F. Scott Fitzgerald. A man to revolutionize the way we look at modernism and the dream all americans have. The short story “Winter Dreams” by Fitzgerald is about a young man by the name of Dexter that falls in love with a young rich women by the name of judy. Judy is made of old money whereas Dexter has always worked to make the money he has to be in the same “social class” as Judy. Although Dexter has the money to hang out with those people he is still left out in most parts of the story. Judy cheats on Dexter multiple times yet he still stays with her because he wants to stay a part of the social class that she is in. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses his character Dexter in the short story “Winter Dreams” in many ways to portray his idea of the american …show more content…
Fitzgerald represents this dream with the character dexter in many ways. The first and most significant reason in my opinion is that Dexter is trying to stay with Judy through everything she has done because he is in love with her. Dexter has determination to be with this girl and he will do whatever it takes to end up with the woman of his dreams: Judy. In the short story Judy wants an open relationship with Dexter and Dexter agrees to it because he would rather have a little bit of her love than none of her love. Even though he has some of her love he still wants all of the love she has to give. That is what everyone wants from a partner; They want a partner who is committed to them and no one …show more content…
He was a hard worker, he did somewhat get the girl, he did make the money, and he did get the amenities with it. Dexter in my eyes is the person to be rather than one of the other people in the story who don’t have to work to get where they are. It is a good thing to have dedication and work hard for what you want rather than having it handed to you. Hard work has always helped build character and can create a good person. Not having to work for what you want can produce good people to but in that case they don’t really know the hardship of everyday life so they can’t spot it as easy as someone that has lived it. The girl in the story is a perfect example of this because she is very selfish in Dexter’s loving her. She doesn’t see how much he really does love her and she really doesn’t care so she just stays with him while getting with other people at the same time. She isn’t able to see that he is working for her because he loves her and wants to be with her although in the end it doesn’t work out that
In ‘Winter Dreams’, the ending is unexpected. Throughout the story, we are under the impression that this is the story of Dexter Green's love for Judy Jones. But at the end of the story, once Dexter finds out that Judy has lost her charms and settled into a bad marriage, we begin to wonder if this story is about something else entirely. Dexter does not weep for Judy. He weeps for himself, for the young man he once was and for the illusions he once held.
“She reveals something of her character and the power she will have over Dexter when she shows her smile” (Lahood, “Judy”). Judy was manipulating not only Dexter to convince him that she cared, but every new male that had come to town. “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” (Fitzgerald). Dexter fell in love with Jud the second he saw her on the golf course when they were children; ever since that moment Dexter has wanted to be the man she would marry.
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.
Scott Fitzgerald chose to maintain a lifestyle that he could not sustain and constantly put him in debt. Instead of finding true love through richer or poorer, he chose to love a woman who only married him because his first novel was successful. Fitzgerald died at 44 years old and alone. Jay Gatsby as died young and alone while still loving a woman who didn’t love him. Dexter Green was the only smart one out of the 3 men who gave up loving the woman of his dreams. After joining the military, he came back to see Judy’s beauty faded, and she was married to a man with money. Dexter cried when he finally understood that he had to also cast aside "the country of illusion, of youth, of the richness of life" (Fitzgerald, 1922) that used to inspire him so
The short story “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.
...e “friends” didn’t even care enough to come back to his funeral. Fitzgerald was a part of the rich. He had a good quantity of money, drank a lot, partied typically, and had affairs. His American Dream associated with the category that he was a part of, similar to Jefferson also King. All of their dreams go with the part of being the society they belonged to. Fitzgerald needed change just like the others too, however he needed to alter who he was. Jefferson and King needed to change different people’s perspective of them.
The American Dream: the traditional social ideals of the US, such as equality, democracy, and material prosperity. Dexter represents this very well in the story Winter Dreams because it shows how he starts from the bottom and eventually works his way to the top. This is kind of an inspiring story because it starts off by having him be the best and most successful golf caddy that this golf course has ever had. All of the people that had him as a caddy were against him going other places and doing something with his life. Dexter made his own decisions and went where he wanted to go and he wanted more out of his like than being a golf caddy his whole life. In the text Winter Dreams written by Scott Fitzgerald Dexter is a worthy tribute to the American Dream he showed us that you can start from the bottom and have a very successful career ahead of you, Dexter showed us that if you work hard enough you can end up at the top, but you have to be willing to do the work, and everyone has an equal opportunity to be successful it is just the people who are willing to make sacrifices and want to be successful in life.
