In his stories "Hands " and "The Teacher ", Sherwood Anderson provides two contrasting concepts between his characters, Wing Biddelbaum and Kate Swift. With both being teachers with drastically different teaching styles, Kate and Wing battle the misunderstood nature of their lives. And both have to find a way to deal with the fact that, because their ideals don't fit with the worlds in which they live, they have to overcome a significant language barrier. For each of the teachers in this story, touch is the way in which they communicate with the person that links them, George Willard. But Kate and Wing use their touch differently. By creating a world where touch is dangerous, Sherwood Anderson shows us the ways in which words and language can fail.
In Wing's case, his hands are the way he communicates. In his previous town in Pennsylvania, "he was one of those rare, little-understood men who rule by a power so gentle that it passes as a lovable weakness. " He "[caressed] the shoulders of the boys, playing about the tousled heads. " Here, we see that Wing Biddlebaum (or Adolph Myers) is portrayed as very feminine. Because of this, the townspeople grow suspicious of his intentions, believing his "touching " to be a threat, rather than a passionate teaching style. When asked, his students admit to the touching, but they do not realize the consequences Wing faces. In result, Wing moves to Winesburg to start over. But his hands are no longer his form of communication, for he fears the consequences behind the use of his hands. .
It is hard to clarify whether Wing perceives his hands as a symbol of his guilt, or a manifestation of his fears. His hands "so he believed "were to blame for his downfall; however, the same hands were the ones that were a source of inspiration and respect to a town without any. In Winesburg, they were a source of fame; everyone knew him by his hands.
