Sherwood Anderson is the precursor of new era in American fiction. He delves deep into the working of inner mind of his characters. He created with rare intensity and insight the obscure men and women living at small towns of America. His stories have poetic flow in expression. He explored life in America through the people he knew closely. The town though many, are its fictional names, is Clyde, Ohio. What gives abiding significance to Anderson?s art is his ability to enter deep into the lives of the people. The topic under discussion highlights the victimising spirit of loneliness facing the characters of Anderson. They are not like the characters of Hemingway. Hemingway's characters are strong, they fight for better situation, they are strong and courageous, they don't get defeated, they prove invincible in their belief, they don't surrender even in the face of driest situation. But Anderson's characters surrender to the challenges. They don't have strength of will power to face life. They are caught in the castle of self-made psychological wall. The are the lone sufferers of their tragedies. The paper seeks to deal with the pain of loneliness suffered by the characters of Anderson in their unfulfiled existence. They have been cast in the mould of helpless creatures. Besides, these the paper earnestly shows that love is an antidote to loneliness and absence of love is one of its potent causes. The climate of Winesburg is hostile to love is often the yearning for love is frustrated or it is confused with crude sexuality.
DAV, Gidi, Hazaribagh (Jharkhand)
