Sophistication, an intriguing story by Sherwood Anderson, is written about
George Willard and his lonely journey into manhood. He is a small town boy from
Ohio who is discouraged by the lack of direction in his life. When he reached
the age of 18, he began to see himself as just another soul to live and die.
Willard realizes that unless he does something to change the course that his
life is taking, he will never be a great man in anyone's eyes. More than
anything else, he needs someone to know what he was going through, and
understand how he felt. There is a time in the life of every boy when he for the
first time takes the backward view of life. Perhaps that is the moment when he
crossed the line into manhood. I think this one sentence is the essence of what
Anderson is trying to communicate throughout the story. As George Willard looks
at his meaningless life and his bleak surroundings, fresh ideas, new ambitions,
oppressing sorrows, and lonely thoughts play with his mind, trying desperately
to overcome him. He likens the transition into sophistication to a deep mood
that takes over. It sweeps over his whole being and completely encompasses all
of his thoughts and actions. George Willard realizes and aches over the time
limitations placed on his ambition. He knows death is inevitable and he is
taunted by its gloomy calling. He intends to journey to a major city and get a
job at a newspaper. He hopes that his feelings of immaturity will be erased by
his importance there. Although it isn't much, it is vital to him that he finds
something to be remembered and admired for. George Willard has an intense
craving to be different than other men. He wants to amount to something more
than every other small town farmer's son. He has a need to prove himself to
everyone so that he is given the recognition that he feels he deserves. One of
the reasons that he wants this so badly was because the woman that he
understands most fully is out of his class division. She is a college student
with wealthy parents. Although he isn't on the right ring of the social ladder,
George cannot suppress his feelings for her.
Anderson states that at the moment George Willard came into sophistication is
when his mind turned to her. Helen White is the only woman he longs for. Helen
is a beautiful girl with all the necessary attributes to find a good husband.
However, her mother doesn't believe that anyone from a small town is good enough
for her daughter. Suitors from other towns and cities are invited by her mother
to visit. They intend for Helen to fall for one of the men that her parents find
appropriate for her to be seen with. If George Willard never amounts to
anything, then he will never be granted permission to court her. George Willard
had never really talked to Helen with the intention of seeking her hand. The
feelings that they have are unspoken. He is conscious of the long-lasting
impression that she casts upon him and the dignity that she possesses. He is
acutely aware of her graceful yet significant presence and he longs for her
closeness. They both need the other to feel and understand the changes that are
taking place within their souls and minds. In understanding each other, they
join together to take the final step into adulthood. Their ability to sit and
communicate without saying a word is a sure sign of growing up. Their thoughts
have taken a transformation so that they now look at the world with a more
knowledgeable and worldly view. George and Helen are changing and growing into
sophisticated adults. At the same time, they are merely on the verge of
adulthood and have an occasional tendency to slip back into the playful
innocence of youth. They are caught somewhere in an animal-kind of world that
only evolves with time. In the company of another adult who understands,
loneliness is banished but somehow deepened at the same time. It is like a
security blanket. George knows that she is there to comfort him and be there to
help him, but the comfort allows him to sink further into his isolation. Somehow
this time of experimentation, loneliness, yearning, ambition and understanding
is what all teenagers dream of. Yet once sophistication is obtained, the world
gets smaller and everything around is less significant. So why do we all want to
grow up so badly? That is for each person to figure out as they cross the
threshold of maturity and understand for themselves, just as George Willard did.
