Andy Is Unsympathetic I

’m A Fool Essay, Research Paper

In the video “I’m A Fool,” By Sherwood Anderson, there sare many events that occur that cause the main character, Andy, to prove his true personality. In the story Andy cotridicts himselfand shows how easy it is to make insipid mistakes. In the story Andy proves himself to be an unsympathetic character because he acs foolish, timid, unremorsful and as a masquerader. In the story Andy acts foolish because he lies to impress people that he feels to be better than him to put on a good front; in particular he lies about being Walter Mathersand owning horses in Marrietta, Ohio. Andy does this to pretend that he is just as well off as the folks at the race; in addition Andy lies about “his” place in Marrietta, saying how nice it was and how his house was up on a hill along the Ohio River and how he owned stables. Andy admits towards the end of the story that he was a “big boob” for lying about being Walter Mathers, but he had no remorse for telling the lies and he kept it up untill the end of the story. Andy was also a timid character. For instance, whenever the girl he llikes makes eye contact with him. Another reason why Andy is a timid character is because he is reluctant to tell her the truth because he was reserved about his past. In addition, Andy felt that she wouldn’t like him because she was well to do and he was not. This made him a timid character because he wouldn’t tell her the truth.Andy was also an unremorseful character because he didn’t feel guilt for what he had lied about and what he had done. He blamed his own foolishness on everythiing and everyone but himself, specifically when he states that the gentlemen in the hotel with the cane and the necktie got him all balled up to drink whiskey, and that if the gentlemen wouldn’t have done that then mabey he wouldn’t have lied about those things in the race. Furthermore, Andy states that he jumped up and down in anger, happiness, and sadness because he hadn’t told the truth and how he had passed off a swell chance, but then he blames his misakes on the booze and the genlmen with the cane. another equally important characteristic that make Andy an unsympathetic character is that he acts as a masquerader. Throughout the story Andy tries to be something that he is not.For example, Andy dresses up in his best clothing and his new durby hat to go down town to the West House Hotel. He tells himself “to put on a good front” so he takes forty dollars with him to buy some twenty-ive cent cigars. He smkes the cigars and drinks the whiskey just to show off in front of the man who he believes to be well off and who he later blames all his problems on. Secondly, Andy states that because the other men had great backgrounds and good names that he would try to show them up by lieing about being Walter Mathers. In conclusion, the character Andy in the story “I’m A Fool” is an unsympathetic character because he is foolish, timid, unremorseful and he acts as a masquerader. He makes many foolish mistakes and he doesn’t blame himself for them.