This Side of Paradise protagonist Amory Blaine is very image obsessed. He sees the world as broken up into different categories. He wants to fall into the different categories very carefully and exactly. The fundamental conflict of his nature, as presented by the story, seems to be the disconnect between how he sees himself and how people treat him. He thinks he is completely exceptional, but people do not always respect him. He is completely preoccupied with his own point of view. Because he is the center of his own universe, he cannot understand how others do not see him that way. For instance, as Amory walked through a crowd on the way home from the theater, he “wondered how people could fail to notice that he was a boy marked for glory.” He demonstrates at this early age an expectation for greatness that is somewhat foreboding. In other narratives, when a character begins with high expectations, often the crux of the story is defeat.
Fitzgerald begins the book with a very negative style in his prose. It begins with the very first sentence: “Amory Blaine inherited from his mother every trait, except the stray inexpressible few that made him worth while.” He begins the book by openly stating that the protagonist is barely worthwhile. Adjectives found on the first page run along the lines of “inexpressible,” “inarticulate,” “lifeless.” The focus here is on the absence of any good features or traits. It is an immediate set up for a story of defeat. Indeed, for the full first section of the book, successes for Amory are few and far between, and never as sweet as they might be. When Amory finally becomes successful and popular at St. Regis, we do not see him enjoying the fruits of his labor. Instead the focus is still on what confuses him and eludes him. He spends time alone, in a “dreamy content.” This is not happiness, but just satisfaction. He is puzzled by the nature of his success. “It puzzled him to see impressionable small boys imitating the very vanities that had not long ago been contemptible weaknesses.”
The book is written in a very interesting form. It is different from the conventional narrative in its structure. It seems to be built with the sole intention of revealing Amory’s character. There is no story in itself, only different depictions of Amory that allow to reader to attempt to understand him. I think that when Fitzgerald refers in the first sentence to the few traits that make Amory worthwhile, he may be revealing his intent. Fitzgerald is telling the story of many different moments in Amory’s life as a way to demonstrate the existence of these qualities. Amory is almost, but not, completely unlikable. It is his better qualities that make him a compelling character and make the story worth reading. In each of the different stories, Fitzgerald reveals Amory’s vulnerabilities. If these vulnerabilities may be intended as a benchmark for later strengths, but if that is the case, I’m still waiting.
No comments:
Post a Comment