in the middle of the street where the whole town could see. Fighting and other violence are also acts associated with people of low-class. If that wasn’t enough for Hal, he was also a “woman chaser” and was thought to have been in a few “women scrapes” by the time he was only twenty-two. The town of Winesburg, Ohio frowned upon these actions and Hal’s reoccurring need to satisfy himself continually made the citizens of Winesburg look down at him.
A final representation of Hal’s low-class status is his attitude toward others. Throughout the story Hal seems to think only of himself and talks more than he does listen. Hal comes off as a slightly arrogant man who does not really care for another person’s opinion. People of low-class often think of themselves before others, making others resent them for their lack of caring. It is Hal’s actions, not his income, that affect the class his society associates him with.
Comment by Kelsey Mehrtens — February 1, 2011 @ 10:02 pm |
Class
In the short story “Untold Lie” by Sherwood Anderson there are many examples of the concept class. But what is class? Class is how you are defined into a certain group. Commonly class is associated with money; however that is not that case. Class is more your character than anything else. Many things can effect your character from your upbringing to how you carry yourself at times of play class is all these things.
In the story Anderson talks about Hal Winters, he talks about some of the women scraps that Hal has been in. Being in a women scrap is a prime example of his character. To take women into the woods and have sex with her then just up and leave her is a low-class act. We can all agree that to use women simply for sexual acts then up and leave them once you are satisfied is a cowards act and very low class.
Later in the story we learn about Ray Pearson. Similar to Hal when he was a young man Ray got into a situation with a woman in which sex was involved. The difference for Ray however is he did the right thing and married her. This is an example of how Ray is of a higher class than Hal. To man up and become the family man that he needed to become was essential in his life and it shows his class.
Another person we hear about in the story is the old man called Windpeter. Everyone in the small town of Winesburg Ohio knows the story of old man Windpeter. As it is told old man Windpeter got drunk one night and found his way into town where he played chicken with a train and lost. Prior to being struck by the train the town’s butcher tried to assist the old man and get him off the tracks. Showing his true character old man Windpeter slashed at the butcher with his whip and told him to go away. This shows his character because he was a low-class man that used alcohol as an escape. Even in a time of need he wouldn’t take any assistance and it lead to his death.
Finally in the story we see how Hal’s class improves. At the end of the story Hal is finally doing the right thing and he is going to marry Nell, his most recent woman. This mature decision shows that Hal is a man of class and that he is willing to do the right thing and improve his life. Hal Winters change from low to high class is a prime example of how people can change their class.
Comment by Jon Klages — February 2, 2011 @ 12:00 am |
Jaimie Beers
Professor Adam Crowley
EH 200 Approaches to Literature
2 February 2011
In the short story “The Untold Lie,” by Sherwood Anderson, there are many details that you can relate back to income and how the character plays. But there are also actions, details, and characteristics that can be related to class. For example, if you take some of Hal’s characteristics and actions that he performs he would be considered a lower-class. Throughout the story Hal does things that make him look bad and seem low-class to everyone. When we are first introduced to Hal in the story we are told that his father was lower-class also. Before his father was killed by the train the butcher tried to help him out and warn him, but Windpeter was rude to him and showed how low-class he was by ignoring him and hitting him with his whip. The whole family, including Hal, was said to all be low-class.
Another example of lower-class actions is when Hal once stole some boards from his father’s mill and sold them in town to make money. He then only thought of himself and took the money to buy himself a new suit, new clothes, and got really drunk. Stealing is a trait that is definitely considered low-class, this is something that is considered wrong by everyone. After Hal stole the wood his father came and found him and they got into a fist fight in the middle of the street. Fighting is another action that is considered low-class, especially getting in a fight and disrespecting your own father. Not only did Hal do these things but he was also considered a “woman-chaser.” Hal had been in two or three “women scrapes,” and now was involved with a school teacher. Word that went around was that he was going to get her in trouble, and he did. This just showed that he didn’t really care about her and her feelings, he only cared about himself. Only thinking about yourself and not others is selfish and also considered a low-class action.
