"Sophistication" takes place in an indeterminate time: "early evening of a day in the late fall." Darkening days and colder weather traditionally symbolize aging and death. As George puts it, "There is a time in the life of every boy when he for the first time takes the backward view of life." In "Sophistication," a young man realizes that life is finite, a point drawn home dramatically by the death of his mother. As GradeSaver notes, in this theme Anderson is not referring just to George, but to the universal experiences of all man. An essay on this topic might compare the realization of mortality in "Sophistication" with that in other classic or contemporary works.
Distressed that his childhood sweetheart -- Helen White, the banker's daughter -- is out with another man, George Willard hides in a doorway waiting for her return. While there, he watches the people of Winesburg go about their business unaware of his presence. By keeping his identity hidden, he mirrors the hidden lives of the people he meets and writes about. An essay on this theme could cover the role of the observer, juxtaposing George's covert activity with today's Facebook- and YouTube-driven content in which little seems hidden from the public at large.
George's attraction to Helen White is put to the test in "Winesburg, Ohio." Finally, in "Sophistication," George and Helen are joined physically and emotionally. The two walk through a deserted fairgrounds at night, finding, notes an essay in "Dictionary of Literary Biography: American Short-Story Writers, 1910-1945," "in a moment of mutual love, understanding, and acceptance, whatever it is that, Anderson says, makes adult human life possible." In a subsequent story from the anthology, "Departure," George relies on this understanding as he embarks on a new life in the big city of Chicago -- ready to make his mark on the world beyond the small town. A paper on this topic might discuss how people carry the values, memories and experiences of their youth into their adult years.
A wider-ranging essay on "Sophistication" could place the story in the context of the rest of "Winesburg, Ohio." Compare the young, naive George of "Hands," the story in which he first appears, with that of the mature writer of "The Awakening," in which the character leaves Winesburg and his youth behind. But Anderson always thought that "Sophistication" stood on its own merits, even publishing the story separately in 1928. An paper on this topic might weigh the impact of "Sophistication" as part of "Winesburg, Ohio" versus its influence as a self-contained concept.