HANDS by Sherwood Anderson

A Psychological Analysis

The story centers on a man nicknamed Wing Biddlebaum who was once an esteemed professor in a city university; but a tragic event has made him flee the city and his students to live a life in seclusion in a small town where no one else might recognize his face except his aunt. The people of that wee town had come to know  Biddlebaum as a man with restless hands. They marvel at his seemingly tireless hands that were capable of completing a great number of tasks like picking forty quarts of strawberries a day when he doesn't beat them on wood or keep them hidden in his pants' pockets.

Using the Psychological approach to analyzing this literary piece by Sherwood Anderson, Biddlebaum's behavior is explained. The narrator mentions him as a man who shows his emotions through the movement and sweep of his hands. When the protagonist was still a professor, he used to caress his students - who were all male - whenever he imparts them with a great chunk of knowledge and wisdom. This way, he also showed them his love for teaching and for them: as his students. His hands wold travel, rather unconsciously, to tousle his student's hair, rub his back, etc. But his behavior was later on misunderstood by parents and soon, by the his co-teacher and students to be a sexual act. This tells the reader that Biddlebaum's hands might have found their way to his students' private parts to ensue the 'caressing'.

Because of this tragic incident that Biddlebaum decided to live an anonymous life in a seemingly anonymous little town. Psychologically speaking, his decision to get away is a form of 'isolation'. And deciding to keep his past to himself and to never let anyone see his hands nor allow himself to get lost in the moment and caress someone, is a form of 'repression'.