What do people think of when asked about Dartmouth college? There is most likely a long pause, as a plethora of ideas and thoughts spiral into their heads. Some people might say something about the academic rigor, or perhaps recall one of the many times the Big Green won the Ivy League Championship. However, there is one aspect of Dartmouth that no man–or woman for that matter– can leave out, the superior fraternity life. Brotherhood, life long friendships, and life after college are just a few benefits that are displayed in the book, The Plastic Age (1924), by Percy Marks. Marks’s light fictionalization of Dartmouth during the early twentieth century shows that, unfortunately, you cannot have the good, without the living hell. By this, I mean …show more content…
We see this side of Hugh when he is trying to convince his neighbor Morse, who is feeling homesick, to stay at school. Hugh calms Morse down and eventually is able to help him realize, at least for the moment, that going back home would disappoint his family. After this long debacle, Morse says to Hugh, “You’re a good egg yourself. You’ve saved my life”(48). Although this is a bit of an exaggeration, this quote reinforces that Hugh is good at heart, and is the kind of man who who be accepting into any top fraternity, and especially into any Dartmouth College fraternity. The Plastic Age shows that fraternities attract people not only of great social power, but of great character. They help shape these men into the future of the working world– a band of brothers who help each other climb the hierarchy of the economic and political world. The frats seem to give students a head start in life, especially the prestige of Dartmouth fraternities. So, why would fraternity brothers humiliate innocent, and normal students, even after they have proven themselves worthy during the first year? It may either be because the brothers want the new members to be loyal, and appreciative of the opportunity given to them. Although one would have to believe that these pledges have already shown them these qualities throughout the recruitment