Winter Dreams

F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, “I love her and that’s the beginning and end of everything.” This quote certainly applies to some of his foremost literary publications, including The Great Gatsby and the lesser known Winter Dream. The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, was one of the greatest revealing pieces of its time, as it delves into the human desires and motives. But, in order for Fitzgerald to write The Great Gatsby, he created a ‘rough draft’ with a similar plot and theme, which he named Winter Dream. Both stories take place during an immensely prosperous time in American history: the 1920’s, a period copious with young entrepreneurs in search of completing the ‘American Dream.’ As a result, the vast abundance of time, money, and other

Dexter’s traits highlight key differences between him and his counterpart, this includes transparency, honesty, and willingness. Firstly, he says to Judy that, “I’m probably making more money than any man my age in the Northwest. I know that’s an obnoxious remark, but you advised me to start right.” (Winter Dreams 5) The way in which Dexter brags about his wealth shows that he is forward with interactions with other people. But this quote, as well as proving Dexter’s forthcomingness, emphasizes one of the biggest dissimilarities between the characters: perception by others. Gatsby perception by others as mysterious and little know the true personality he possesses. On the other hand, Dexter portrays an audacious person, as observed by the presumptuous quote. Next, Mr. Mortimer Jones described Dexter as willing, intelligent, quiet, honest, and grateful. (Winter Dreams 1) The description by Mrs. Jones proves to the audience that Dexter is capable of possessing character skills, but of greatest importance, honesty. Concluding, this quality of honesty is principal, as Gatsby had no possession of such nature. Finally, later in the story, Dexter narrates thinking, “When autumn had come and gone again, it occurred to him that he could not have Judy Jones. He had to beat this into his mind but he had convinced

Both Dexter and Gatsby drive their plot by eternally chasing their first love, and then being destroyed by such. In The Great Gatsby, Jay “... knew that when he kissed this girl (Daisy) and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God.” (Great Gatsby 110) In this quote, the reference to ‘the mind of God’ is a metaphor for freedom. Therefore, Gatsby is proclaiming that by kissing Daisy, he was aware that his enrapture of her image would be eternal. Additionally, in Winter Dreams, “As so frequently would be the case in the future, Dexter was unconsciously dictated to by his winter dreams.” (Winter Dreams 2) In the quote, Dexter’s ‘winter dream’ refers to a person’s vice or something that a person chases perpetually; in Dexter’s case, this was Judy. With this in mind, Judy’s control of Dexter perhaps ruined his life. Concluding, Gatsby and Dexter are similar in the way that they were bridled by their first love. Also, the demolition of each of the main characters’ lives occurred as a result of their intense love. “...so he gave that up, and only the dead dream fought on as the afternoon slipped away, trying to touch what was no longer tangible, struggling unhappily, despairingly, toward that lost voice across the room.” (Great Gatsby 134) By the quote, the audience can see how Gatsby losing