A lot of the time people categorize low-class people according to their income, but that is completely wrong. You can make a lot of money, and average amount of money, or a little bit of money and be considered low-class. Hal was considered low-class due to his actions and characteristics, not due to how much money that he made. But even though Hal is thought of as low-class at the beginning of the story he does show more class at the end when he decides to marry the school teacher.
Comment by Jaimie Beers — February 2, 2011 @ 4:30 am |
Class describes the lifestyle that people choose for themselves. A low class person would participate in activities such as stealing and compulsively lying. A middle or lower class person would be able to think of others in place of themselves. In “The Untold Lie” along with the ideas of play and income class is an idea that shows throughout.
In “The Untold Lie” Hal could be considered a low class person. The story talks about how he stole money from his father to buy a suit. This can be considered a low class action. It is a rarity that any form of stealing or deceit could be considered a middle or upper class act.
Another example from the text is where it talks about Hal’s father drinking and driving just before his death. Drinking and driving without care for others is a classless act. The fact the his father chose to drive drunk without caring about the repercussions tells a lot about his personal class.
The next instance in the book that shows class is the point that Ray goes home after His and Hal’s talk. This part shows Ray’s wife class in the way she handled the situation of having no food. Instead of taking the classy route she decides to yell at Ray and tell him that he better hurry up. The high-class way of dealing with this situation would have been to either ask in a nicer manner or go to get the food herself.
A final situation in which class is brought up would be at the end of the story when Hal decides to marry Nell and settle down. Throughout the story Hal’s past is talked about. It talks about the negative choices he has made and the actions he has taken to cause trouble. Deciding to grow up and lose the tendencies to perform the negative actions is a classy choice.
Comment by Justin Richards — February 2, 2011 @ 4:51 am |
Nathan Gosselin
People can be categorized in to classes based on a variety of characteristics. For example, someone can be put into a class based on their physical appearance. Some other characteristics that are used to categorize a person’s class are their reputation, how they act, or even how they play. Class is also subjective. How a person sees an action of either their own or someone else’s will vary from person to person and will be categorized into different classes according to the different beliefs of each person.
An example of both the subjectivity of class and of appearance categorizing class is shown in the second paragraph of “The Untold Lie.” The sentence being referred to states “Ray was a quiet, rather nervous man of perhaps fifty with a brown beard and shoulders rounded by too much work”. This is subjective because one person could see Ray as a man with a beard and rounded shoulders and think that he must be a hard worker, an honest man and a man with a lot of class because he’s doing physical labor which is an honest form of work. Another person might think that Ray is a slob because he has bad posture, doesn’t shave, and must not have a lot of class because he doesn’t take care of himself physically. How a person looks often defines their class.
Reputation has a lot to do with class. In “The Untold Lie”, Anderson describes the two Winters families, the Windpeter Winters family and the Ned Winters family. They are categorized by class due to their individual reputations. The Ned Winters family is described as “very respectable people in Winesburg” which would suggest that they are in the upper-class, while Windpeter Winters is described as “a confirmed old reprobate” which would definitely translate to being lower-class. Because of the way Anderson describes the reputation of the two families, we can place the Winters families into different class categories.
How someone acts and plays will also categorize them into a certain class. An example in “The Untold Lie” would be where Hal stole a load of boards from his father and sold them to buy a suit with the money he got. Someone categorized in the upper-class would not usually steal, where some one in lower-class might. Another example in “The Untold Lie” of how actions categorize class is how Hal plays. The story says “He was only twenty two then but had already been in two or three of what were spoken in Winesburg as “woman scrapes.”” A person with a lot of class most likely wouldn’t do that.
Comment by Nathan Gosselin — February 2, 2011 @ 6:06 am |
Dan Volz
EH200
Febuary 2, 2011
In Sherwood Anderson’s “The Untold Lie”, Hal, one of the main characters in the story, had to make some tough decisions. He was not a man that took responsibility for most of his actions because he was raised in a family of hooligans. Hal started getting into trouble at a young age and continued until the end of the story where he was able to settle down. Hal was able to take responsibility for his actions in the past and try to fix it on his own towards the end of the story and Ray seemed to respect him for that. When one sees a person do an honest thing for someone else or for themselves, it would be classified as being classy or having class.
