F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Lost Hope of Babylon Revisited
F. Scott Fitzgerald is known as the spokesman of the "Lost Generation" of Americans in the 1920s. The phrase, "Lost Generation," was coined by Gertrude Stein "to describe the young men who had served in World War I and were forced to grow up to find all Gods dead, all wars fought, all faiths in man shaken" (Charters 489). Fitzgerald exemplified the generation that Stein defined. His family, with help from an aunt, put him through preparatory school and then through Princeton University (Charters 489). Fitzgerald’s family hoped that he would stop "wasting his time scribbling" and would be serious about his studies (Charters 489). However, he left college before graduating and accepted a commission as a second lieutenant in the Regular Army during World War I (Charters 489). During his military service, he spent most of his time writing his first novel, This Side of Paradise (Charters 489). The peak of Fitzgerald’s fame as a writer came with the publication of The Great Gatsby, in 1925 (Charters 489). Fitzgerald, writing in the third person, reflected back fondly on the Jazz Age because "it bore him up, flattered him, and gave him more money than he had dreamed of, simply for telling people that he felt as they did, that something had to be done with all the nervous energy stored up and unexpended in the War" (Charters 489).
In the years of the 1930s and the Great Depression, Fitzgerald saw his own physical and emotional world collapse with the decline of his literary reputation and the failure of his marriage. Fitzgerald’s last years as a writer "were truly lost . . . writing Hollywood screenplays and struggling to finish his novel The Last Tycoon" (Charters 489). Fitzgerald wrote approximately 160 stories during his career (Charters 489). "Babylon Revisited," written in 1931, is one of his later works. It is considered "more complicated emotionally" than his earlier works because he shows "less regret for the past and more dignity in the face of real sorrow" (Charters 489).
"Babylon Revisited" focuses on Charlie Wales, a man who returns to Paris to retrieve his daughter and begin his life anew as a family with her. The title is appropriate because Charlie returns to Paris where, before the Depression hit, he and his wife lived a life of endless partying and spending of money, where everything had a price that he could afford to pay.
However, the advancements that he listed as enriching the human experience are merely a product of progression, which can occur in any economic system, not just capitalism. Goldberg then went on to discuss capitalism’s creation of “intangible capital” and the value it brings (Goldberg, 12). However, the capitalist elite control the means of distributing this “intangible capital”, and often access to “natural capital” as well. The inequity of this system is what results in the powerlessness of those in poverty, who find themselves unable to challenge those in power. Marx perhaps best envisioned this in his concept of a class struggle between the proletariat (working class) and bourgeoisie (owners of the means of production), and proposed socialism as an alternative economic
In Marx’s opinion, the cause of poverty has always been due to the struggle between social classes, with one class keeping its power by suppressing the other classes. He claims the opposing forces of the Industrial Age are the bourgeois and the proletarians. Marx describes the bourgeois as a middle class drunk on power. The bourgeois are the controllers of industrialization, the owners of the factories that abuse their workers and strip all human dignity away from them for pennies. Industry, Marx says, has made the proletariat working class only a tool for increasing the wealth of the bourgeoisie. Because the aim of the bourgeoisie is to increase their trade and wealth, it is necessary to exploit the worker to maximize profit. This, according to Marx, is why the labor of the proletariat continued to steadily increase while the wages of the proletariat continued to steadily decrease.
In life, one must realize that it is impossible to be perfect and so there are always going to be things that one will regret. Modernist author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, in his short story, "Babylon Revisited", tells the story of a man who has made many mistakes in his life and is living with these regrets and trying desperately to bring his life back together. In the story, Fitzgerald draws heavily upon the current events of the world he is living in and uses the present to depict the past.
The Communist Manifesto was published in 1848, a period of political turmoil in Europe. Its meaning in today’s capitalistic world is a very controversial issue. Some people, such as the American government, consider socialism taboo and thus disregard the manifesto. They believe that capitalism, and the world itself, has changed greatly from the one Marx was describing in the Manifesto and, therefore, that Marx’s ideas cannot be used to comprehend today’s economy. Others find that the Manifesto highlights issues that are still problematic today. Marx’s predicative notions in the Communist Manifesto are the key to understanding modern day capitalism.
The first main controversy of the Harry Potter series is the argument that Rowling’s stories promote paganism, which is against Christian beliefs. The Bible specifically states in Leviticus 20:26, “You shall not practice augury or witchcraft” (“Reading Matters”). Furthermore, the Bible supports the resentment towards paganism in Deuteronomy 18:10-12, stating that those found practicing witchcraft, casting spells, or contacting spirits are a disgrace to the Lord and will be driven out (qtd. in Mahoney). In Rowling’s book, witchcraft is an alluring practice. For instance, Hogwarts is described as a magical place one might wish to visit if the school existed. Consequently, many parents fear children who read these books will become intrigued by wizardry and attempt to learn these practices (Wilder Gish). Even J. K. Rowling has admitted that some readers are so convinced by the books that they believe the wizard world is real. These readers have sent...
