Sherwood Anderson is the author of “Hands”, a short story about a man who has been driven from his town as a result of rumors that he allegedly molested several of his students. This man, Wing Biddlebaum, shows textbook signs that he has dealt with, and is still currently dealing with, symptoms and behaviors of pedophilia. In addition to that, he would have very easily had the opportunity to act on any of his urges due to his standing within the community. It is for these reasons that I strongly believe Wing Biddlebaum is guilty of molesting one of his past students. Firstly, Wing’s mannerisms throughout the story are those of a man who is struggling to cope with his pedophilic thoughts. For example, Wing Biddlebaum is described as: forever …show more content…
These include: keeping of secrets (secrets are valuable to most kids, being seen as something "adult" and a source of power), sexually explicit games, fondling, kissing, touching, sexually suggestive behavior, exposing a child to pornographic material, coercion, bribery, flattery, and—worst of all—affection and love. Be aware that these tactics are ultimately used to isolate and confuse your child (Monarez). Adolph may not have been using any sexually explicit games or exposing children to pornographic material, however, he absolutely uses touching as a way to gain the children’s trust. The story also states that one of his students “became enamored of the young master” (24), which implies that Adolph was successful in at least one of his attempts to gain a student’s trust. That being said, he is also fearful of what he may do in the future if he does not get himself under control. Returning to the present time, Wing Biddlebaum is constantly trying to hide his hands even though they used to be how he expressed himself. For example, the story …show more content…
This is a common trait among pedophiles, as they are often aware that their feelings are taboo. For example, an article titled “Being Sexually Attracted to Minors: Sexual Development, Coping With Forbidden Feelings, and Relieving Sexual Arousal in Self-Identified Pedophiles” states “because of the great stigma associated with pedophilia, some pedophiles may be troubled by their sexual interest, fear losing control over their feelings, or experience difficulties in dealing with feelings that are “forbidden” in contemporary society” (Houtepen). In addition to this, since Wing realizes he should not be having these feelings, he takes precautions in how he navigates his friendship with George Willard. For example, the story
In the novel The Wings of a Falcon, the author Cynthia Voigt uses the structure of an adventure tale to tell the story of courage and bravery. Oriel, an orphan boy with his friend Griff, encounter many hardships to earn the title of the Earl. In this story, the author uses the literary devices of setting, characterization, and symbol, which all make the book an interesting one to read.
We see Sarah and her age affect her stress in life in trying to find a husband within her childbearing years. This was especially hard for Sarah due to her speech impediment brought on by a traumatizing event that happened when she was young. Handful, Sarah’s slave, also experiences the effects of inequality, more specifically, for her race. Handful went through horrible punishments, for she was educated. Likewise, Charlotte, Handful’s mother, went through many horrible treatments, and was not able to receive an education. This set her back, for she had a change in personality, as well as not being able to do simple tasks, like write her name, or read. Overall, “The Invention Of Wings” showcases how hard it was to be a woman, or a slave back in the 1800s, we are all so lucky, and blessed to be living in the America we are living in
When the authors begin to discuss these children as being sexual individuals it make its somewhat difficult to read as in society we often view children as innocent, vulnerable and in need of protection from adults. However the authors make it clear that children are not asexual, they do experience arousal and engage in sexual practices. This from of adult understanding still remains taboo in s...
When a late adolescent or adult is primarily or exclusively attracted to a minor child sexually they become diagnosed with the psychiatric disorder pedophilia. Mostly a person is not diagnosed with this disorder unless they have had this attraction for six months or longer. This attraction can be in the form of fantasies which are sexually arousing to the perpetrator, or the urge to engage in sexual activities with a minor child. In addition, in order to be diagnosed the molester will have to have acted on these urges or suffered from some type of distress, which will be result from having these feelings. Also the molester should be at least sixteen years old with the victim being younger than them by a minimum of five years.
In Sherwood Anderson's "Hands", the protagonist, Wing Biddlebaum is portrayed as the towns' mystery who lives alone in a small house, and although he has been living in Winesburg Ohio for twenty years Wing "did not think of himself as in any way part of the life of the town" (213). Wing cannot express himself entirely. The reason for this is his hands. He is afraid of them and tries to keep them hidden from society and from himself. In this touching story the unjust allegations of a small community have stripped Wing Biddlebaum of his identity and have forced him to become a prisoner unto himself.
“...an individual with [pedophilia] has the same ingrained attraction that a heterosexual female may feel towards a male, or a homosexual feels towards their same gender.” (Johnston, Pg. 1). Pedophilia - “the fantasy or act of sexual activity with children who are generally age 13 years or younger” (American Psychiatric Association, p.1) - a word that holds multiple negative connotations, is often seen as aberrant thought process or behavior, and is under debate as to whether or not it’s a sexual orientation. But can it be considered a sexual orientation? As a member of the LGBT community, this issue has surfaced among us and shocked the majority.
