'I Want to Know Why' by Anderson Sherwood

 Hello! Here It's me Reshma  and  This blog is a part of BA's Short story  'I Want to Know Why by Sherwood Anderson and now at present in Semester 4 I am pursuing my Master's degree from Department of English, MKBU.

Summary of I Want to Know Why by Sherwood Anderson

Sherwood Anderson’s short story I Want to Know Why is about a teenage boy who loves racehorses and admires the men who train them. However, his idealistic view of the world is shattered when he sees a different side of someone he looks up to.

The story takes place in Beckersville, Kentucky, a small town that comes alive during the horse racing season. The 15-year-old narrator, who is simple-minded or perhaps just innocent, is passionate about racehorses. When all the famous horse trainers leave town, he and his friends decide to travel to Saratoga, New York, to watch a race.

At the race, the narrator meets the trainer of his favorite horse, Sunstreak. He admires the trainer deeply, even more than his own father, because they share the same love for horses. When Sunstreak wins the race and sets a world record, the narrator’s admiration for the trainer grows even stronger.

However, later that night, he follows the trainer and sees him in a brothel, bragging about winning the race. The narrator is shocked and disgusted. He cannot understand why a man who loves horses would behave in such a "rotten" place. This experience changes his feelings, and he begins to hate the trainer. His love for thoroughbred horses, which once brought him joy, is now ruined.

Throughout the story, the narrator is shown to be innocent but kind-hearted. However, he also uses racist language when talking about Black people in his town. Even though he does not mean harm, his words reflect his ignorance. He idolizes a Black man named Bildad Johnson, who works hard but struggles to find stable jobs. The narrator does not realize the difficulties of Bildad’s life and naively thinks it would be great to be like him.

In the end, the story highlights the loss of innocence. The narrator once saw horse racing as something beautiful, but he now realizes that the racetrack is also a place full of greed and corruption. This experience forces him to see the world differently, and he may never look at horse racing in the same way again.

Thank You!!!