...t exist. He portrays this idea in "Crazy Sunday" by showing his readers the American Dream (Miles and Stella) and then the destruction of the dream (Miles' death) and then finally the realization of the fact that there is no dream (Joel). He uses fantasy in his characters to hide the overall reality of the situation that they are in. This relates to his life because he wanted to escape the utter reality that he had no money and his life was a mess, so he wrote about it. This does not mean that Fitzgerald was a failure. He is a great writer because he wants to help people understand that the American Dream is only a dream and that it is more of a nightmare than a dream because in his stories none of his main characters achieve the dream. Finally, it is safe to say that Fitzgerald, throughout all of his writing believed that the American Dream was only a myth.
A dream is a deep ambition and desire for something; everybody tries to reach their dreams no matter how far away they may seem. The characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s stories strive for nothing less than “The Great American Dream”. This is the need to be the best of the best, top of the social ladder, and to be happier and more successful than anyone has been before. Fitzgerald writes about this American Dream that every character has but can never achieve; the dream is kept unattainable due to obstacles, the disadvantages of being low on the social ladder, and also the restrictions of having a high social status.
Dexter and Judy could have had a fairytale ending, but in the end both of their lives were lonely and depressing. Judy wanted Dexter, but not to fall in love with her. She wanted him because she knew she could have him and wanted to prove to herself that her beauty could get a man to do anything. She convinced a man to break off an engagement with a girl he could have been happy with. She didn’t even stick around Dexter long enough for him to even propose.
Another form of symbolism in the story would be at the conclusion when the description of the Jones’ house is given “The gates were closed, the sun was gone down, and there was no beauty but the gray beauty of steel that withstands all time” (Fitzgerald 675). The dullness and dark manor in which Dexter describes the home, which was once so bright and vibrant to now be in, symbolizes the state of Judy Jones. The quote symbolizes Dexter Greens realization that his view on Judy Jones is merely an illusion. From the quote, I believe that Dexter is now older and has lived his ideal American Dream as well as strived for the love of Judy Jones. His description of the home ties in with Judy Jones’ present day appearance. The description of the home also makes him realize that what he thought of her to have been for all of those years was not the right conception. In the end Judy Jones faded beauty is the end of Dexter Green’s illusion. “Fitzgerald crafted the story so we perceive Judy’s beauty and Dexter’s dreams vanishing at the same time because both are an illusory” (Randell 126). Along with the vanishing of Judy’s beauty it seems as if Dexter’s desire for attaining wealth and high social status fades away as well. I believe that Fitzgerald’s intentions, as Randell quoted, was to use
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.
Dexter had to keep himself from forgetting he cannot have Judy Jones. In the end of the story Dexter has come to a conclusion he could not have Judy, “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 convinced himself at last. He lay awake at night for a while and argued it over. He told himself the trouble and the pain she had caused him, he enumerated her glaring deficiencies as a wife”(p 974). While Dexter cared for Judy he felt that he need to forget her since he knew he could never really have her full attention. While he knew he could never have her he knew he could never have her he meet her again and falls for her all over again one last time and this time it was her that was convincing him to date once again. "I'm more beautiful than anybody else," she said brokenly, "why can't I be happy?" Her moist eyes tore at his stability--her mouth turned slowly downward with an exquisite sadness: "I'd like to marry you if you'll have me, Dexter. I suppose you think I'm not worth having, but I'll be so beautiful for you, Dexter"(p 977). While Dexter was not too sure how to feel he didn't know how to react to this, with Judy he
Though the evils of the world may discourage us from reaching our full potential, fairytales such as Little Snow-White by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm teach us that good will always triumph over evil. As many tales of its kind, Little Snow-White uses a number of literary devices to attract a younger audience and communicate to them a lesson or moral that will remain with them throughout their lives. Since children have such an abstract stream of thought, it is vital to use language and devices that will appeal to them as to keep them interested in the story.
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald employs the use of characters, themes, and symbolism to convey the idea of the American Dream and its corruption through the aspects of wealth, family, and status. In regards to wealth and success, Fitzgerald makes clear the growing corruption of the American Dream by using Gatsby himself as a symbol for the corrupted dream throughout the text. In addition, when portraying the family the characters in Great Gatsby are used to expose the corruption growing in the family system present in the novel. Finally, the American longing for status as a citizen is gravely overshot when Gatsby surrounds his life with walls of lies in order to fulfill his desires for an impure dream. F. Scot. Fitzgerald, through his use of symbols, characters, and theme, displays for the reader a tale that provides a commentary on the American dream and more importantly on its corruption.