This Side of Paradise - Assignment Example

This side of Paradise Written by Fitzgerald, the book records Amory Blaine, the protagonist character, attempts to create harmony not only to himself, but also his place in the world. In order to achieve this goal, three elements are fundamental, and they include convention, women, and money. The book is written during in Jazz age of 1920s (Newton-Matza & Mitchell 152). The book is structured in a way that as each of the elements fails him; he draws near reaching his goal. The purpose of this paper is to explore the characters of Amory Blaine, which make him inimitably American. The first section of the paper provides a brief summary of the book. The next section provides a justification of Amory Blaine characters which make him distinctly American and lastly the conclusion. This Side of Paradise Summary The book is written around the life history of Amory Blaine since the time he was a child through to his twenties. Amory Blaine is a son of a very rich and urbane woman who together they travel the motherland until he joins the invented St. Regis introductory school in the heart of England. Amory Blaine is depicted as a lazy boy although intelligent; a factor that contributes to him being admitted to Princeton (Esther http://repository.petra.ac.id/3411/). Initially, Amory is shown as being very serious with his studies in the campus but once he fails a class, he opts for laziness. Consequently, he opts to read alone and attend group discussions as opposed to attending classes (Fitzgerald 69). At a time when Amory is about to finish his college studies at Princeton, America starts World War I and, as such, Amory decides to get involved at the expense of foregoing his degree. Sad state of events follow after going overseas as his mother passes away (Fitzgerald 135). When he comes back home, Amory meets debutante Rosalind and together they fall in love. Unfortunately, the fact that he comes from a poor family makes Rosalind reject him. Following the heartbreak, Amory is devastated, and this drives him into binge drinking that finally sees him expelled following the advent of the prohibition (Dan, 27). Slowly, Amory initiates an expedition of self-discovery. He is seen to engage in a romantic relationship with Eleanor although this lasts for a short time. Alec, his friend, proceeds with a girl to Amory’s guesthouse, but unfortunately he gets fixed and Amory takes the responsibility. To add to his woes, Monsignor, his mother’s closest friend and his dad figure passes away. At this point, Amory opts to take a walk to Princeton where he arrives at late night and pins for Rosalind (Dan 34). In the end, Amory is shown as having lost past, darling and money. Consequently, he gains a sense of self-realization that makes him see his selfishness. To ascertain that that the objective of the novel has been achieved Amory reaches his hands into the sky and says “I know myself, but that is all...” This line consummates the quest of the entire book (Fitzgerald 265). What Makes Amory Blaine Uniquely American In order to be unique, American, a character has to exhibit behaviours that are typical of the American people. On different occasions, Amory Blaine exhibits different behaviours that resonate with the American people. As it is seen, Amory grows up in a generation that is eager to discover itself. In order to fit in this society, Amory has to go through this journey as well. He is portrayed as a male protagonist on a mission to discover his self-identity so that he conforms to the societal trends Newton-Matza, Mitchell 159). This is what is happening in America at the time of writing this book and hence Amory is used to depict the same. Amory is the son of Beatrice, who is very rich and who takes her to very good schools. She represents the American capitalists who are after amassing wealth and distinguishing themselves from the American low class. The mother decides to take Amory to St. Regis, a prestigious boarding school in Connecticut. While in this school, Amory gets the opportunity of meeting and socializing with other kids from rich American families. Amory just like other Americans has the belief that he is “marked for glory” (Fitzgerald 25).This behaviour cuts across many American Kids serves to typify him as an American. Amory Blaine is portrayed as someone who is rather befuddled with splendour of his childhood and forcefully mindful of responses to everything. He is depicted as always being concerned about his appearance especially to the people he admires and wants to equal or emulate. This extreme love for self is a characteristic of the American youth of his time and one which serves to distinguish and make him uniquely American. In addition, he boasts a lot even referring to himself as a “romantic egotist” (Fitzgerald 4). His thirst for women and the belief that he can get anyone serves to show his ego and the low regard he has for women. Amory is also depicted as having “adapted to the bourgeoisie.” This essentially happens because of the characteristic nature of the American high class to distinguish itself from the middle and the lower class. Therefore, in order to fit in, Amory is forced by circumstances to adapt to bourgeoisie lifestyle if at all he has to have friends. Having been born at a time when World war takes center stage with a lot of politics happening in America, it is little wonder that Amory has a lot of interest in politics at Princeton. Here, Amory engages in political debates, indulges in profound books, and consequently, finds a place within the society where he fits and easily relates (Fitzgerald 147). This also adds to distinguish him a person with the American spirit. During his time of growth, there is the spirit of independence that is so high in America and to justify this character in him, he is seen as following this spirit. For instance, he strives to be independent just like other colleagues of his age. This is also exemplified when he meets Rosalind, his true love who, unfortunately, disowns him due to being poor. This condition brought about after the death of his mother while he was away in the war (Fitzgerald 219). As events unfold in the novel, Amory is seen to have had a change of heart. His involvement in the war, his family’s bad investments and his mother’s dying bequeathment to the church makes him appreciate people of all classes. After the revolution, the spirit of socialism is embraced by a majority of Americans while a few chose to remain capitalists. Amory, like most Americans, begins to preach about socialism, something that goes on to be so deep rooted in the society (Newton-Matza, Mitchell 162). Identifying himself as socialist, and his fight for equality among Americans raises his status as a typical American. Conclusion In conclusion, This side of Paradise offers insightful revelations on the youth who lived in the Jazz age of the early 1920s. This youth adopted a popularised version of the Freudian ideas by living a free-spirited lifestyle free of stress (Newton-Matza, Mitchell 155). They lived a life of extravagance as depicted by Amory Blaine. In different ways, Amory is shown to depict American characters in various stages of life. Therefore, he represents a generation whose motivation is convention, women, and money. In a nutshell, This Side of Paradise is an illuminating book which provides a picture of a generation that was consumed by convention, women, and money. Works Cited Argowidjojo, Esther “ A Character study of Amory Blaine in this side of paradise” http://repository.petra.ac.id/3411/ 1990. Web. 21st Nov. 2014. Fitzgerald, F. S. This Side of Paradise. 1920. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Print. Newton-Matza, Mitchell. “Writers.” Perspectives in American Social History: Jazz Age People and Perspectives. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2009. 149-166. Print. Seiters, Dan. “This Side of Paradise and The Beautiful and Damned.” Image Patterns in the Novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1986. 15-55. Print Read More