The Cut Glass Bowl and Benediction - Case Study Example

In this essay, a comparative study will be done between two of Fitzgerald’s stories – ‘The Cut Glass Bowl’ and ‘Benediction’. ‘The Cut Glass Bowl’ was written as part of a short story collection called ‘Flappers and Philosophers.’ Published in 1920, this short story revolves around the lives of a married couple, Harold and Evelyn. Set in New York, the story portrays the tragic and difficult incidents and events that happen because of the Cut Glass Bowl that they had received as a wedding gift.

‘Benediction’ is another 2 story that was part of the same short story collection that was also published in 1920. Benediction is a story spun around a girl names Lois. This is more of a coming of age story, where on meeting her brother who is in the Seminary, she begins a retrospection of her decisions. Fitzgerald has been known to write stories of intensity and pain. There seems to be a common thread that connects these two stories for the fact that they revolve around the trials, tribulations, decisions and actions of two women.

In ‘Cut Glass Bowl’ the protagonist Evelyn has had her share of youthful glory, but now recedes into a sense of despair and dejection because of the way her life has panned out. While sharp in contrast is the story ‘Benediction’ where we find Lois is in the prime of her youth, which entails similar scenarios of confusion and turmoil. Though there are similarities between them because both are women and both go through troubled lives, there is an equal contrast between them in the decisions they make in life.

While Lois simply moves on with her life, Evelyn cannot take anymore and decides to end her life. In ‘Cut Glass Bowl’ the setting is that of a pompous high society world, with women who survive on gossip and men who drink their lives away. In sharp contrast, ‘Benediction’ revolves around the setting of a church with characters like monks and priests who have renounced worldly pleasures and are content with what they have. 3 In both stories, Letters seem to have prominent importance in the cause-effect and unfurling of events.