ipl-logo

How Did Bernice Bobs Her Hair Affect The Great Gatsby

2139 Words9 Pages

Oliver Engelke Mrs Jones AP Literature 04-30-2024. The Life, Love, and Societal Commentary of F. Scott Fitzgerald and His Works F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the most influential authors of the 20th century with his work in the Jazz Age. His life had many personal setbacks and emotional tragedies that influenced his work. He used his time in war and marriage with Zelda Fitzgerald to inspire the themes of his novels. Taking morals from his life and connecting with the greater world around him made his work timeless. The Great Gatsby, “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”, and The Beautiful and The Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald mirror his own life, relationships, and the societal disparity around him and the depressing reality of the propagated American Dream. …show more content…

Fitzgerald had written that she shouldn’t amuse the people around her but instead shock them by being herself and not following the standards society had laid out. The character, Bernice, showed his criticisms of the way his sister had wanted to change society's standards. “At eighteen our convictions are hills from which we look; at forty-five they are caves in which we hide” (“Bernice Bobs Her Hair” 588). Bernice’s revelation of the standards she was forced into at a young age affects the rest of her life, like Fitzgerald’s sister choosing to just be herself and being happy with it. “I shall go on shining as a brilliantly meaningless figure in a meaningless world”(The Beautiful and The Damned 274). Fitzgerald supported his sister thoroughly through her major life changes, even when he was far away in Europe. His sister later recounted how the letters had gotten her through a period of her life when she had low self-esteem and issues fitting in. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s work “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” mirrors the letters Fitzgerald wrote to his sister to not give into societal pressure and be herself. The Beautiful and The Damned commentates on F. …show more content…

Fitzgerald and Zelda, despite being extremely unhappy and depressed with each other, still stayed together. In his death bed, Fitzgerald echoed the line by wishing he had only kissed Zelda and never married her. Fitzgerald felt he had ruined her as a person and in turn had ruined himself, like Anthony had done to Dot. Anthony and Dot’s relationship mirrored Fitzgerald and Zelda’s, with their indulgence and self destruction destroying their relationship and their lives. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life was full of prosperity and hardship, and he was one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. He explored themes of love, loss, and class disparity in his works. Many elements of his life influenced his work. He was groomed into war and wrote about the horrors and false ideals society had given him. He was married in a loveless relationship and dealt with his wife’s mental problems. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s works The Beautiful and The Damned, “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”, and The Great Gatsby reflect his relationships, life, and the disparity of the American Dream. Overall, Fitzgerald’s works significantly

Show More
Related
1861 Words | 8 Pages

Bernice’s dull life and outlook on it is changed when Marjorie informs her, “‘What a blow it must be when a man with imagination marries the beautiful bundle clothes that he 's been building ideals round, and finds that she 's just a weak, whining, cowardly mass of affectations!’” (Fitzgerald, “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” 5). Marjorie wants Bernice to become an interesting person who does not live for the chance to please a man. When Bernice asks her cousin, “‘Don 't I dance all right?’ Marjorie responds, ‘No you don 't-- you lean on a man; yes you do-- ever so slightly” (Fitzgerald, “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” 6).

Read More
1324 Words | 6 Pages

The Impact of F. Scott Fitzgerald on American Culture “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” This line, embedded by F. Scott Fitzgerald as the last line of the novel The Great Gatsby, concludes the novel and re-establish the theme of the tragedy. As an American novelist and short-story writer of the Roaring Twenties, Fitzgerald was both a chronicler and a critic of the time period. Fitzgerald’s works portray the realistic life and culture during the 1920s makes him remembered as, also on his epithet, “the spokesman of the Jazz Age.” Being one of the most pre-eminent American writers in the history, F. Scott Fitzgerald, without a doubt, has significant impact on American culture.

Read More
656 Words | 3 Pages

Fitzgerald, likewise, had problems with distinguishing between the two, leading him to falsely equate wealth to love in both his affair with Ginevra King and his marriage to Zelda Fitzgerald. Before Zelda and F. Scott were married, Zelda broke off the engagement due to Fitzgerald’s financial instability. Fitzgerald successfully won her back with the success of his first novel, This Side Of Paradise (Banach). In doing so, Fitzgerald shows that he, too, is wealth-obsessed, as he associates his wife’s love and his eternal happiness with his financial success.

Read More
761 Words | 4 Pages

F. Scott Fitzgerald, the icon of beautiful lyricism, uses many intriguing patterns within his novel, The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald, in his writing of the 1920s, introduces the reader to the world after the Great War; a world of overindulged wealth, unrealistic dreams, and undeniable poverty. Where there is wealth it is not used in an honorable way; where dreams may form, they are impossible to accomplish due to their exorbitant standards; and where dust accumulates, there poverty gathers as well. Throughout his novel, Fitzgerald uses the pattern of dust and ashes to display his essential themes of immorality, poverty, and death.

Read More
568 Words | 3 Pages

The Three Methods Of Imperialism The three different methods of imperialism are the Big Stick Policy, Dollar Diplomacy, and Missionary Diplomacy. I will be explaining the differences of these three methods and decide witch one I think is best. First I will explain the Big Stick Policy.

