Thesis: Mrs. Jack Grimes is a woman who has been denied any love or tenderness; she exists
only to be used.
Lead-in – 1:
Make some general comments about the subject matter of the thesis.
The value a person places on him-herself is largely determined by the value others give to
the person. Those who grow up loved and cherished, learn to feel worthwhile and develop a
healthy sense of self. Such a background of love and caring can sustain a person through periods
when he or she feels unloved and insignificant. Those who have never known love, and who
never have been given any human warmth, soon come to see themselves as worthless. Such an
emotionally starved person is Mrs. Jake Grimes of Sherwood Anderson’s “Death in the Woods,”
for she is a woman who has been denied any love or tenderness; she exists only to be used.
Lead-in – 2:
Mention personal experiences and attitudes you and your readers might share.
Sometimes we meet people who seem so shut off from the world and from other people
that we begin to wonder how they survive. We are tempted to judge these people as hard or
unfeeling because they are difficult to know. It takes insight for us to realize that such people
may have grown up without the care and love necessary for human development and to
recognize that a lack of caring can permanently distort personality. Sherwood Anderson
describes a closed-in, distorted personality in the character of Mrs. Jake Grimes in “Death in the
Woods.” She is a woman who has been denied love or tenderness; she exists only to be used.
Lead-in – 3:
Begin with a few general sentences about the author. You may draw this
information from an instructor’s lecture, from introductory material in a literature anthology, or
from some of your own research.
Sherwood Anderson’s short stories often focus on characters we would hardly notice in
real life. He writes about insignificant people, people who are often shy or unattractive, lacking
in manners, confidence, or charm. Frequently, Anderson reveals the hidden value of such
insignificant people, their true nature, and worth. Such characters have to struggle to maintain
their inner worth because the world has not given them much love or compassion. A good
example of this type of character is Mrs. Jake Grimes of “Death in the Woods.” She is a woman
who has been denied any love or tenderness; she exists only to be used.
Lead-in – 4:
Write a few general sentences about the story.
Sherwood Anderson’s “Death in the Woods” is a story about different kinds of coldness.
Most of it is set in a lonely woods in winter, and the freezing weather and snow add to the chill.
The inhabitants of the small town at the edge of the woods and those on the neighboring farms
seem equally cold hearted, remote, and unfeeling. The chief victim of this frozen world is the
story’s protagonist, Mrs. Jake Grimes. She is a woman who has suffered all her life from a lack
of human warmth. She has been denied any love or tenderness; she exists only to be used.