Winter Dreams Literary Analysis

Winter Dreams follows the life of Dexter Green as he pursues wealth and societal affluence in the hopes of winning the love and affection of Judy Jones, a spoiled socialite from a wealthy family who he first met when he was an adolescent while caddying at an exclusive golf club. As a result of this meeting and the embarrassment he felt in his role as a mere caddie; Dexter makes the irrational decision to quit his caddying job and begin his quest for upper-class social status. The author recapitulates this decision by the protagonist with the following statement; “It is not so simple as that either. As so frequently would be the case in the future, Dexter was unconsciously dictated to by his winter dreams.”

A key theme in this literary work

is the loss of “youthful illustrations”; childhood dreams of wealth and power evolve into adult realities of dissatisfaction. Dexter, the protagonist, begins this journey on the golf course which is crucial to the plot because it epitomizes the initial stage of his winter dreams; it is in this setting he begins to visualize himself in the social circle he believes will allow him access to the upper class and Judy Jones. Although Fitzgerald moves Dexter beyond the golf course; transforming him into a young man of means; he reminds readers of Dexter's ongoing desire to achieve upper-class status as well as his unconditional concentration on Judy Jones. The author makes it clear Dexter’s pursuit of joy and social acceptance is intricately woven in the depth of his romantic relationship with Judy Jones and although he eventually attains the financial success and social standing he envisioned; he gradually begins to realize money and social status does not equate to happiness, and Judy Jones is not all he thought her to be. Readers will also note how Judy Jones changes during the course of the story. She begins as a rambunctious, spoiled little girl who evolves into an attractive seductive young woman; and finishes as a proper wife and mother who “stays at home with her kids”.
It can be noted the order of events are time sequenced, and the four seasons are distinctively used to express the sentiments and create the setting for the storyline. The reader initially meets the protagonist during the summer when he is working as a caddie on Sherry Island; "…and Dexter caddied only for pocket-money”. In the second paragraph, Fitzgerald references Fall, “In the Fall when the days became crisp and gray," and the wintry weather; " and the long Minnesota winter shut down like the white lid of a box, Dexter's skis moved over the snow that hid the fairways of the golf course". Later, the reader is told of winter’s end; “In April, the winter ceased abruptly”; and of Dexter’s feelings about Spring; “Dexter knew that there was something dismal about this Northern Spring”. As the story progresses, the author continues to use the seasons to highlight Dexter's actions. Fall is linked to Dexter's emotional outburst; “Fall made him clinch his hands and tremble and repeat idiotic sentences to himself, and make brisk abrupt gestures of command to imaginary audiences and armies", and when Dexter finally realizes he has wasted his time over the years, all four seasons are referenced; “Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring, another Summer, another Fall; so much he had given of his active life to the incorrigible lips of Judy Jones”. In the final analysis, the changing of the seasons is essential to the plot because they symbolize the passing of time and shattered dreams.