In I Want to Know Why by Sherwood Anderson we have the theme of passion,
connection, disillusion, confusion, anger, acceptance (or rather the
lack of it), innocence and coming of age. Taken from his The Triumph of
the Egg collection the story is narrated in the first person by a young,
unnamed sixteen year old boy who is looking back at an incident that
happened a year earlier when he was in Saratoga Springs. From the
beginning of the story it would appear that Anderson is exploring the
theme of connection and passion.
Sherwood Anderson's short story "I Want to Know Why" begins with a
description of the fifteen-year-old narrator's trip to Saratoga, New
York. He and his three friends leave without telling their parents; they
run away to seek the thrills of horse ra
cing. But rather than expound on the daily adventures of the vacation or the reactions of the boys' parents when they return, the story focuses on a single, sad but important event. The narrator sees the horse trainer Jerry Tillford, a man he greatly admires, drunk and in the presence of a prostitute. The scene disturbs and confuses the young boy. "I Want to Know Why" is the story of a boy's tragic realization that people aren't always as good as they seem.
The narrator looks up to Jerry Tillford because he is a successful horse trainer. The boy is infatuated with horses and has always dreamed of a career in which he could be around horses every day. He tells us, "When I was ten years old and saw I was growing to be big and couldn't be a rider I was so sorry I nearly died"(Anderson 3). He considers becoming a stable boy, but his "father wouldn't let me go into it". But he hasn't given up all hope; now he spends his days "wanting to be a trainer or owner".
The boy sees Tillford's horse, Sunstreak, as a symbol of beauty, strength, and honor. He considers that Tillford "had been watching and working with Sunstreak since the horse was a baby colt, had taught him to run," and he is filled with veneration. Sunstreak's majesty inspires a quiet moment of shared appreciation between the boy and the trainer, after which the boy relates, "I guess I loved the man as much as I did the horse. He feels "close" to Jerry and states that he likes him "even more than I ever liked my own father" Unfortunately, his faith in Jerry's character is somewhat ma
When the narrator watches Jerry Tillford through the window of the whorehouse, his spirits are crushed. His impeccable image of the trainer is destroyed before his eyes. The boy tell us, "He lied and bragged like a fool" about Sunstrea. He remembers how the drunken Jerry "swayed back and forth, and... kissed that woman" This scene shocks the young boy.
Confusion and anger begin to take hold within the narrator. He recalls, "Then, all of a sudden, I began to hate that man". His feelings are so strong, he feels he could "rush in the room and kill him". The reader may find this notion to be a tad extreme, but the boy feels that Jerry, who has, in a single day, become a father figure of sorts, really let him down. The realization that a personal hero is not, in fact, as admirable as it once seemed can be devastating.
The title of the story is a manifestation of the boy's confusion and hurt. He has faith in Tillford, but his faith goes unrewarded. The implications of what the narrator witnesses are even more crushing than the scene itself; how many others who seem good are really bad? Sherwood Anderson's "I Want to Know Why" is the story of a young boy coming of age and waking up to a sad reality in this world: not everyone who appears to be decent is truly worthy of one's respect and trust.
cing. But rather than expound on the daily adventures of the vacation or the reactions of the boys' parents when they return, the story focuses on a single, sad but important event. The narrator sees the horse trainer Jerry Tillford, a man he greatly admires, drunk and in the presence of a prostitute. The scene disturbs and confuses the young boy. "I Want to Know Why" is the story of a boy's tragic realization that people aren't always as good as they seem.
The narrator looks up to Jerry Tillford because he is a successful horse trainer. The boy is infatuated with horses and has always dreamed of a career in which he could be around horses every day. He tells us, "When I was ten years old and saw I was growing to be big and couldn't be a rider I was so sorry I nearly died"(Anderson 3). He considers becoming a stable boy, but his "father wouldn't let me go into it". But he hasn't given up all hope; now he spends his days "wanting to be a trainer or owner".
The boy sees Tillford's horse, Sunstreak, as a symbol of beauty, strength, and honor. He considers that Tillford "had been watching and working with Sunstreak since the horse was a baby colt, had taught him to run," and he is filled with veneration. Sunstreak's majesty inspires a quiet moment of shared appreciation between the boy and the trainer, after which the boy relates, "I guess I loved the man as much as I did the horse. He feels "close" to Jerry and states that he likes him "even more than I ever liked my own father" Unfortunately, his faith in Jerry's character is somewhat ma
When the narrator watches Jerry Tillford through the window of the whorehouse, his spirits are crushed. His impeccable image of the trainer is destroyed before his eyes. The boy tell us, "He lied and bragged like a fool" about Sunstrea. He remembers how the drunken Jerry "swayed back and forth, and... kissed that woman" This scene shocks the young boy.
Confusion and anger begin to take hold within the narrator. He recalls, "Then, all of a sudden, I began to hate that man". His feelings are so strong, he feels he could "rush in the room and kill him". The reader may find this notion to be a tad extreme, but the boy feels that Jerry, who has, in a single day, become a father figure of sorts, really let him down. The realization that a personal hero is not, in fact, as admirable as it once seemed can be devastating.
The title of the story is a manifestation of the boy's confusion and hurt. He has faith in Tillford, but his faith goes unrewarded. The implications of what the narrator witnesses are even more crushing than the scene itself; how many others who seem good are really bad? Sherwood Anderson's "I Want to Know Why" is the story of a young boy coming of age and waking up to a sad reality in this world: not everyone who appears to be decent is truly worthy of one's respect and trust.
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