"the moment one of the people took one of the truths to himself, called it his truth, and tried to live his life by it, he became a grotesque and the truth he embraced became a falsehood..."See in text(The Book Of The Grotesque)
The passage describes the effects of becoming fixated on one belief or aspect of life to the exclusion of all others; obsession with one "truth" leads to a distorted understanding of it. In establishing this idea and the concept of a "grotesque," Anderson is introducing the theme that will be developed through various characters in the book.
"grotesques..."See in text(The Book Of The Grotesque)
In the context of Anderson's work, a "grotesque" is a person whose spirit is crippled or deformed in some way and whose perception of truth is distorted. Fixated on one idea, belief, or experience, the person cannot distinguish between what he or she believes to be true and what is true. Obsessed with one "truth," the person is separated from others in society and lives in a state of lonely isolation.
"The sadness of sophistication has come to the boy..."See in text(Sophistication)
"Sophistication" in this context refers to the loss of innocence as a young person comes of age. A coming-of-age theme runs throughout the collection of stories through the character of George Willard.
