Hello and welcome to the Discourse. F. Scott Fitzgerald was an American novelist, short-story writer, essayist, and screenwriter who is known for popularizing the term “Jazz Age” through his novels. He belonged to ‘The Lost Age’ and was a friend of Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein. While the Lost Age represented the people who suffered the psychological, economical, and physical affect of World War 1, the Jazz Age was a period in the 1920s and 1930s in which jazz music and dance styles rapidly gained nationwide popularity in the United States. The Jazz Age generation were those younger Americans who had been adolescents during World War I and were largely untouched by the conflict's psychological and material horrors. Fitzgerald criticized the moral decline of the Jazz Age in his novels and stories. Fitzgerald took birth on 24th September 1986, and he died on December 21, 1940. he belonged to a middle-class family attended Princeton University for his graduation where he fell in love with an upper-class girl named Ginevra King. While the two continued their romance for some years, Ginevra King and her family rejected Fitzgerald’s marriage proposal because of his lower economical status. As a result, he dropped out of college in 1917 and enrolled in the United States Army during World War I with suicidal tendencies. When he was stationed in Alabama, he met another upper-class girl named Zelda Sayre and developed a romantic relationship with her. However, his lower economical status again created hurdles in their relationship. Finally, Zelda challenged him to either gain success as a writer and make a good fortune or forget her. As a response, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote and published his first novel This Side of Paradise in 1920 which became a huge hit. Fitzgerald's newfound fame enabled him to earn much higher rates for his short stories, and his increased financial prospects persuaded his reluctant fiancée Zelda Sayre to marry him.
Just like Ernest Hemingway, Fitzgerald also used to write his stories and novels based on real-life incidences and characters. His first novel This Side of Paradise was also inspired by his own life incidences and situations.
Characters of This Side of Paradise
Amory Blaine is the protagonist of the novel. The character is based on Fitzgerald and his failed relationships. Amory grew up with his mother in an affluent environment and was later sent to a boarding school. He then goes to Princeton for his graduation. As a child, he was kind-hearted and caring but as he grows up, he turns egotistic and selfish. He is handsome and often succeeds in seducing young girls, yet suffers a failure. Rosalind Connage is the sister of Alex Connage, one of the college friends of Amory Blaine at Princeton. The character of Rosalind is loosely based on Zelda Sayre. Beatrice Blaine is a rich alcoholic mother of Amory. Isabelle Borge is a young girl from a rich affluent family whom Amory first met as a boy and fell in love with her. After his prom, Isabelle breaks up with him. The character of Isabelle Borge is based on Ginevra King. Elenor Savage is an eighteen-year-old atheist whom Amory meets in Maryland. Thayer Darcy is a Catholic priest who becomes Amory’s spiritual mentor. He always treats Amory with respect and kindness as if Amory is his son. Kerry Holiday is Amory’s friend at Princeton and Burne Holiday is Kerry’s brother. Kerry teaches his friend not to take life and its problems very seriously. He is also a very confident person, who doesn’t worry about everyday problems. Kerry fights in World War I and dies as all young guys. Burne Holiday is hardworking, clever, and intelligent. He refuses to fight in World War I, thinking that it is stupid, and runs away. Thomas Parke D’Invilliers is another Princeton classmate of Amory who becomes Amory’s close friend and inspires him to write poetry.
Summary of This Side of Paradise
The novel is divided into two parts. The first part of the novel is titled ‘The Romantic Egoist”. The novel begins with Amory’s childhood in the 1900s. He belongs to a rich and highly educated family. His mother Beatrice Blaine is also a highly educated modern woman who pampers him. Beatrice takes Amory to various exotic parts of the world as they travel and learn. However, Beatrice, being an alcoholic, loses control over Amory. As he ages, he becomes unruly and demanding. As he continuously disobeys his mother, she suffers a breakdown and decided to send him to her friend Monsignor Darcy, who runs a Catholic church. Thayer Darcy admires Beatrice and he likes Amory too.