To know what having class means, you must first know what class is. Class is how society characterizes people into groups and how society sees them. There is the lower, middle, and upper-classes. The lower-class people are those, by societies standards, who are not “living the life.” The middle-class is people who are able to hold jobs and are trying to get by with the money they have. Finally, the upper-class are people who are “living the life” and have money to do things and is, by societies standards, more successful in a career. Do you have to have good amounts of money to have class? Are you able to be in the lower-class part of society and still have class?
Class is not just a characterization of people by society, but a way of life that anyone, rich or poor, can live. Class can be characterized by the actions people do for others and the decisions people ultimately make. For example, in “The Untold Lie” by Sherwood Anderson, Ray made the decision to go to where Hal was and tell him what he had experienced in life was a big trick that was being played on him. At this time Ray felt as if life had tricked him. He worked a job on a farm, he felt that his wife was always yelling at him, and he was always lost in thought. Ray finally felt that he should tell Hal that him getting involved with Nell was a bad idea and felt that it was the right thing to do.
The steps that Ray took towards “warning” Hal was, in a way, a sign of good class. How can someone tell whether or not someone does an action to show good class. If a person does an action, i.e. opening a door for a complete stranger, that he/she feels is the right thing to do than it could be considered good class. On the other hand, good class could be an action that someone does that is an accepted as the right thing to do in a society.
Comment by Dan Volz — February 2, 2011 @ 6:34 am |
Class is a word that is used to rank people in society. You can be ranked lower, middle, or upper class. But what does class mean? Class is used in a social aspect to judge people based about their characteristics and their behaviors. In “The Untold Lie” written by Sherwood Anderson, he uses different examples that lead us to question the class of some of the characters.
The first example of class occurs in the story when talking about Hal’s father Windpeter Winters. He is driving home drunk on the train tracks and the butcher, Henry Brattenburg, stops him and warns him of the danger. Old man Winters just lashes out at him and continues to ride on the tracks. This not only gives us a view of the class of Windpeter but also of the class of Henry Brattenburg.
Another example in the story comes when Ray thinks back to the days where his life changes. His decision to stay with the girl he impregnated and changes his life plans shows us the kind of class that Ray Pearson has. Ray also shows his class of in the end of the story when approaching Hal, planning on telling him not to go on with marrying his girl. But Hal stops him and says he wants to, and Ray doesn’t argue but lets the man makes up his mind. This shows a lot class on Ray’s part.
The final illustration of class in the story comes when Hal steals lumber from his father and sells it to buy a new suit. Hal shows narcissistic characteristics, thinking about himself rather than his father’s business. These view examples found in “The Untold Lie” truly show the class of the characters and lead the reader to think of what kind of person each character really is.
Comment by Alex Martin — February 2, 2011 @ 2:06 pm |
To me, the term class is a way to categorize people within society based solely on attitude, behavior, and how they portray themselves. In “the Untold Lie,” there are multiple aspects of each character that reflect upon this type of classification. For example, in the beginning of the story we are introduced to Hal Winters. However, the fourth paragraph in reads, “Hal Winters, his fellow employee, was a young fellow. He was not of the Ned Withers family, who were very respectable people in Winesburg.” I believe that anyone who is respectable can be defined as having class. Therefore, we notice that Hal Winters is identified as not having class simply because of his reputation and character.
Another example to exemplify my definition of class would also have to be about Hal. The reader discovers that Hal was always up to some “devilment”, as Sherwood Anderson expressed. For instance, Hal Winters once stole a load of boards from his father’s mill and sold them. I feel that this would be considered as a very low-class action.
In addition, there were also a few things regarding Ray Pearson that showed very low-class. For example, when Ray was following his wife back to their house, he became very emotional and upset. Pearson had thought of doing something he never had done before. Something such as hitting his wife, screaming, or committing some type of terrifying act. Regardless of the reasons why Ray felt this way, I believe that these thoughts reflect a great deal about Pearson’s character and class.
