George Willard, the de facto protagonist of Winesburg, Ohio, appears in 16 of the book’s 22 stories. George works as a young journalist at his local newspaper, the Winesburg Eagle, and aspires to become a writer. Sherwood Anderson characterizes George as limited by his youthful naivete, underscoring The Tension Between Youth and Experience. In “The Thinker,” George muses to his friend Seth Richmond that he should try falling in love so that he can write a love story, exposing how little experience George feels he has to become a writer of worth. George’s teacher, Kate Swift, tries to impress on him the connection between truly experiencing life and becoming a good writer.

Anderson depicts George as outgoing and affable, but lacking genuine connection in his life, introducing The Loneliness of One’s Inner World as a central theme in the book. In “The Thinker” Seth observes that George can find something to talk about with anyone in town, enabling him to gain their confidence and elicit the stories that define the inner worlds of each character.

George’s encounters—with Louise Trunnion, Kate Swift, Belle Carpenter, and Helen White—trace his arc from the naivete of youth to maturity.