Analyze The Reading Adventure By Anderson Sherwood

Adventure Modernism
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Institutional Affiliation
Adventure Modernism
Adventure by Anderson Sherwood is a story about a 27-year old Alice Hindman, who is a clerk at a dry goods store in Winesburg Ohio. Even though Alice is at an age where she needs to be independent and stay alone, she still lives with her mother. Alice was in love with a man called Ned Currie, who left for Chicago to seek fortunes. But even in his absence, Alice still remains faithful to him. Initially, Ned maintained communication with Alice through letters, but stopped after some time when he became engulfed in his new life and totally forgot about her. Alice feels that she is getting older and yet she cannot picture herself marrying any other man apart from Ned. In the end, she decides to start attending a local Methodist Church and engage in the weekly prayers to bring some spark back to her life. But even this never takes away her restlessness and desperation to find love. One rainy night, Alice comes home from work, undresses and runs outside only to see an old man passing by alone. Ashamed, she runs back and accepts the fact that some people were just destined to live alone.
One element of modernism that is prevalent in the story is that of “loss and exile”. In many modernist literatures, people are depicted as believing that their sense of morality is superb and supersedes those of their fellows; they are individualistic (Bradshaw&Dettmar, 2008). The reason for this individualism is a feeling of loss and isolation. The theme of isolation and loneliness is prevalent in Adventure. The loss and exile results from adopting an outlook that makes people feel excluded from the community. Alice is at a loss and isolated from other people. She never attempts to engage with other people. Instead, she opts for connection with objects in her room. Even in her prayers, she never utters her words aloud. Instead, she chooses to whisper words intended for her lover. The words weigh heavily on her, but she has opted to exile herself from the people with whom she can share her burdens (Campbell, 2010). In fact, Alice is not living her real life; she has chosen to make connections with imaginations in her head. She is entirely isolated from those close to her. The extent that Alice has chosen to exile herself from other people and become lost in her imaginations is appalling. Even at her workplace, she never has meaningful conversations with her employer. On most occasions, the store where she works can remain empty for hours. Alice has chosen to be isolated both at work and in her daily life.
Alice is at a loss and would sometimes sit and cry in the workplace, saying messages meant for Ned to the effect that she is still waiting for him. The extent of how lost she is has made it difficult for her to move on. Even though Ned has moved on and is continuing with his life, Ali...