Essay Database

"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 …

…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.