Under the direction of Darcy, Amory matures a little and improves his behavior. However, he is still unable to see his life beyond his privileges. Amory is a handsome teenager who enjoys parties and soon he makes friends with a girl named Myra with whom he enjoys his first kiss. He visits his mother Beatrice, finding that her alcoholism has worsened, causing her mental health to deteriorate. Anyhow, he continues his studies under the direction of Monsignor Darcy and gets admitted to Princeton for higher studies. At Princeton, Amory makes friends with Burne and Kerry Holiday. His other friends include Alex Connage and Thomas Parke D’Invilliers.
During his second year at Princeton University, World War I begins, and Amory’s father dies. He returns to Minneapolis to reunite with Monsignor Darcy during the Christmas break. At Minneapolis, he meets Isabelle Borge, a rich modern girl belonging to an affluent family. He immediately false in love with her and they develop a romantic relationship. After returning to Princeton, he continues to write letters and poems for Isabelle. However, because of the distance, Isabelle becomes disenchanted with him and she breaks up with him after his prom on Long Island. Amory gets emotionally disturbed and depressed due to this separation. As a result, he decides to join the United States Army after his graduation and hopes to take part in World War I and die as a brave soldier in the battleground. Some months later, Amory is drafted to fight in the war. He is shipped overseas to serve in the trenches of the Western front. While at the war front, he learns that his mother has died and most of his family’s fortunes have drowned because of some bad investments. Suddenly he realizes that now he is a poor person. Kerry Holiday also joins the army and dies while fighting as a great soldier. Burne, now his best friend, refuses out of principle to fight, and dodges his draft, disappearing without any hint as to his destination. The first part of the novel ends here.
The title of the Second Part is “The Education of a Personage.” He starts working for an advertising agency and settles in New York City. One day, Amory meets Rosalind Connage, sister of Alex Connage, and falls in love with her. Rosalind is a cruel narcissistic flapper who enjoys a rich lifestyle. She aims to marry a rich suitor who could afford all her needs. However, Amory doesn’t have any money left with him as he already lost his family's fortunes. Despite that, Alex and Rosalind’s parents agree to match Amory with Rosalind. Yet, Rosalind is not interested in Amory as she focuses her attention on Dawson Ryder, a rich suitor. At a party, Amory asks Rosalind to feign love for him; she agrees to please him, but soon leaves him. Amory realizes that love cannot grow out of coercion or unreciprocated desire. He grows depressed and begins to dull his woes with alcohol. His friends and superiors become concerned that he is unable to remain sober, and Amory considers killing himself. They inform Thayer Darcy about Amory.
Amory receives a letter from Monsignor Darcy and it helps him alleviate his mood. He goes to Maryland to meet Thayer Darcy and this time, he meets a bubbly atheist girl Elenor Savage. Elenor rebels and disregards the religious conformities and the gender limitations of her society. Elenor and Amory get close and engage in sexual escapades. They often discuss their love life and seasons. One day, when Amory tells Elenor that he must return to New York to take care of his job, she starts a debate about her atheistic belief and God. To prove her point, she attempts suicide to establish that there is no deity. Amory realizes that he does not love her and their relationship is grounded in lust. He comes back to New York City. Amory’s memory of Rosalind begins to wane. One day, he sees a newspaper column announcing Rosalind’s engagement to Dawson Ryder. Amory agonizes endlessly at the seeming unfairness of life. However, this time, instead of falling into despair, he recognizes his own insignificance and contingency in the universe’s scheme. He newly understands the virtues of compassion and respect, which forge connections between seemingly incompatible people and dreams. He decides to visit his alma mater Princeton and takes a ride offered by a wealthy man whose chauffeur doesn’t like Amory. During the conversation with that wealthy man, Amory suggests that he favors socialism, however, he is not sure yet. In the end, he says "I know myself . . . but that is all."
In the end, Amory has undergone a complete transformation of self. Now, acutely aware of the universality of human suffering, he muses that the only thing he can possibly “know” is himself. In a way, Fitzgerald criticized the Jazz Age through this novel and suggested that ultimately, just like Amory, the young Americans, wasting their time, energy and money will have to learn better things.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!
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