Read More
837 Words | 4 Pages

The Foibles of Bernice and Her Desolate Generation From a dull bromide to a free-spirited flapper, Bernice undergoes several character changes throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Bernice Bobs Her Hair.” In the perspective of the Lost Generation, Fitzgerald depicts this forlorn, oblivious girl who seeks validation and social acceptance via feeble and repetitive tactics. Weary of incompetence, she appeals to her cousin Marjorie, a veritable expert in the business of conformity, for advice on public image. Several key devices used to express Bernice’s character development, from dramatic irony to figurative language to hyperbole, show that humans who define themselves on the basis of societal paradigms are susceptive to arbitrary and often shallow

Read More
756 Words | 4 Pages

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald addresses the themes of following dreams and human nature through the narrative of Jay Gatsby, a wealthy and enigmatic man who organizes expensive parties to win back his lost love, Daisy Buchanan. Fitzgerald explores the theme of chasing unrealized aspirations throughout the novel, the darker sides of human nature that can cause people to act in harmful ways. He also offers commentary on the American society and humanity by using symbolism and characterization to construct his argument. Fitzgerald illustrates the perils of obsession and the weaknesses in American culture and human nature by employing symbolism and characterization to show Gatsby's pursuit of irrational dreams. One of the most significant

Read More
601 Words | 3 Pages

The worst tornado in U.S. history occurred on March 18, 1925. Tri-State Tornado of 1925 killed 695 people, injured approximately 2,027 people, and caused $16.5 million ($1.4 billion adjusted for 2011) in property damage (Tri-State Tornado Facts and Information, 2015). The tornado traveled 235 miles through Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois and had an average width of 3500 feet. At times the tornado was reached a width of over one mile.

Read More
604 Words | 3 Pages

All together F. Scott Fitzgerald creates one of the most influential pieces of American literature ever which is defined by its ability to survive the test of time and remain relevant in today’s culture and society. He skillfully crafted this layered story with the ingenuous use of colors to give the story a sort of surreal feeling as it draws readers and critics alike to its engaging plot and characters.

Read More
176 Words | 1 Pages

Wallowing in his despair, Gatsby laments at how the consequences of his broken dream-his obsession and fantasy of Daisy-has essentially drained the life out of his world. Fitzgerald’s use of diction and characterization help to illustrate the full devastation of Gatsby’s loss. By describing Gatsby’s hopelessness and his eventual death, Fitzgerald argues that the fundamental nature of dreams, or rather, the object of a dream, can be corruptible, demonizing, and futile. Fitzgerald starts his biography of Gatsby with the assertion that Gatsby’s romantic and joyful sentiments have been perverted by his heart-breaking rejection. By describing Gatsby’s newfound apathy, melancholy, and pessimism, Fitzgerald portrays the fragile corruptibility, and

Read More
1095 Words | 5 Pages

Fitzgerald’s short stories and novels are known for the 1920’s time frame and his romantic imagination. Daisy Buchanan, whose life is being told by Nick Carraway in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, is a woman who is more worried about where she stands in social class than focusing on what truly makes

Read More
669 Words | 3 Pages

Dylan McLoughlin American Literature Mrs. Saari 5 April 2024 The desire for social and financial stability fuels the aspiration to achieve the American Dream, as seen in The Great Gatsby through Gatsby's ambitious personality and need for success. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald describes Gatsby's life to convey the message that the past cannot be repeated, and one must move forward in life. Fitzgerald utilizes the theme of the struggle to achieve the American Dream to convey how hardships, persistence, and tenacity result in one's ability to succeed in life. Hardships are prevalent throughout The Great Gatsby, establishing it as the main theme of the story.

Read More
2162 Words | 9 Pages

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald is the author of the twentieth century American classic, The Great Gatsby. It is a story of the American dream, settled down in the 1920’s, with issues of the time period being, prohibition, women, class structure, crime, and many more, The Great Gatsby has a taste of each. Fitzgerald incorporated subjects of his time and his very own experiences into the story to portray an era of social and moral values. The 1920’s were a time of breaking morals Class structure and wealth were among the highest pleasures achievable. The 20’s were an era of Jazz; with extravagant music playing throughout all hours of the night.

Read More
736 Words | 3 Pages

“Bernice Bobs Her Hair” is a coming of age satirical story, in which social standing is the paramount of society. The author F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts a bold image of the central themes in American youth: competition, jealousy and betrayal, and does so by narrating this story with dry humor, conspicuous irony and extravagant hyperbole. Fitzgerald’s serious tone throughout the story increases the comicality for us. He describes his characters with very admirable traits, and then exploits them in their dialogues with each other; his emotionless tone brings out their individual personalities. One example of his deadpanning can be found when he describes G. Reece Stoddard, “over whose bureau hangs a Harvard law diploma”.

Read More
853 Words | 4 Pages

Jay Gatsby, the title character of the novel “The Great Gatsby” is a man that can not seem to live without the love of his life. Trying to win Daisy over consumes Gatsby’s life as he tries to become the person he thinks she would approve of. What most readers do not realize is that Jay Gatsby’s character mirrors many personality traits and concerns that the author of novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald, had. In fact, Gatsby and Fitzgerald are similar in that they both had a girl they wanted to win over, took a strong stance on alcohol, and ironically both had similar funerals, also, both people also symbolize the American dream.

Read More

More about How Did Bernice Bobs Her Hair Affect The Great Gatsby

Open Document