"Brothers" by Sherwood Anderson, sets the tone with a somber narrative about an old man in the countryside who believes he has connections to a murderer in the city. The man, seen as somewhat delusional by the locals, is preoccupied with kinship and relationships, intertwining his narrative with that of a troubled factory foreman who commits a shocking act of violence. The juxtaposition of the old man's yearning for connection and the stark reality of the murder highlights themes of loneliness, identity, and the complexity of human relationships, forming a poignant introduction to the collection's exploration of life in America during this transformative period. (This is an automatically generated summary.)