<Tab/>Sherwood Anderson's three short stories "The Book of the Grotesque," "Hands," and "Departure" all have a common theme of isolation and purity. The main characters isolate themselves from society so they will not become grotesque. The characters in the short stories are grotesque because of their distorted appearances or personalities. They became grotesque because they were not able to express themselves and their passions. Society subdues individuality and the main …showed first 75 words of 855 total…

…showed last 75 words of 855 total…and that was the writer in "The Book of the Grotesque." Sherwood Anderson believed that purity was the ultimate state of being but one can argue if it can bring happiness. The grotesques had one thing in common; the truths of everyday life affected them. However, those truths came with good feeling and bad ones. The ones who were pure were just there. The ultimate question is, is it better to be pure or grotesque?