In his Manifesto of the Communist Party Karl Marx created a radical theory revolving not around the man made institution of government itself, but around the ever present guiding vice of man that is materialism and the economic classes that stemmed from it. By unfolding the relat...
Babylon Revisited is made up of different characters with different ideologies in life. The Protagonist, Charlie is a reformed alcoholic who had come back to take his daughter. Marion is Charlie's sister- in - law who dislikes him because she thinks he caused her sister's death. I think Marion is emotionally disturbed. She overacts to things that happen in everyday life. Lincoln is Marion's husband .He tries to keep things as even as possible for Marion. Loraine and Duncan are ghosts from Charlie's past and they came to haunt him at the end of the story.
Communism, socialism, and capitalism are the three basic forms of economical systems, each evident in the world. Although Karl Marx is portrayed as the father of communism, Marx is able to provide a substantial amount of information about the capitalistic world. In his work, “Capital (1867)”, Marx discusses the nature of commodities, wages, and the relationship between a worker and the capitalist economic system. As a result, Marx portrays workers as human beings who have been exploited in order to maximize production and profit in a capitalistic society. Although Karl Marx wrote “Capital (1867)” over a century ago, Marx’s arguments concerning the various uses of human labor, commodities, and values, have remained relevant in the United States
“The great Gatsby” is an inspiring novel written by the famous American author Scott Fitzgerald. The novel was published in 1925. It is regarded as Scott’s supreme achievement and also as a masterwork in American literature, and it’s entirely justified.
Karl Marx’s critique of political economy provides a scientific understanding of the history of capitalism. Through Marx’s critique, the history of society is revealed. Capitalism is not just an economic system in Marx’s analysis. It’s a “specific social form of labor” that is strongly related to society. Marx’s critique of capitalism provides us a deep understanding of the system to predict its pattern and protect ourselves from its negative sides.
Karl Marx had very strong viewpoints in regards to capitalism, making him a great candidate for this assignment. People constantly debate over whether his ideologies held any grain of truth to them. I believe that although not everything Marx predicted in his writings has come true (yet), he was definitely right on about a lot of issues. As a matter of fact, his teachings can definitely be applied to today’s society. This paper will give a summary of Marx’s political philosophy. It will also discuss a contemporary issue: the current economic crisis— and how Marx believed racism played a crucial a role in it. Finally, through the lens he has developed, I will explain how Marx would analyze this issue and how one can argue that it spurred the current movement known as Occupy Wall Street.
The capitalist is motivated by being rewarded wealth. Capital can only multiply by giving itself in return of labor power. This exchange is based on specified percentages. For example, after a long 12 hours of weaving the worker is only compensated two shillings. They attain residual wealth by taking advantage of workers. These workers are being compensated less than the value of their work. The workers endure great deals of exploitation. Workers put their labor power into effect to acquire means of survival which makes existence possible. The amount of commodities is based on the cost of life and the workers’ work ethic. Marx foreseen that class conflict between the bourgeoisie and proletariat would result in the collapsing of capitalism. The motivations of the capitalist and the workers create conflict because the capitalist attempt to uphold capitalism by advocating their principles, beliefs, and fabricated perceptions that prevent proletariats from rebelling. Once the two classes conflict with one another the cla...
When planning a new project, how the project will be managed is one of the most important factors. The importance of a managers will determine the success of the project. The success of the project will be determined by how well it is managed. Project management is referred to as the discipline that entails the processes of carefully planning, organizing, controlling, and motivating the organization resources so as to foster and facilitate the achievement of specific established and desired goals and meet the specific criteria of success required in the organization (Larson, 2014). Over the course of this paper I will be discussing and analyzing the importance of project management.
Karl Marx was a philosopher, a sociologist, economist, and a journalist. His work in economics laid a foundation for the modern understanding of distribution of labor, and its relation to wealth generation. His theories about the society, economic structure and politics, which is known as Marxism led to him developing social classes. He later on showed how social classes were determined by an individual’s position in relation to the production process, and how they determine his or her political views. According to Karl Marx, capitalism was a result of the industrial revolution. Capitalism is a system that has been founded on the production of commodities for the purpose of sale. Marx defined the
In the novel A Passage to India, written by Forster, he is bias towards the women in the novel. The society when Forster wrote the novel in the 1920’s had different views on women than it has today a...