"Tandy"

Sydney Priore:

“Tandy”

   After reviewing my groups chosen story, and doing more of a “Close reading” I found that the story “Tandy” has a strong underlying religious allegory. In this “Chapter” of Winesburg, Ohio a stranger comes to Winesburg trying to escape his alcoholism; he befriends Tom Hard an agnostic in the town with a young daughter. Neither the stranger nor the child is given a name. The stranger saw in Tom’s child what Tom did not see. The text reads, “He never saw God manifesting himself in the little child that, half forgotten, lived here and there on the bounty of her dead mother’s relatives” (Anderson 138). This shows the irony of the situation. Tom hard is an agnostic attempting to spread his views of disbelief in God, while God is supposedly showing himself through Tom Hard’s own child.

    I interpreted the religious allegory through Tom’s daughter who later goes by Tandy. She parallels a Christ figure, and the Stranger posing as some sort of prophet, speaking about the coming of Christ. “The stranger began to babble and made a prophecy concerning the child that lay in the arms of the agnostic.” The stranger is telling of a prophecy, which defined means: a prediction of a future event that often reveals the will of a deity (dictionary.com). Thus by telling this “prophecy” he is telling of the forth coming of a deity. The stranger further describes the women in the prophecy, “ It is because of her defeats that she is to me the lovely one. Out of her defeats has been born a new quality in women. I have a name for it. I call it Tandy” (Anderson 140).  This is linked to the allegory in that while Jesus was the savior of men the allusion here is representative of a new savior. One that is particularly the savior of women. With this savior comes the will of “being strong to be loved” (Anderson 141). This is the will of the deity that is referenced in the definition of prophecy.  This deity is to be the savior of women who is to push the limits in that she will “ Dare to be strong and courageous. That is the road. Venture anything. Be brave enough to dare to be loved,” (Anderson 141). This savior of women will save women from their current state and introduce being Tandy. She will do this just as Christ saved man from his sins.

   Lastly at the end of “Tandy” the young girl refuses to go by any other name than Tandy. She declares to her father at the end of the chapter, “ ‘I don’t want to be called that,’ she declared, ‘I want to be called Tandy—Tandy Hard’” (Anderson 141). By doing this she has totally accepted her responsibility of becoming Tandy. This could potentially parallel to Jesus’ crucifixion in that he made a self-sacrifice. The child is giving herself and will represent this quality of Tandy. This in away alludes to her own crucifixion in that she is giving her life up to set this new example for women.