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KatieRass
, March 30, 2012
This Side of Paradise, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, chronicles the upbringing of a young egotist, Amory Blaine. Brought up by a mother with a restless need to travel the world and a constant vie for center of attention, Amory is raised a materialistic, narcissistic, bright young man whose beauty only enhances his vanity. On his quest to find purpose in his life, Amory breezes through without much thought, until his constant failures with women and wealth teach him the difference between personality and personage. The novel explores the themes of parent child relationships, the consequences of materialism, the conflict between good and evil, and the quest for purpose. This book effectively expresses the flaws of society and life’s purpose.
F. Scott Fitzgerald uses various literary techniques to convey his messages in the novel. His allusions to his own life add a personal touch to the narration of events, personifying his own self through the protagonist, Amory. His uses of syntax also add to the development of the story as a whole. Throughout the novel, plot developments are illustrated in the narration so that each scene has little conversation and the story is more focused on Amory’s thoughts and Fitzgerald’s descriptions of the events. More is revealed through the explanation of each conversation than the conversation themselves. Diction also adds to the descriptiveness of the novel. When describing Amory’s first encounter with Burne, Fitzgerald describes “a slim face with gray eyes and a humorous smile” (page 37). Even small things such as the meals for lunch and dinner are described vividly in order to add color and feeling to each sentence in the novel. He describes lunch with Burne and Kerry as “a limpid meal of thin soup and anæmic vegetables” (38), describing Amory’s thoughts of first encounter with them through subtle suggestion. Fitzgerald’s use of poetry throughout the novel also conveys further insight into the mind of Amory Blaine. These poems show the side of Amory not overrun by egotism and conceit. In one poem he states, “Two years of years- there was an idle day/Of ours, when happy endings didn’t bore/Our unfermented souls; I could adore” (124), showing Amory’s loneliness after losing Isabelle and his emotions when not clouded by a need to act superior. These techniques also factor into the themes that Fitzgerald conveys through his protagonist and his quest for meaning.
Fitzgerald uses his characters to effectively portray his themes of parent child relationships, the cost of materialism, the quest for meaning in life, and the conflict between good and evil. Through Amory’s mother, Beatrice, the author shows the influence parents have over their children and the consequences that come from abusing this power. The very first line of the novel is, “Amory Blaine inherited from his mother every trait, except the stray inexpressible few, that made him worth while” (5). Fitzgerald chooses to open his novel in this way not only to draw readers in, but to make a statement about the relationship between a mother and son. He further conveys his message when further describing Beatrice. He tells the reader, “All in all Beatrice O’Hara absorbed the sort of education that will be quite impossible ever again… a culture rich in all arts and traditions, barren of all ideas, in the last of those days when the great gardener clipped the inferior roses to produce one perfect bud” (6). Just as Beatrice was brought up to believe in the superiority of “one perfect bud” (6), so too was Amory inclined to think that preeminence was the only way to survive. This relationship with his mother created a need for Amory to fill the voids of his life with materialistic things. Materialism causes him to conduct his quest for meaning and love in vain as he can only fill the voids in his life with sex, alcohol, and money.
Women are described purely by their looks, such as when Amory meets Jill, describing her as a “gaudy, vermillion-lipped blonde” (101). He also begins his relationship with Isabelle fully aware that she “has developed a past” (55). This materialistic nature creates the primary struggle for Amory as he continues his quest for purpose. His vanity creates a barrier that prevents him from discovering the reason for his feelings of unfulfillment. His mentor and father figure, Monsignor Darcy describes this conflict as personality versus personage. He tells Amory, “’Personality is a physical matter almost entirely; it lowers the people it acts on… But while a personality is active, it overrides ‘the next thing.’ Now a personage, on the other hand, gathers. He is never thought of apart from what he’s done” (96). Darcy tries to explain to Amory that the secret to fulfillment is not popularity or wealth, but to simply “do the next thing” (96).
Amory is constantly conflicted when determining the proper action in a situation. His desire for popularity and power cause him to consistently choose the id over the superego. This is seen through his relationship with women and the people he tries to emulate. The most important character in influencing Amory’s evil actions is his friend Dick Humbird. Humbird is seen as popular and powerful while in Princeton, but is killed in a drunk driving accident in which he “wouldn’t give up the wheel” (80). This character symbolizes how evil tempts those who are willing to lose their souls in order to gain wealth, status, and power. Evil is also seen through Amory’s encounters with women as wealth and status are seen as the only way to win a woman over. This is seen in his very first relationship with Myra St. Claire. With their first kiss, “sudden revulsion seized Amory, disgust, loathing for the whole incident” (15). His relationships being unemotional, Amory sees the evil of his actions, but because of his egotistic nature, the only way for his conscience to convey this evil is through confrontations with the devil. Amory considers this conflict at the end of the novel, asking himself, “Are you corrupt?” (240) and “What would bet the test of corruption?” (240). He answers that “[he’s] not sure about good and evil at all anymore” (240). From his upbringing and his time spent at Princeton, Amory can no longer distinguish good and evil because society itself has blurred the lines beyond recognition. Amory then comes to the realization that, “Youth is like having a big plate of candy. Sentimentalists think they want to be in the pure, simple state they were in before they ate the candy. They don’t. They just want the fun of eating it all over again… I don’t want to repeat my innocence. I want the pleasure of losing it again” (240). This recognition gives Amory the answer to the quest for purpose he set out for from the beginning of the novel. It was never about where he would end up, but the journey he would take to get there.
Fitzgerald effectively parallels the world of Amory Blaine to the society of his time, demonstrating the recklessness of society and its degradation. Through the use of characters such as Dick Humbird and Amory’s girlfriends, he conveys the flaws of society and its blurring of the lines between good and evil. This novel leaves the reader introspective on today’s society and their own moral struggles.
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