this. The reader is provided with evidence that this process makes up his day-to-day world for he has “worn one suit of clothes for ten years. It was frayed at the sleeves…” (p.36) almost directly proportional to Reefy’s frayed soul. It is through his “Paper Pills” that his true “grotesqueness” is revealed, however, and the nature of his isolation becomes understandable. These thoughts he wrote, although they are never revealed, make up Reefy’s one “truth”: One by one the mind of Doctor Reefy had made the Thoughts. Out of many of them he formed a truth that Arose gigantic in his mind. The truth clouded the world. It Became terrible and then faded away and the little Thoughts began again.” (p.37)Later, we also learn of Dr. Reefy’s love for George’s mother, Elizabeth. What makes their relationship strange is the fact that they ultimately end up marrying different people, although Dr. Reefy talks of Elizabeth frequently to his wife. This could be interpreted asDr. Reefy’s denial of his feelings and his attempt to isolate himself further from the Winesburg community. The story that holds the most importance in shedding light on isolation and George Willard’s own development as a character is “Sophistication”. At this point in the novel, George is wandering through the Winesburg County Fair, and is pondering his trip to a big city, where he hopes to pursue his career as a writer with a newspaper. George’s character at this point is also described as having matured and “new thoughts were coming into his mind” (p.233). Due to his mother’s passing,...
