The Book of the Grotesque
English: Tibetan endless knot Nederlands: Tibetaan...
English: First edition title page
English: Signature of Sherwood AndersonThe significance of the passage is that it describes the main character's state of mind, body, and soul. The story is based on the writer who has written a book about the grotesque individuals he has met in his life. He writes about everyone who has had an impact on him throughout his life. The Book of the Grotesque is based on how people take the truth and turn it into something that is no longer beautiful. The writer is happy to be able to reach his old age and be able to rest in peace because he has something special inside. I believe this something special can be compared to the Holy Spirit mentioned in the bible. The Spirit of God dwelling in a believer gives joy on the inside. I believe the writer's something special is like that of the Holy Spirit. "Perfectly still he lay in bed and his body was old and not of much use any more, but something inside him was altogether young. He was like a pregnant woman, only that the thing inside him was not a baby but a youth" (Anderson 153). That same spirit protects him from becoming grotesque like the individuals around him. "No, it wasn't youth, it was a woman, young, and wearing a coat of mail like a knight" (Anderson 153).
I believe what was inside the old man was a joyful spirit that kept him ecstatic. Ecstatic to have reached such an old age and from becoming grotesque as he has seen in others, "The grotesque were not all horrible. Some were amusing, some almost beautiful, and one, a woman all drawn out of shape, hurt the old man by her grotesque" (Anderson 153).
The writer appears to be using phrases...