"Hands," by Sherwood Anderson, is a story that seems to be stripped of sentimentality, yet conveys emotion. Anderson tells the somber story of a misunderstood and wrongfully accused man. The protagonist, Wing Biddlebaum, failed to communicate his true self. His inner desires were repressed because conventions and tradition distorted and twisted them.
             As mentioned before, the central character in "Hands" is Wing Biddlebaum. He is clearly a round character because he has more than one side to his personality throughout the story. Wing is dynamic because he makes a change from a kind, outgoing, enthusiastic teacher to a withdrawn, frightened person. For as much as Wing is described, there are still many aspects of his character that seem left out. Perhaps this is for interest.
             Wing Biddlebaum, previously known as Adolph Meyers, is a teacher. He "was meant by nature to be a rare teacher of youth. He was one of those rare, little-understood men who rule by a power so gentle that it passes as a lovable weakness." Since his demeanor is not of the stereotypical man, macho and strong, teaching with force or fear, people are suspicious of him. "Hands" was written in 1919, and yet today in 2000 (81 years later) suspicion surrounding a man like Adolph Meyers might still exist.
             Since shadowy doubts already existed about Meyers, it was easy for the Pennsylvania townspeople to believe the "unspeakable" accusations a "half-witted boy" made against Meyers. The narrator tells the reader that these accusations are false, not just bluntly, but also through the innocence with which Adolph is described.
             It is hard to believe that Meyers could hurt anyone, let alone a student, someone whose dreams he was trying to encourage. As might happen in reality, angry men and fathers with lanterns drove Adolph Meyers from the fictional town. He was saved from hanging because even as he ...