Although he has focused on the specific portrayals of different characters, this novel has almost covered all the ways to present the grotesques’ image。 It mainly reflects in the following aspects:

3。1。 Ugly appearance

Anderson depicts a number of grotesques’ monstrous appearances, some  exaggerated and abnormal, some theatrical and ridiculous, some so ugly that we feel frightened。 

For example, the doctor Reefy was an old man with a big nose, huge hands and white beard; Alice Hindman was tall and slight, “her head was large and overshadowed her body” ; Joe Welling often came into “a strange uncanny physical state in which his eyes roll and his legs and arms jerk”; When describing Wash Williams, the telegraph operator of Winesburg, Anderson first highlights the image of the monkey in the park, “blinking in a corner of his iron cage, a huge, grotesque kind of monkey, a creature with ugly, sagging, hairless skin below his eyes and a bright purple underbody”, William is just like that monkey。 “His girth was immense, his neck thin, his legs feeble。 He was dirty。 Everything about him was unclean。Even the whites of his eyes looked soiled。”…… All these living descriptions make us feel funny。 Meanwhile, they make us fear them。

3。2 Abnormal behaviors

The grotesques’ images are also reflected in their exaggerated and abnormal behaviors。 Some of these behaviors have become their living habits。 

Wing Biddlebaum’s restless hands are “like unto the beating of the wings of an imprisoned bird” but after an special event, he is misunderstood by people in the town and he just wants to hide his hands that are on behalf of evil all the time; Doctor Reefy likes continually stuffed scraps of paper into his huge pockets of a linen duster。 “the scraps of paper became little hard round balls after some weeks, and he dumped them out upon the floor when the pockets were filled。” 来,自,优.尔:论;文*网www.youerw.com +QQ752018766-

3。3 Funny dialogues

Almost every grotesque is not disposed to express their feelings。 They often like talk to their-selves and delude their-selves。 Their words are irrational, eccentric and illogical。 

Doctor Parcival talked to George about his past experience but he said “Why I want to talk to you of the matter I don't know。 I might keep still and get more credit in your eyes。 I have a desire to make you admire me, that's a fact。 I don't know why。 That's why I talk。” Joe Welling is a blithering man with many strange ideas。 He requires and forces others to listen to him, but no one understand what the hell he means。 “He appeared to be lost in thought, rolling his eyes about and running a thin nervous hand through his hair。 A smile spread over his face and his gold teeth glittered。 ‘There wasn't a cloud in the sky, not one。 Come out into the street and you'll see。 There wasn't a cloud。 There isn't a cloud now。 Yes, there was a cloud。’” 

Those words are usually out of order and give people a sense of absurdity,  but at the same time, we have a sense of disgust and fear。