How would you adjust to the cultural and social aspects of the big city after growing up on a farm out in the country? In “Loneliness” by Sherwood Anderson, Enoch Robinson grows up in a rural setting on a farm, and this social, as well as geographic isolation shapes his lonely character and socially awkward life as an adult. In addition to being raised on a farm, the main things that contribute to Enoch’s lonely and dreadful adulthood are the fact that he has one parent, Mrs. Robinson, as well as the fact that he lives his life as a youth in a quiet and reserved manner. These characteristics of Enoch’s childhood all affect how he lives his life as an adult.

Enoch’s childhood consists of living in a rural area and this has an effect on the loneliness and social isolation that he experiences in his adult life. “He was the son of Mrs. Al Robinson who once owned a farm on a side road leading off Trunion Pike, east of Winesburg and two miles beyond the town limits” (Anderson 91). Enoch grows up in rural setting in which he interacts with few people, since he is on a farm rather than in a neighborhood or an urban setting. This prevents Enoch from getting acclimated to society and interacting with other kids. “The farm-house was painted brown and the blinds to all of the windows facing the road were kept closed” (Anderson 91). This further indicates the kind of lonesome and closed-in childhood that Enoch lives on the farm. The isolation of the farm and its sparsely populated surroundings make it all the more difficult for Enoch when he moves to New York City and tries to adjust to the busy, urban environment around him. Aside from growing up on the farm, being raised by one parent further leads to Enoch’s loneliness and detachment from society later in life. 

The fact that Enoch’s mother raises him without a father also affects his lonely and socially awkward adult life. Mrs. Robinson is unable to take Enoch around and introduce him to new people and things, because she has a farm and animals to take care of. Without a father, Enoch is on his own to go out and socialize with others, which is hard for him to do. “Then Mrs. Al Robinson died on the farm near Winesburg, and he got eight thousand dollars from the bank that acted as trustee of her estate. That took Enoch out of the world of men altogether” (Anderson 95). The death of Mrs. Robinson not only took away the life of Enoch’s mother, but also his only role model and parental figure. This causes Enoch much pain and depression on top of his already mounting loneliness. He goes as far as to tell his wife and kids to leave him and gives them the money from the bank, which illustrates his frustration and sadness over the death of his mother. In addition to growing up with one parent in his life, Enoch’s quiet and shy nature as a child carries over to his adult life.

Enoch Robinson lives his childhood in rural Ohio as a reserved and quiet youth, and these personal traits stick with him as an adult. “Old citizens remembered him as a quiet, smiling youth inclined to silence” (Anderson 92). Enoch mostly keeps to himself as a kid and has few friends due to his reserved nature and lack of socializing with other kids. These personal characteristics continue to stay with Enoch as an adult as he has trouble socializing with others, i.e. the artists, who gather to socialize in Enoch’s room as he sits alone in a corner with his mouth shut. “He walked in the middle of the road when he came into town and sometimes read a book.” (Anderson 92). As a youth, Enoch is unaccustomed to social norms due in large part to growing up away from people and society. This social awkwardness follows him throughout his life, as he struggles to make sense of people and the real world while living in New York. Enoch’s shy demeanor and reserved character stick with him from childhood to adulthood.

As one reads “Loneliness” it is evident that the way Enoch Robinson grows up mends the man he becomes later in life. Enoch’s early life as a shy and quiet kid, together with the fact that he’s raised by a single mother and grows up on a rural farm in Ohio, ultimately affects the life he lives as an adult.