Note that this paper deals exclusively with homosexual and heterosexual men. This is because the research regarding sexual molestation perpetrated by women is not as fully developed, and women tend to make up an almost immeasurably small percentage of molesters at large.
Pedophilia is a medical diagnosis, which is defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or older adolescents, ranging from ages 16 and older. Pedophilia is characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children, unusually ages 13 and under. The victim of a pedophile is usually at least five years younger in the case of adolescent pedophiles. The word pedophilia derives from the Greek word: παῖς (paîs), meaning "child," and φιλία (philla) meaning "friendly love" or "friendship. This literal meaning has been altered toward sexual attraction in modern times, under the titles "child love" or "child lover," by pedophiles who uses symbols and codes to identify their preferences.
Are we bothered by the fact that in the current social climate, the rights of convicted pedophiles are routinely violated and nobody cares. Rules of evidence are stretched, and terms of punishment are increased. The danger of this precedent is impossible to ignore.
In “Waxen Wings” Songnan uses the character’s appearance to portray symbolism. Due to the girl wanting to fly she is similar to that of a bird, causing the outcome of her nickname “Birdie”. In Birdie’s view, " when you're standing next to them your small size becomes more noticeable” (163). “Small” in this case has a double meaning: she may feel small as person or in height like a bird. Her struggle to succeed followed her later on in life, making it hard for her to get things accomplished.
The general theme of “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings” is “Let things run their natural course; don’t bring conflict upon yourself by trying to defy nature”. When the angel comes, the very wise old woman tells them that he must be here to take their child but they don’t listen to her intelligent advice. “Against the judgment of the wise neighbor woman, for whom angels in those times were the fugitive survivors of spiritual conspiracy, they did not have the heart to club him to death. Pelayo watched over him all afternoon from the kitchen, armed with his bailiff’s club, and before going to bed he dragged him out of the mud and locked him up with the hens in the wire chicken coop”. Pelayo defies nature by not letting the Angel go, and hence the Angel is locked up “as if he weren’t a supernatural creature but a circus animal”. At the end of the story the wife watches the angel fly away and realizes that now he is now longer an annoyance in her life. If the...
The book is Anderson's form of expression, not unlike the hands of the main character in his most acclaimed piece: "Hands". In this story, a little man, Wing Biddlebaum, lives isolated from the town of Winesburg. His solitude is a result of a tragic experience years before. He had been a gifted schoolteacher who motivated young boys with his hands until one young student spread wild rumors about him. The Pennsylvanian town was qui...
Kaplan, Margo. “Taking Pedophilia Seriously.” Washington & Lee Law Review, vol. 72, no. 1, 2015, pp. 75–170. Winter2015, EBSCOHost, web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=10&sid=db86a6e1-6532-405a-87b8-724a12314039@sessionmgr4010.
Wright was described as a beautiful women filled with such joy and life until she married John Wright. Mrs. Peter’s and Mrs. Hale feels sorry for her because her husband treated her so bad. Due to female bonding and sympathy, the two women, becoming detectives, finds the truth and hides it from the men. The play shows you that emotions can play a part in your judgement. Mrs. Peter’s and Mrs. Hale felt sorry that Mrs. Wright had one to keep her company no kids and she was always left alone at home. “yes good; he didn’t drink, and kept his word as well as most, I guess, and paid his debt. But he was a hard man, Mrs. Peters just to pass the time of day with him. Like a raw wind that goes to the bone. I should of think she would have wanted a bird. But what you suppose went with it?” Later on in the play the women find out what happens to the bird. The bird was killed the same way Mrs. Wright husband which leads to the motive of why he was killed. Mrs. Wright was just like the bird beautiful but caged no freedom not being able to live a life of her own. Always stuck in the shadows of her husband being told what to do and
Sex is generally defined the medical definition involving the sex organs, and participation by more than one party, but as humans are complicated beings this is insufficient to provide an account of sex. In Thomas Nagel’s essay “Sexual Perversion” he addresses the psychological account of sexuality with a phenomenological approach. Nagel describes a scenario of Romeo being aroused by Juliet, and Juliet being aroused by Romeo, and Romeo being aroused by Juliet’s arousal, and so on and so forth (Nagel 37). This progression of sexual arousal between two parties is the basis for which Nagel understands of sex. This progression eventuates in physical contact wherein the other becomes more and more “possesible” by physical contact, and the progression of arousal (Nagel 39). This progression of arousal in two parties, and the embodiment by physical contact is how Nagel describes sex. This definition provides Nagel with a basis for describing sexual perversion as anything that lacks the progression of arousal between two or more conscious individuals eventuating in physical contact that emb...