A doctor, a firefighter, a teacher, an astronaut: these are the kind of answers children give when asked the infamous question: What do you want to be when you grow up? As you grow older, this repetitive question becomes annoying because it forces you to confront and decide what exactly you want to do when you have been through adolescence. This conundrum is what plagues two characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams.” In this story, Judy Jones and Dexter Green chase after their own dreams and collide multiple times along the way. Jones wants to continue in her current lifestyle of freedom, power, and fame which seems attainable with her charm; however, Jones’ manipulative tendencies make her unappealing to people after a time.
Clearly,
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Judy Jones was very apt at befriending and romancing people with her charm. When Judy is first introduced at the golf course where Green works as a caddy, the reader can see the apparent charm surrounding Jones as a young girl: “There was a general ungodliness in the way her lips twisted, down at the corners when she smiled, and in the- Heaven help us!- in the almost passionate quality of her eyes. Vitality is born early in such women. It was utterly in evidence now, shining through her thin frame in a sort of glow.” Fitzgerald shows that Judy is going to grow up to be an appealing woman. Later, after Jones has turned from girl to woman and Green from boy to man, the two meet at the golf course again where Jones easily persuades Green to come over for dinner the next day, whisking him away just like she had done with many others: “Her casual whim gave a new direction to his life.” As the two developed a romantic relationship, Fitzgerald reveals more of just how Judy worked her life: “She called everyone darling,” and “ She was entertained only by the gratification of her desires and by the direct exercise of her own charm.” However, even when depicted as a little girl, Judy Jones’ manipulative side is explicitly shown.
As a little girl, she uses her smile to try and get what she desires: “the smile again- blatantly artificial- convincing” and “ he was treated to that absurd smile, that preposterous smile--the memory of which at least a dozen men were to carry into middle age.” As Jones proceeds into adulthood, she perfects her skills, particularly towards men. The night that Jones and Green’s romantic relationship began, Jones said to Green, "I don't know what's the matter with me. Last night I thought I was in love with a man and to-night I think I'm in love with you." Green first sees this as a romantic and beautiful phrase, but then Jones disappears with another man and lies about it to him. Also, in Green’s thoughts of Jones and their romantic engagements, the reader can discover the twisted tactics for capturing men. For example, “ Judy made these forays upon the helpless and defeated without malice, indeed half unconscious that there was anything mischievous in what she did,“ along with “she had beckoned him and yawned at him and beckoned him again.”
In the end, Judy Jones didn’t end up with the lifestyle she always wanted. Perhaps some readers may think she deserves what happens to her. Jones ended up with a man who was a drunk, an abuser, and a cheater, but she continues to forgive him. Judy Jones’ dream, much like the dreams of children, doesn’t actually happen in real life. There
are always the lucky ones whose childhood dreams come true, but that’s rare. As a colleague of Dexter Green said in reference of Jones, “Lots of women fade just like that,” much like the aspirations of young adults.
Life has been tough for the teenagers on the street, they all find out about the struggles of living in these cold hard streets. Barbara Haworth-Attard shows us life on the streets of the four main characters in her book theories of relativity. Living on the streets is tough, and these four kids found out the hard way. Most of them will be stuck on the streets forever such as amber, twitch, and Jenna, but Dylan might be able to make it out
Throughout the history of literature, a great deal of authors has tried to reveal a clear understanding of the American Dream. Whether it is possible to achieve lies all in the character the author portrays. The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye stand as prime examples of this. F. Scott Fitzgerald and J.D. Salinger, the authors of these titles, respectively, fashion flawed characters, Jay Gatsby and Holden Caulfield, with one vital desire: the longing to gain what they can’t have; acceptance and the feeling of belonging. Each retaining characteristics that shows their differences and similarities in opinion of the world around them.
Dreams prove as a powerful, motivating force, propelling an individual forward into real achievements in life. Conversely, dreams can transpire as blatantly artificial. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams” depicts the story of Dexter Green, a young man who dreams of achievements and works hard in a real, non-illusionary world to win them. His work in this plain, unromantic world brings him ever closer to the dream world he so desperately wants, while at the same time the dreams show themselves as decaying or empty. Unfortunately, this does not cure him of dreaming and does not push him to abandon his dreams in favor of a healthier attitude. When Dexter embodies all of his dreams in the beautiful Judy Jones, her fickle attitude and the inevitability of her aging destroys Dexter’s dream world and dries up the source of his achievements. The author, using paradoxes, shows Judy Jones differently through Dexter’s eyes, and reinforces the theme of illusion versus reality.
Fitzgerald likes to write about love, corruption and, fantasy during the Jazz age. Winter Dreams is about a middle-class boy falling in love with a wealthy girl and doing whatever he can to obtain her. Dexter Green chases his dream of wealth and love for one woman only for it to come crashing down. F. Scott Fitzgerald shows the characterization of hope through Dexter’s Green
The short story of “Winter Dreams” was written around the same time that Fitzgerald was developing ideas for a story to turn into a novel. While The Great Gatsby wasn’t published until 1925, “Winter Dreams” débuted in 1922 and the similarities between the novel and short story were done on purpose. “Winter Dreams” became a short draft which Fitzgerald paralleled The Great Gatsby after, but also differentiated the two in specific ways (“Winter Dreams” 217). The main characters are both men, Jay Gatsby and Dexter Green, who desire for the American dream, not necessarily for themselves, but in order to lure back the women they idealize. In The Great Gatsby and “Winter Dreams” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s constant theme is shown through the characters of Jay Gatsby and Dexter Green, both similar in the way they pursue the American dream of wealth and social status in order to try and win back the women they love, but also different in specific ways.
