I was first introduced to Fitzgerald in high school. We were required to read The Great Gatsby and I remember really enjoying it. I merely enjoyed the story line of the book, but when we went back and discussed the book as a class, I realized there was even more to it than I initially thought. When I saw that the reading for today was on Fitzgerald, I was really excited. I’ve never read any of his short stories or any of his other pieces of work, so I was curious to see if my thoughts of his other works would match my appreciation for The Great Gatsby. I do have to say that I was quite pleased with both of the short stories I read. I was frustrated at certain points in reading them, but I did see the bigger message within.
The first one, Winter Dreams initially caught my attention because it takes place in Minnesota, my home state. However, it didn’t take me long to realize that Dexter’s experiences in Minnesota would not resemble any of my own. In fact, this story made me angry. I couldn’t be more frustrated with the characters in this story, because from an outsider’s point of view, they were all foolish! I absolutely could not stand Judy Jones. The way in which she uses her beauty to allure men sickens me. It sickens me even more that they let her pull them into her trap. She’s like a black widow spider. She traps men in her web only to destroy them. I’d like to think that Dexter doesn’t become entranced by this vamp, but he becomes the most mesmerized of them all! It feels like defeat for the reader every time Judy tricks Dexter into thinking he is more important than any of the other guys only to spit him out in the next second. And when I finally thought Dexter might be victorious in overcoming Judy’s trap, he falls back into it again. This time, harder than before, because he doesn’t only hurt himself, but also Irene, the woman he was going to marry.
“It seems strange to say that neither when it was over nor a long time afterward did he regret that night…Nor did it matter that by his yielding he subjected himself to a deeper agony in the end and gave serious hurt to Irene Scheerer and to Irene’s parents who had befriended him” (1836).
And what did he win by hooking up with Judy one more night? Dexter truly believes that all the pain was worth it. It was worth it to have the beauty of a woman that was desired by many. It was worth a life of gloom to have but a few moments with Judy. This saddens me, because Judy didn’t ever really love him. She won.
Dexter himself is also at fault for the direction his life turns. His search for beauty and perfection outweighed his chances of ever truly being happy. The beauty of Judy and the quest to win this beauty was all in vain when Dexter finds out at the end of the story that Judy is no longer the sultry temptress she once was. She is merely a woman…not too plain, not too pretty, nothing out of the ordinary special. At the end of the day, he questions, if she isn’t beautiful, than what can be? It’s tragic because he realizes that the drive he had for life was not even worth living for because it didn’t last in the end.
This whole story makes me wonder who the greater tragedy is. Is it Judy, or is it Dexter?
Briana, I agree with you that Dexter chose not to be happy. By immortalizing Judy, he loses out on the rest of his life. How sad to think that both Judy and Dexter could have found happiness even if they never ended up together. Instead of allowing their past experiences to further shape them as men and women, they allowed them to taint them as a man and a woman.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with you on the descriptions of the characters, Briana. I could not sympathize with them at all. A black widow spider is an accurate way to describe Judy Jones with her alluring powers of attraction. Dexter is a bit pathetic for chasing after her. Both have tragic ends from trying to find happiness in superficial matters.
ReplyDeleteThere are certainly ways in which it is hard to sympathize with these characters, but can we sympathize nonetheless? Is youth any defense? Is beauty itself worth pursuing? I'm curious about the comparison to the spider, too. The black widow's markings are meant to deter, if I'm not mistaken - though there's a grim beauty to them. Perhaps Judy's more like one of those carnivorous flowers, the nature of which is to attract others to their deaths, though not with explicitly wicked intent. Or do you think Judy was really evil?
ReplyDeleteIt all comes down to the yearning for acceptance. Judy uses her beauty to coax men and try filling that void for purpose. Dexter yearns for the elusive Judy so that she will find him appealing. He has put her on such a pedestal that "having" her gives him purpose. They are sad characters, but I believe we can completely sympathize with them.
ReplyDeleteIs Judy evil? Well, sure she is. The entire human race is fallen and in a very real sense filled with evil. Judy and Dexter portray this condition. Yet, I believe we can sympathize with them because we see so clearly their yearning to fill a void for happiness and acceptance. We see how it spirals into destruction, but it also gives us a glimpse into the very real pain that we all experience.