The three quotations that best show that the townspeople shall continue with their old lives after George leaves are :
- "Beyond the last house on Trunion Pike in Winesburg, there is a great stretch of open fields."
- “On the station platform, everyone shook the young man’s hand. More than a dozen people waited about. Then they talked of their own affairs.”
- “In two words she voiced what everyone felt. ‘Good luck,’ she said sharply and then turning went on her way.”
<u>Explanation:</u>
The short story, Departure, by Sherwood Anderson, tries to depict the life and habits of people from small towns. It tells about changes, even though hoped for and wished for, at times do not happen if there is no action taken by the people.
The story tells about George, who is probably the first person to pursue his dreams and is going to move out of the town to go to the big city.
As he gets ready to leave his town, he encounters and realizes how certain things about the town will always remain the same.
Like the filed that stretches behind the last house, which has to offer the same view throughout any season. This makes the town and its people used to the same kind of nature that is there in the town.
One of his friends, who rushes to wish him good luck does so by saying so and turning back to leave for her usual life. Even though she too had aspirations to grow and succeed in life, she was not able to do it like George and accepted her way of mundane life in the town.
Lastly, people who came to see off George at the station, ultimately tuned to talk about their affairs, suggesting that they have nothing else to share other than their trivial things.
Thus, these quotations show that life in the town shall remain the same.