The Strange-Looking Man
Williams’s study of “The Strange-Looking Man” directs readers to its originating idea through a quoted statement by Mrs. Costello, who links the story to a disabled Canadian soldier’s return and explains its symbolic figures: the little boy as Germany and the young man as hoped-for future life. The section asks readers to infer the time and place from connotation and indication rather than explicit exposition. It traces the very brief action from its opening morning to its ending, inviting anticipation of the dénouement. Williams emphasizes the reversed postwar condition—the child rocking his father’s cradle, fear of a whole man, and ruined men contrasted with a traveler—and asks readers to formulate the central theme and its supporting ideas.
By Blanche Colton Williams · First published 1919 · Genre: Literary Analysis, Literary Criticism, Non-Fiction · 254 words
First lines
THE STARTING POINT. "I got the idea for ‘The Strange-Looking Man," says Mrs. Costello, "from reading of the homecoming of a Canadian soldier, limbless, partially blind, wholly demented, to his young wife -- Homebringing, I should have said. As I read, I simply _saw_ the story as it was written, nor could I help feeling as I wrote that my little boy symbolized Germany as she is and my young man life, as we are now so strongly hoping it may come to be."
The statement from the author serves, also, to explain her symbolical treatment.
SETTING. Should you judge, from the connotation, that the time is the near or far future? What is the place? How is it indicated?
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Genres
- Literary Analysis — Examines the story’s setting, action, dénouement, symbolism, and underlying idea through directed interpretation.
- Literary Criticism — Uses the author’s statement and selected narrative contrasts to evaluate the work’s symbolic treatment.
- Non-Fiction — A pedagogical section from a study volume rather than a work of fiction.
Tags
Blanche Colton Williams · The Strange-Looking Man · Mrs. Costello · short-story study · symbolic treatment · postwar reversal · setting inference · dénouement · theme analysis · author statement · war wrecks · child and father imagery
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The Strange-Looking Man is listed on Textopian as an essay by Blanche Colton Williams, dated 1919 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Essay
- Author: Blanche Colton Williams
- Date: 1919 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Literary Analysis, Literary Criticism, Non-Fiction
- Length: 254 words
- Structure: 1 section, 6 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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