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Transcript

Bablyon Revisited

Ariel & Kassady

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Author

Francis Key Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) was a short story writer and a novelist of the twentieth century. His most famous work was his third novel, The Great Gatsby, which is regarded as one of the best American novels ever written. At the age of 24, his first novel was released: This Side of Paradise. A week later, he married Zelda Sayre, the love of his life. However, by the end of the 1920s, Fitzgerald turned to alcoholism and his wife was hospitalized for having schizophrenia. Despite being of of America’s defining authors, Fitzgerald’s work was not appreciated by the American people until after his death. He died of a heart attack on December 1, 1940, at the age of 44. He lived his whole life believing he was a failure.

Pictures

Pictures

F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald as an adult.

Fitzgerald when he was young.

Story Synopsis

Story Synopsis

The story opens in the middle of a conversation between Charlie and the bartender, Alix, at the Ritz. Charlie, now sober for a year, explains how he now lives in Prague and is visiting to see his daughter. He travels to his brother’s home where Honoria, his daughter, lives. He takes her to a toy store. After, they go out to eat and run into two ghosts from Charlie’s past, Duncan and Lorraine. They invite him to dinner, but he declines. He sees them again at the vaudeville and is forced to have a drink with them. On the way home, Honoria tells Charlie she wants to live with him, which thrills him immensely. Later, Charlie meets with Marion and Lincoln. He says he wants his daughter to live with him and that he is a changed man. He says he drinks one drink per day so he can keep his urges under control. Despite this, Marionś dislike for him was too strong and he could not get her to agree. Marion believes Charlie is responsible for the death of Helen, her sister and Charlieś wife. After a fight, Lincoln finally tells Charlie he can take Honoria. After interviewing potential governesses, Charlie went to Lincoln and Marionś home. While he was there, Duncan and Lorraine showed up, drunk. They asked Charlie to dinner, but he refuses several times before they leave angrily. Marion was furious. After dinner, Lincoln checked on Marion. When he came back, he told Charlie plans had changed. Charlie went to the Ritz bar and thought back on the things he did to Helen. In that time, he received a call from Lincoln saying he could not ask Honoria to live with him for six months. Not liking that, he planned to go back and try again.

Characters

Characters

  • CHARLIE WALES: He lost his money in the mid-twenties and fell to alcoholism. At the beginning of the story, he had be sober for a year and was a businessman in Prague. He regrets his decisions and wants to get his daughter back.
  • HONORIA WALES: Charlieś nine year old daughter who lives with Marion and Lincoln. She wants to live with her father, but she is content with where she lives.
  • MARION PETERS: Charlieś sister-in-law. She does not like Charlie for his recklessness and his mistreatment of her sister, Helen.
  • LINCOLN PETERS: Marionś husband and Charlieś brother-in-law. He is more sympathetic to Charlieś want to be with Honoria, but he ultimately sides with Marion.
  • HELEN: She is Charlieś deceased wife. They loved each other deeply, but they seemed to have ruined their relationship.
  • LORRAINE QUARRLES: An American from Charlieś past. She lost all her money but she still tried to live as if she had it. She chases after Charlie with her companion, Duncan.
  • DUNCAN SCHAEFFER: Lorraine’s companion and an American who attended college with Charlie.
  • ELSIE AND RICHARD PETERS: Marion and Lincoln’s children.
  • PAUL: A bartender at the Ritz.
  • ALIX: A bartender at the Ritz. She gave Charlie updates on the people who lived in Paris.

Literary Elements

Literary

Elements

Themes

  • Inescapability of the Past
  • Purity of Paternal Love

Symbols

  • The Ritz Bar

Setting

  • When/Where

Major Themes

Themes

  • Inescapability of the Past: Charlie actively tries to avoid the parts of Paris that remind him of his past mistakes. For example, when he took Honoria to lunch, he could only find one restaurant that did not remind him of the old days. With his marriage, he tries to put it behind him, but Marion constantly reminds him of it and uses it as a reason for him not to take Honoria. Another reminder of his past would be Duncan and Lorraine, who follow him around, trying to convince him to come with them. He cannot seem to get away from his past no matter where he goes.
  • Purity of Paternal Love: In the book, the love between father and daughter is described as the only type of pure love. Other types of love may be true, but they are always conflicted by disloyalty or mistrust. For example, Charlie and Helen loved each other deeply, but their love was ruined by Helen kissing other men and Charlie locked her out in the snow.

Symbols

Ritz Bar: It symbolizes Charlie’s home. The reader never sees him in his true home in Prague, and he only visits the home of Marion and Lincoln as an unwelcome guest. The Ritz bar is also where the story begins and ends. Similar to a home, the bar has seen many changes that have happened to him. It was the place where he once spent too many nights and is now the place where he has his one drink.

Symbols

Setting

Babylon Revisited takes place in Paris, France during the Great Depression (1930s).

Setting

Historical Context

Historical Context

The melancholy mood of the story comes in part from the period in which it is set. It is set in the 1930s, post-Jazz Age. Everyone is sober and full of regrets.

Before the time of the story, Americans were revered in Paris because of the money they had to spend. When the stock market crashed in 1929, the characters become gloomy and regretful. Charlie lived his life similarly to those in the Jazz Age: luxurious parties and alcohol. Then when the stock market crashed, he lost all of his money. He got sober and tried to fix his life, including getting his daughter back.

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