Sherwood Anderson’s “Hands”: Lecture Notes "Hands" is a short story centering on the psychological trauma a teacher suffers after parents falsely accuse him of fondling male students. It was first published in 1916 in The Masses, a Chicago literary magazine. The New York firm of B. W. Huebsch published the story in 1919 as part of Winesburg, Ohio, a collection of related short stories by Sherwood Anderson. Setting The action takes place in the 1890s on the outskirts of the fictional town of Winesburg, Ohio. A flashback recounts an episode that takes place in a Pennsylvania community. Characters Wing Biddlebaum: A middle-aged former schoolteacher who lives on the outskirts of Winesburg, Ohio. His real name is Adolph Myers. However, he changed his surname to hide his identity after people in a Pennsylvania community falsely accused him of fondling male students while he was teaching school there. They drove him out of town, and he settled in Winesburg. George Willard: A newspaper reporter for the Winesburg Eagle. He is Biddlebaum's only friend. Berry Pickers: Boisterous young people who pass by Biddlebaum's house in a wagon carrying their cherry pickings. Angry Parent: Man who severely beat Biddlebaum in the yard of the Pennsylvania school where Biddlebaum, then known as Adolph Myers, was teaching. Tone The tone is serious. It exhibits sympathy and compassion for Biddlebaum, a victim of gross injustice. Point of View Anderson tells the story in omniscient third-person point of view. Flashback A flashback occurs when the narrator recounts an incident that explains why Wing Biddlebaum is so preoccupied with the movement of his hands. Plot Summary While pacing on the decaying porch of his small house near a ravine on the outskirts of Winesburg, Ohio, a fat man watches young adults passing in a wagon on a highway beyond an expanse of weeds. They are boisterous berry pickers returning from the fields. One fellow jumps out and tries to pull a girl after him. She screams in mock protest. Then, seeing the man on the porch across the weed field, calls out to him, “Oh, you Wing Biddlebaum, comb your hair, it's falling into your eyes.” The man is bald. Wing Biddlebaum, who is full of self-doubts, has only one real friend in town, George Willard. George, a reporter for the Winesburg Eagle, is the son of Tom Willard, operator of the New Willard House. Sometimes Tom could be seen on the highway walking to Biddlebaum's house. Biddlebaum wishes that Willard would visit him on this evening. Wing walks across the field of weeds and looks toward town for a moment and then, afraid, hurries back to the porch and resumes pacing. Whenever he is with Willard, Biddlebaum's shyness eases, and he talks animatedly on his porch with his friend or sometimes goes into town with him. Biddlebaum talks with his hands. In fact, says the narrator, “The story of Wing Biddlebaum is a story of hands.” His hands move like the wings of a captive bird—hence, his nickname.