Splendor In The Grass Analysis

The problems in both the essay “The Crack-Up” by F. Scott Fitzgerald and the movie Splendor in the Grass by Elia Kazan are self-destructive and lead the characters to the point of suicide. Fitzgerald and Deanie Loomis have similar difficulties, in comparison to difficulties in our generation. Fitzgerald writes “Now a man can crack in many ways—can crack in the head—in which case the power of decision is taken from you by others! or in the body, when one can but submit to the white hospital world; or in the nerves.” Meaning that a person can break down physically or mentally. This occurs with Deanie Loomis, she “cracks” in her head and becomes depressed while allowing every decision she makes to be based on Bud. I have had a few friends like Deanie, blinded in their decisions by being controlled by their significant other. Both situations, with Deanie and my old friends, are

In an effort to recover, Fitzgerald isolates himself from people and cuts social connectivity. In the Splendor in the Grass, Deanie is self-destructive over Bud and attempts suicide but fails. She is able to maintain herself by living in a mental institution. She saves herself by keeping her life dependent and giving up on the one person she loves: Bud Stamper. In my generation, there are individuals who go into psychiatric hospitals all the time. Today, for example, there are people who are heavily addicted to drugs and in order to balance themselves, they go through rehabilitation. The rehabilitation isolates those people from the things they “love.” Whether it’s for help or psychological instability, these are problems from people in our