Comment by Marshall Davis — February 2, 2011 @ 2:34 pm |
In order to give examples of class in “The Untold Lie,” one must know what class is. ‘Class’ is defined by Merriam-Webster’s dictionary as being “a group sharing the same economic or social status.” Class can also be related to quality, and in the case of “The Untold Lie” this would deal with the quality of the characters in the story. The characters in “The Untold Lie” economically are low class, but their social statuses are slightly different.
One of the first examples of class deals with Hal’s father, Windpeter. Windpeter “slashed at him [Henry Brattenburg, the butcher] with his whip and drove on” (Anderson 51). This behavior would be classified as being socially unacceptable, and therefore lack class. When Windpeter meets the oncoming train he “screamed with delight when the team [horses], maddened by his incessant slashing at them, rushed straight ahead to certain death” (Anderson, 51). Typically, screaming in public isn’t looked upon as high class behavior, and committing suicide, especially in such a public manner, is looked upon by many people as being selfish behavior. Through other details in the story it is obvious that Windpeter was very low class and looked down upon by everyone who knew him.
Windpeter’s son, Hal is known around town for having about as much class as his father. Hal “once stole a load of boards from his father’s mill and sold them in Winesburg…Then he got drunk and when his father came raving to find him, they met and fought with their fists on Main Street and were arrested and put in jail together,” (Anderson 52). Hal had also been in two or three “women scrapes.” Stealing, being publicly intoxicated and fighting in public arenas are not socially acceptable, and therefore are considered to be low class. Getting women pregnant and walking away often give someone the label of being a “low life.” Hal, like his father has a bad reputation around Winesburg.
Ray, the main character of this short story doesn’t seem to have a poor reputation around town; however he isn’t highly spoken of either. Ray has been in similar situations such as Hal, however he doesn’t come from an infamous family and doesn’t make his business public knowledge. Ray struggles to provide for his “thin legged” children and wife in their tumble down farmhouse. These details give insight into the fact that Ray and his family are not economically well off. Ray also has low class thoughts, “ everytime he raised his eyes and saw the beauty of the country in the failing light he wanted to do something he had never done before, shout or scream or hit his wife with his fists or something equally unexpected and terrifying” (Anderson, 54). Even though at the time that this story was written, women were not considered equals with men, disrespecting women in the ways that Ray thought about was not considered right with society.
The fourth example of class is demonstrated by Ray’s wife, Minnie. She exhibits arguably high class and low class behaviors. Despite the fact that the family has little money, she wants to keep the children happy, but she scolds her husband, in which seems to be a demeaning manor. She tells Ray that he is “always puttering, now I want you to hustle. There isn’t anything in the house for supper and you’ve got to get to town and back in a hurry.” The reason this is demeaning is because Ray works hard to support his family, but he is only able to do so much.
Comment by Lindsey Oliver — February 2, 2011 @ 7:20 pm |
Rachel Taggart
February 2, 2011
There are many different interpretations of the word “class”. I would define class as the way individuals represent themselves within society; the more that one participates/ contributes the higher their class. This is not to say that class is dependent on income, rather it is character that determines class. Contributions may vary including paying taxes, voting, volunteering, and those who endeavor to enrich the lives of themselves and others.
In Andersen’s short story, “The Untold Lie” different events are described to illustrate income, and class. For example, Windpeter’s behavior towards the butcher, Henry Brattenburg, when he politely tries to explain to Windpeter how dangerous it is to be on the train tracks. Peter not only ignores this advice, which leads to his death, but meets Henry’s comments with a slash of his whip. This would be identified as a lower class act, and a deviant of society’s norms.
Another example is Ray’s compassion for Hal’s situation. This may be seen as a worthy act, for he is going out of his way to help Hal not make the same mistakes he made. His thoughts about his own situation may not be seen as appropriate; however, his actions are done merely to help someone else not experience the perceived misfortunes he has experienced. Ray is helping Hal with no gain to himself, which would be viewed as a higher class act.
