Blog #6
Throughout this novel, we were assigned the task of indexing
words that we found reoccurring in the novel. I indexed the usual words: door,
window, hands, white, etc. However, beginning in the story of Loneliness and
the story of Enoch Robinson I began to notice another unusual word, eight. At the first mention of how much Enoch got
paid from the death of Mrs. Al Robinson, eight thousand dollars, I circled it
merely because I thought it interesting that Anderson mention exactly how much
money Enoch got. As I continued reading on form that story I noticed that the
number eight reoccurred more frequently. As I was cataloguing my indexing, just
out of curiosity I counted how many times I counted the word eight and it was…eight
times! I thought that this must be a coincidence, however when I looked up the
biblical references to the number eight I was surprised. In the Bible the
number eight references the day after God’s day of rest, it is a symbol of new
beginnings. It also marks the beginning of the new week as created by that of
God. Both of these references go hand in hand with the overall theme of journey
within the book and how George Willard is striving for a new beginning outside
the town of Winesburg, Ohio.
This is a very interesting observation Lindsey! I did not know that the number eight was significant to the bible, However furthering your observation; at the end of the novel in departure George's new beginning is shown when he leaves. Anderson writes" the town of winesburg and his life Winesburg there had become but a background on which to paint the dreams of his manhood." Winesburg is now a backdrop furthering the idea that he is leaving it behind for a fresh start. One where the dreams pertaining to his manhood will be displayed.
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