1. The autobiographical element in Mr. Anderson's work is marked and
should never be forgotten in judging his work. The conventional element
is easily discoverable as patched on, particularly in the long books.
2. To realize the qualities that make some critics regard Mr. Anderson as
perhaps our most promising novelist, examples should be noted of the
following qualities which he possesses to a striking degree: (1)
independence of literary traditions and methods; (2) a keen eye for
details; (3) a passionate desire to interpret life; (4) a strong sense of
the value of individual lives of little seeming importance.
3. Are Mr. Anderson's defects due to the limitations of his experience,
or do you notice certain temperamental defects which he is not likely to
outgrow?
4. Mr. Anderson's experiments in form are interesting to study. Compare
the prosiness of his verse with his efforts to use poetic cadence in _The
Triumph of the Egg_. Does it suggest to you the possibility of developing
a form intermediate between prose and free verse?
5. Does Mr. Anderson succeed best as novelist or as short-story writer?
Why?