A third example of class would be the Winter’s boys and their extracurricular activities of drinking, women chasing, and stealing. Each one of these acts would be seen as a lower class act, because they are not considered socially acceptable. The fourth example closely relates to the third example, when it is mentioned that Hal is only twenty-two “but had already been in two or three of what were spoken of in Winesburg as ‘women scrapes” (Andersen, pg.52). This is seen as low class behavior by members of the town, and is socially unacceptable. These examples represent the individual and their class due to the affect their actions have on society.
Comment by Rachel Taggart — February 3, 2011 @ 1:44 am |
Dan Hallinan
2/3/11
Approaches to Literature
When I hear the word class I think of this word as who the person is. A person with class has morals and stays with them. In the story “The Untold Lie” I feel as though Ray showed every level of class. The act that most people would call low-class would be the part when Ray is running down to the town to tell Hal that he shouldn’t go through with his and Nell’s mess. Although Hal asked for the advice, the advice Ray was about to give to Hal wasn’t going to be the right decision.Another example of “low-life” to me, is when Hal would steal wood from his father. He wouldn’t get out of it easy though because his father would show up at the bar and the father and son would fight it out. I can picture this in my head and it’s quite a scene they’re causing in public.
What most people would consider middle-class, would be the part when Hal asks Ray for advice and Ray doesn’t say a word. Although this kind of contradicts with the paragraph above, I just think Ray being more notorious and been in Hal’s position before would give him something. But then again, maybe Ray doesn’t know what to do, maybe he just wanted Hal to make the decision himself for what he really wanted. I consider this middle-class because it’s a toss-up what the right decision is here and by not saying anything or if he did say something who knows if it would have been the right decision or bad decision, it’s right in the middle.
What most people consider high-class would be in my eyes the part after Hal tells Ray that he has made his decision on what’s going to happen with his and Nell’s situation. Not the actual part of that, but when Ray heads home and admits to himself, he would have been lying if he told Hal what he was going to tell him. He realized he loved his family and the life he had lived, and the way he acted wouldn’t have traded it for the world.
Comment by Dan Hallinan — February 3, 2011 @ 5:03 am |
Class to me has more than one meaning. When I think of class I think of who a person is and the lifestyle they live. Class can be used to describe a person’s level of respect they give out to those around them, whether a person carries themselves with class or act disrespectful and rude showing that they have no class. Class can also be used to describe how they live, it can describe if a person is considered to be lower class, middle class, or upper class. In this paper I would like to give examples of how Ray shows both forms of class in the story. Not only is Rays lifestyle described in “The Untold Lie” show his class, his actions describe how classy he is as a person. I would consider Ray to be an all around Low-class person, because of his income and his actions.
In “The Untold Lie” it is very apparent through Ray’s actions and thoughts that he is unhappy with the turn out of his life. Ray describes his children as “…The accidents of life…” (The Untold Lie, 55) which to me is a low class thing, your suppose to love your children, always put them first, not regret them and say rude things about them. When Ray was walking around outside remembering days in the past he talked about meeting his wife which is usually a happy memory for most married couples. However while Ray was remembering meeting his wife he felt a wave of protest “Tricked by Gad, that’s what I was, tricked by life and made a fool of” (The Untold Lie, 52). Ray thinking of his children and his wife this way are low class actions, your family is suppose to be the best part about you and the thing that you can look back on being extremely proud of what you created and supported. Ray not be completely happy with his life but he could be a lot worst of and should be thankful for the fact that he has a big healthy family.
Not only does Ray reflect low class actions, his lifestyle also shows off Ray’s lower-class. Ray works as a farm hand and lives out back of the farm he works on “…lived in a tumble-down frame house beside a creek at the back end of the Wills farm where Ray was employed”( The Untold Lie, 51). A tumble-down framed house is kind of a worn down house that is not so nice, so by describing this it shows that the lifestyle Ray leads in lower class. Rays wife asked him to go to the store and all he had to throw on was an old tattered jacket “It was torn about the pockets…”(The Untold Lie, 54). Ray has six children to feed which would make it very hard for any income to meet the needs of a family that size. By only being a farm hand it made it hard for Ray to even meet the needs of his family let alone their wants.
