In the short story “Babylon Revisited”, written by F.Scott Fitzgerald there are many different settings in the story. One of the main settings in the story is the bar at the beginning. The bar it self represents the jazz era, where everyone wore fancy clothes, partied all the time and tipped well. The bar is also a cold reminder how the Americans used to live in the 20’s, since they have almost no money in the 30’s. It also represents the old Charlie Wales and it serves as a reminder to the new Charlie Wales about his past.
“We were sort of royalty, almost infallible, with a sort of magic around us”(89). The old Charlie Wales lived during the economic boom of the 20’s, or other wise known as the jazz era. He lived a good life. During that time, he spent a lot of time drinking and throwing away money: “ he remembered thousand-franc notes given to an orchestra for playing a single number, hundred-franc notes tossed to a doorman for calling a cab”(90). Sometimes just acting childish with his friends Duncan Schaeffer and Lorraine Quarrles: “We did have such good times that crazy spring, like that night you and I stole that butcher’s tricycle…”(98). Nevertheless, he spent a lot of time in a bar called the Ritz. When he first got there, it was instinctive to give the head barman his numbers were he was staying as if it was his second home. “If you see Mr.Schaeffer, give him this…It’s my brother-inlaw’s address. I haven’t settled on a hotel yet”(86).
After the rolling 20’s came the economic depression of the 30’s. Everyone was affected, even the high and mighty that thought they were even royalties were affected.
Charlie Wales asked the bartender “ By the way, what’s become of Claude Fessenden?”
Alix lowered his voice confidentially: “He’s in Paris, but he doesn’t come here any more. Paul doesn’t allow it. He ran up a bill of thirty thousand francs, charging all his drinks, his lunches, and usually his dinner, for more than a year. And when Paul finally told him he had to pay, he gave him a bad check.”(87)
When Charlie Wales first came to Paris his first stop was an old bar he used to go to, the Ritz. Much had changed since he had left. “It was not an American bar any more-he felt polite in it, and not as if he owned it”(86).
Americans throughout history often pride themselves on the unique and insular nature of their culture. Acting as if their New World is entirely free from influence by the Old World. In her book, Becoming Americans in Europe, Blower provides specific instances that seemingly contradicts that view. The thesis in Blower’s book is that Paris was a large factor in how Americans crafted their national identity. Interwoven with that thesis Blower also promotes an idea of a cycle of Americans influencing Parisians and Parisians therefore reacting differently to Americans forcing them to change.
Charlie Wales focuses on his visit to Paris as an extended allegory, imposing a moral value on every place that he visits and incident that occurs. He is hoping to redeem himself from the period of drunken debauchery that led to the death of his wife and loss of his daughter to relatives’care. Whether he is driving through the streets of Montmartre, the site of many past revels, or trying to find a restaurant without past negative associations where he can have lunch with his daughter, the evils of the past form pictures in his mind. He wants to be worthy of custody of Honoria,
When the United States were showing signs of economical growth, the unimaginable happen. When the 1929 stock market crash marked the day that the United States slowly crept into the Great Depression. The Great Depression caused nationwide panic. There was a decrease of production and the sale of goods. Many businesses started to collapse and close. Banks closed down since they took people’s money and invest in stocks. When the stocks crashed, banks went bankrupt and people lost their money and savings. Then there was a rise in unemployment and thousands of workers lost their jobs. Countless amount of people were homeless and they were trying their best to save their money. People were trying to figure out how to deal with their economic difficulties. During that time, people wanted to escape from their problems. They would watch movies and listen to music. At the time Jazz music was very popular. Jazz music had musical freedom and the songs show the way many people felt. It had the power to lift the gloomy spirits of the people affected. Jazz music has a style that appeal to many people, both young and old. One of the earlier Jazz
In considering Charlie Wales plight in Fitzgerald's "Babylon Revisited," I believe Charlie is a victim of his own success. As a successful businessman two times over he has burned many bridges behind him and for his well intentions he is blind to that continued fallacy. He does not seem to realize that the success he enjoys now is the envy that brought about Marion and Lincoln's contempt prior to Helen's death.
Maupassant, Guy De. “An Adventure in Paris”. The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Cassill, RV. New York: Norton & Company, Inc. 2000. 511-516 Print.