No two people are going to share the exact same goals, and while many people’s dreams run along the same pathways towards security, money, love, and companionship, the route by which to get there and the destination should be left entirely to the dreamer. By creating an institution such as the American Dream, goals become oversimplified. The American dream boils happiness down into two or three facets, which everyone seems to try desperately to conform to, but people cannot be told what to like. As conformists, though, everyone will attempt to seem perfectly happy with a lot they never chose as they live a dream they never wanted. Nothing showcases this more clearly than the rampant unhappiness of the characters in The Great Gatsby. None of the people the world would consider ‘successful’ end the novel happy; instead they are left either emotionally hollow or entirely dead. Their failure at achieving real and true happiness is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s way of criticizing the relentless pursuit of a phony American
In the poem "Minerva Jones" by Edgar Lee Masters, it describes a poetic woman who is from a small village. It highlights that some of the people in that small village made bad remarks about her person that brought her down. In verse number 2 it says,"Hooted at, jeered at by the Yahoos of the street For my heavy body, cock-eye, and rolling walk,". This indicates that her life in a small community was not at all great. This poem consists of other people who have some sort of relationship with Jones. For example, "Butch" Weldy, is the person who captures Jones and brutally hurts her. Another person who has a relationship with Jones is Doctor Meyers. This person is who she seeks after getting brutally attacked. Her life depended on this man's care but in the end, he cannot save her. The things this lets us know about the poet's view on small-town American culture and values is that there are things that are simply overlooked. People don't sit down and think how dangerous a small town can really be.
The American Dream is not something easily achieved, and according to Fitzgerald it is literally unattainable. There is always some obstacle or barrier in the way of success. Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby is not a very satisfied man; he seems to have a sense of ennui when it comes to his marriage and his life. So he lives the life he really wants part time with his mistress, Myrtle Wilson. However, this semi-fulfillment of his dreams is stopped, and what stops it is the fact that Myrtle is married, and her husband, George, has “discovered that Myrtle [has] some sort of life apart from him in another world” (The Great Gatsby 130). Tom is reaching for his own idea of success with Myrtle, but he cannot reach it due to her being married. What keeps one from attaining their dreams is not necessarily something as physical as a marriage; it can be someone’s attitude, like that of Judy Jones in Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams”. The young protagonist in this story, Dexter Green, is in love with the flighty flirt Judy Jones. His dream is to be with her; unfortunately, “She [is] entertained only by the gratification of her own ...
Winter Dreams There are many ways in which “Winter Dreams” is like and unlike a fairytale. “Winter Dreams” had the potential to have a fairy tale ending. Beginning the story, F. Scott Fitzgerald made the story seem predictable. The reader would have predicted a happy ending, like a fairytale. An ending where the ambitious young man gets the beautiful girl of his dreams.
The end result of both these novels shows the tragedy that can occur to everyday people, even if they didn’t do anything wrong. The American Dream made the fantasies of the men of the novels strive to attain it, but in the end the dreams of both the men ultimately destroyed them. Both Fitzgerald and Hansberry wrote these books not only for the intention to merely entertain people, but also to entice the reader into a thought, and question how things happen in the world. Both Realist authors embarked a rapid departure from the Romantic Movement, writing a novel that conveys to the reader what truly happens to people, and try to show the true pragmatism of the real world. Both authors write in tangent about the American dream, and both put forth the question of if it actually exists, and concluding from their very cynical novels, it truly does not.
Edna marries her husband, not out of love, but out of expectation of society and her family’s dislike of him. She is a young woman when they marry; she has never had a great romance. The closest thing to passion she
Lennie dreamed about tending the rabbits on the farm with George, but Lennie doesn’t have a chance to do that anymore. Curly’s wife wanted to be an actress in Hollywood for a show, but she never got the call that she’s in. Crooks never got to be a free slave. But this story at least talked about the characters trying to reach those dreams, which shows they have dignity and pride within themselves. But in reality, dreams are something we stride for, dreams will never be perfectly perfect nor perfectly
As people go throughout their life, they strive to make dreams they believe are unachievable, come true. The iconic American Dream is a symbol of success within the United States that many people aim to secure throughout their lifetime at any cost, even compromising their true identity. In Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin In The Sun, both authors work to display how Jay Gatsby and Walter Younger work towards obtaining their dream, but fall short due to society and timing. By attempting to reinvent themselves through money, gaining power within their personal life, and their image, Jay Gatsby and Walter Younger aim to complete their American Dream to become successful in their lives.
In Daisy Miller, Henry James slowly reveals the nature of Daisy"s character through her interactions with other characters, especially Winterbourne, the main character." The author uses third person narration; however, Winterbourne"s thoughts and point of view dominate." Thus, the audience knows no more about Daisy than Winterbourne." This technique helps maintain the ambiguity of Daisy"s character and draws the audience into the story.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams” is a great story that is written a manner that grabs attention of the reader in a wistful and nostalgic tone. I quick glance at the story sparks interest of a reader to the relevance of the characters and how they are used to successfully bring out theme in the story. This is a story of Dexter who has the drive to achieve his American dream. American dream has been known all over the world as the hope that keeps many people alive and that, American is the best place that has equal opportunities to pursue happiness. In a more attention grabbing approach, the author successfully uses flow of events to introduce Judy whom Dexter found very alluring. Introduction of Judy’s character also affirms the feministic mind of the 1920’s American males, who were dominant in decision and other control (Zhang and Cui).