I consider Ray to be living a low class life. Not only because of his low income has that barely met his family’s needs, but also because of his actions throughout the story. Even though Ray is unhappy with the life he has right now he should still be thankful for what he does have. Ray has managed to pull of having a job, roof over his head, and healthy family. I don’t believe that anyone is ever stuck in a situation; there is always room to change or improve your situation. Ray could try to look for another higher paying job that would help him enjoy life and his family.
Comment by Elizabeth McMullen — February 3, 2011 @ 5:55 am |
Blog: Considering Class in the Untold Lie
In order to describe how class is portrayed in The Untold Lie we must first explain what definition of class is guiding us. Class in the way we look at it is having and acting in a way that is respectable and honorable to the individuals around you. In reading this story by Sherwood Anderson I notice that at the beginning of this story Hal Winters doesn’t have much class, he seems like a low class citizen along with his family members, including his father. An example of this is shown when our author states, “…all broad shouldered big fellows like old Windpeter himself and all fighters and women-chasers and generally all around bad ones” (52). Ray on the other hand seems to be a high class man with a wife and family of his own. He is a man that Hal is able to look up to and it is shown that he does when, our author states, “…Shall I do it or shall I tell Nell to go to the devil? Come on, you tell me. Whatever you say, Ray, I’ll do” (53). Another way in which I think Ray is a high class man is when he runs after Hal to tell Hal that he doesn’t have to get married to Nell right away, and to wait because it is what he should have done. Anderson states, “I must catch Hal and tell him” (55). Ray is looking out for Hal because Ray knows what it is like to be tied down to something after such little time, the same thing happened to Ray with his wife. Hal had seemed like a low class person in the beginning, however in the end he changes which was good to see. Anderson states, “She didn’t ask me to marry her. I want to marry her” (56). This shows that Hal has finally taken responsibility and did the right thing in order to better his life.
Comment by Aimee Mortensen — February 3, 2011 @ 11:19 pm |
Before examples of class found in “The Untold Lie” by Sherwood Anderson can be examined, we must first solidify our definition of “class.” Class is a word mainly utilized by people to classify other people whom they are not acquainted with on a personal level. Class is used as a way to define people of being worthy or unworthy of our attention, care, and empathy. We can define class as being upper- middle- and lower- these prefixes indicating that this definition of class refers to money. However, we also use class to define a way a person behaves. Low-class activities could be defined as people who engage in behaviors that could be considered “antisocial” such as stealing, vandalizing, or peddling drugs. Someone who behaved this way could be considered to be low-class. High class, however, could be defined as someone who is kind and altruistic and treats people with dignity and respect no matter what their background.
With a better understanding of the definition of class, we can now inspect several exampled found within Sherwood Anderson’s short story. The first example of class could be the description of Hal. When introduced the author draws a distinction between Hal Winters’ family and another family in the area, also with the surname of Winters. They describe Hal as being the son of a “reprobate” while the other Winters family is well respected around town. This is a distinction of class in itself. This portion of the text is classifying Hal as being low-class. At least on a superficial level. However, this is mainly based on reputation, which may be well deserved. Another example of class involving Hal is the description of the time he got drunk and stole his own father’s lumber in order to buy a suit. This too, could be considered a low-class behavior. Another example of low-class behavior is all of the “women scrapes” Hal gets into. In the early 1900s, it wasn’t considered proper to have sex out of wedlock and it was even less acceptable to not marry a girl whom one had impregnated. The question is, do these behaviors mean that Hal is a low class individual? It is arguable that he is. It is also arguable that he is not. Despite his less than exemplary behavior in the beginning of the story, Hal does do one thing that could be considered “high-class.” In the end of the story, Hal decides that he will marry Nell and “do the right thing” in the eyes of society. This could be considered a high-class decision.
The most important thing to keep in mind when considering class is that it should not be a way to define people. It is clear from this story that everyone is capable of being both high-class and low-class at different times in their life, but no one is ever entirely one or the other.
Comment by Lindsay Riedel — February 4, 2011 @ 2:38 pm |