In "Babylon Revisited," Fitzgerald uses these troubled times as a background for his story. The main character is someone many Americans of the day could sympathize with. His rise from mediocrity to a life of wealth and leisure and then his tragic fall appealed to the broken and world-weary masses subjugated by the demoralizing affects of the depression.
As the 1930’s began, the effects of the great depression still ravaged the United States, which in turned caused a dramatic change in the music industry. Membership in the musicians’
As the United States entered the 1920's it was not as unified as one might think. Not one, but two societies existed. The Black society, whose ancestors had been oppressed throughout the ages, and the White society, the oppressors of these men and women. After emancipation the Whites no longer needed the Blacks, but were forced to live with them. The Blacks despised the Whites, but even so they became more like them in every way. Even though these two races had grown so similar over the past century and a half, they were still greatly diversified. One aspect of this great diversity was the difference in music trends. The White society was still in love with the European classical music. The Blacks on the other hand had created something all their own. Jazz, Blues, and Ragtime originated in New Orleans in the 19th century, but by the 1920's it had become famous throughout America. The Whites tried to suppress the Blacks with new laws, but the power of this strengthened race was too great. The Negro music of the 20th century had a huge affect ...
Jazz and “boogie-woogie” of the Thirties moved popular music away from the light entertainment of the publishing houses toward a more exciting and dance oriented style that made the swing era a golden age. As the bigger bands died out and the star singers again grabbed the spot light the songwriters again found their services in demand. Without jazz driving it and Americans rebuilding their lives and starting baby booms people were too busy to waste time dancing. Popular music turned back to light sentimental songs and cute novelty music song by polished voices and backed by sweetly generic instrumentals.
The Jazz age was a time of glamour, sparkle, parties, music, the extreme rich, the extreme poor, and the exultation of lawlessness; F. Scoot Fitzgerald was no exception. Fitzgerald was enamored by the life of money, status, and beautiful people on a hopeless spiral into self destruction. The moral decadence of America became a prevailing theme in the works of Fitzgerald, taking birth fully within The Great Gatsby.
After many of World War II’s harmful effects, the 1950s served as a period of time of musical change that reflected the dynamic of society as well as the traditional norms and values. Many factors contributed to this transformation. For example, the civil rights movement heightened many racial tensions, and the music produced consequently manifested this tension in itself. Rock-n-roll and R&B music universalized music typically associated with African-Americans, and many African-American musicians gained fame; however, as with any relatively-widespread success, there were many musicians as well who missed their opportunities due to the same racial segregation. While “radical” genres such as R&B and rock-n-roll laid the foundation for music future forms of music, the standard pop, jazz, and country music adhered to traditional values, and thus continued to maintain popularity amidst phenomena such as the Elvis craze.
The “Jazz Age” was a term F. Scott Fitzgerald coined to describe the ostentatious era that began after World War I during the Roaring Twenties. It was a joyous time full of great prosperity. He published many famous books during this time like The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night. Fitzgerald claimed to know a great deal about the glitz and glamour of the Roaring Twenties, while he never actually experienced those aspects himself. Although F. Scott Fitzgerald had many struggles with alcoholism and his marriage, he is considered to be one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century.
I. I now come to an end of explaining the changes the music industry has gone through from the fifties on through today. The fifties with its rhythm and blues that gave way to rock and roll, the sixties with the rise of big record labels and their attention shifting more towards pop music that would drive their profits sky high. The seventies with the advent of what we now know as rock.
In the years preceding the stock market crash of 1929, the condition of America’s economy wasn’t anywhere near ideal, but it certainly was not at its worst either—not yet. Also known as “the Roaring Twenties,” this period before the crash brought with it an extreme over dependency on factories and production, especially because the automobile industry exploded in popularity among the opulent class. Also, the distinction between rich and poor was amplified. Poverty was common among 60% of the population, whil...
During the 1920’s, the morals of many people changed dramatically. F. Scott Fitzgerald shows this in the story he wrote in 1930 called “Babylon Revisited”. In the story Charlie, the protagonist, reflects on his old life living in the “new morality” and works hard to achieve the “old morality” to get his daughter back. Charlie has obstacles thrown at him including his old party friends and his past wife’s family. In Fitzgerald’s life, he lived the “new morality” to the fullest while partying and drinking every night. Before long, his wife was in rehab and he was writing stories to try to keep his family supported. The story reflects on his own life in many ways. The characters each stand behind either the “new morality”