“Death in the Woods” (Cultural Context)

The story, “Death in the Woods,” is about a poor helpless woman named Mrs. Grimes, who was treated badly her whole life by cruel people, such as, the German framer, her boss who took advantage of her, Jake (her husband), and her son, who never showed her any respect. Grimes purpose in life is to feed animals, and her family. As Jake, and her son come and go as they please, she is left with the problems of keeping everything in order. When she was discovered dead in the woods, the narrator makes it his goal to really explain the true story of Mrs. Grimes’ life.

Sherwood Anderson was a writer of the literary movement called “modernism.” In this time, writers discuss how Western society’s work conditions, daily life, and social organization progressed into a new era of the “industrialized world.” Especially after the Industrial Revolution, effects emerged. The American way of life changed drastically. Machines were used instead of one’s hands, and located in large factories, instead of their homes. The working class was the ones who suffered the most because they spent endless hours of labor for very little pay, as for the wealthy became wealthier. This caused a major social gap between the communities. The result that developed was a change in how others treat one another. In “Death in the Woods,” the story takes place in the late 1800’s, around the time of the industrial revolution. The town, however, does seem rural, but is expanding causing the citizens to only look out for themselves instead of being an intimate community they once use to be. As I said before, the poor became poorer, and the rich became richer. The penniless Grimes family was looked down upon by the towns’ people, for Jake was a horse thief, and the son was a clone of his father. Jake, her husband, had made an attempt of being friendly with the others, but failed. They were considered low lives, since John, Jake’s father, and Jake spent all their sawmill fortune on unimportant things. The people of the town should have had pity for the woman, but instead, turned the other cheek when she was in their presence. She was considered “nothing special” and “one of the nameless ones that hardly anyone knows.” This kind of segregation is seen all throughout the story, except the part with the butcher. He was the only person who ever showed her any form of kindness, and compassion. This could represent how others should be. Anyways, back to the point, the author is in fear of how people are developing, as a result of the new cultural change. A perfect example is when the narrator over heard the unfamiliar hunter claim he found a dead body in the woods. The boys did not know any of the men they were following on their way to the corpse. When the narrator claimed the events that were happening, he says, “They took the body to the undertaker’s, and when the blacksmith, the hunter, the marshal and several others had got inside, they closed the door.” In a close knit area, the boy should have been able to know the men’s names. I believe the author is upset with the new changes in life. It makes all the people in the story sound so disconnected and heartless to Grimes. Sherwood’s perspective on the issue is that we will all become strangers to everyone else, and not care about others. Well, someone might think, if they were not so close, how come the narrator knew so much about Grimes? To be honest, the story seems to be embedded with much fiction. As he lives through his life, experiencing more situations, her life story starts to change. When he was describing the story of Jake and the German farmer fighting, the one part he admits, “I wonder how I know all this. It must have stuck in my mind from small-town talks when I was a boy.” The narrator also claimed events happened that parallel his life, such as, the dog circle death ritual, and the girl who works on the farm in fear, and is hated by the farmer’s wife. As a reader, the information that is given to us is not valid. All we know that is true is the time he saw her body that day in the woods.

Another concern the author has in this story intertwines with concept of inequality but with gender roles. Grimes was treated horribly all her life. Her duty was to feed animals, or people who acted like animals. This reflects the woman’s role in a family. It did not matter if she had an identity or not, just as long as she nurtured the family. Especially in many housewives lives, their identity disappeared because their family is the only part in their lives. In the story, Grimes would just tremble when an argument broke out or was always silent because she “was fixed” that way. She was never able to express herself or her feelings. She was just an object that was a provider. She was a provider with food, and an object of sexual desire. In the story, the German farmer took advantage of her, and did not have to “feed her husband-in a certain way. That hasn’t lasted long after their marriage and after the babies.” Even after her death she stills plays the provider role. When the dogs did their death dance, they stole her backpack full of food to feed themselves. Also, her dead body became young and beautiful again in the snow, making her desired by men that found her. In this story, I feel the author is making a point that women are seen as providers, but are worth more than that. The narrator said the brother did not tell Grimes’ story right because he did not understand the beauty in it. When time went by, and the narrator was able to “piece” it together, he was “impelled to try to tell the simple story over again.” It shows how significant she actually was for the boy to try to understand her story until he was an adult.