“Winter Dreams” a short story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, describes the life of an American, middle-class boy named Dexter Green who spends his days dreaming of achieving the so-called, “American Dream”. Along the way, Dexter meets a girl, Judy Jones, from an extremely wealthy family and the story follows Dexter’s life as he pursues her. On the surface, most readers would tell you that the story is simply about Dexter’s pursuit of Judy. I will show you how this story is about much more than that. This story is about Carpe Diem, the intense pursuit of these ideals, and ultimately the failure of Carpe Diem as the sole way to live one’s life. During the 1920’s, wealthy Americans were busy living in the moment, their lives filled with
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He chooses to bypass a state university education in favor of attending a prestigious east coast school, in spite of his father’s difficulty with paying the tuition. This type of thinking was not because Dexter was “snobbish in any way”, it was just another sign that Dexter wanted something more than just the typical middle-class education. He wanted more. “He was always chasing after the best, even if he didn’t fully understand why”. Again, Dexter is still trying to grasp something that he doesn’t have, something that he thinks will make his life complete. It’s possible that he is looking in the wrong …show more content…
He began specializing in laundry for the rich and before long, he was highly successful. This success brought him closer to his dream of being one of the rich and we see this when one of the wealthy men gave him a weekend guest pass to the Sherry Island Golf Club, the same club where Dexter had been a caddy. Dexter next found himself playing a round of golf with the very men who he had caddied for years before. The men who he was always striving to become. He wasn’t always comfortable in this environment and at times felt he didn’t belong. He spent plenty of time looking back at the caddies, “trying to catch a gleam or gesture that would remind him of himself that would lessen the gap which lay between his present and his past”. This statement clearly shows that Dexter is still unsure of his social position and perhaps is contemplating whether or not it’s really any better than his past. Dexter also realized that these rich men were not actually much fun to be around and in fact weren’t very good at golf, either. This part of the story shows us that Dexter’s dreams don’t translate to reality and that this upper-class life style he is chasing is not always what it appears to be. It was during this weekend at the Golf Club that Dexter crossed paths with Judy Jones for the first time since he
He chooses to bypass a state university education in favor of attending a prestigious east coast school, in spite of his father’s difficulty with paying the tuition. This type of thinking was not because Dexter was “snobbish in any way”, it was just another sign that Dexter wanted something more than just the typical middle-class education. He wanted more. “He was always chasing after the best, even if he didn’t fully understand why”. Again, Dexter is still trying to grasp something that he doesn’t have, something that he thinks will make his life complete. It’s possible that he is looking in the wrong …show more content…
He began specializing in laundry for the rich and before long, he was highly successful. This success brought him closer to his dream of being one of the rich and we see this when one of the wealthy men gave him a weekend guest pass to the Sherry Island Golf Club, the same club where Dexter had been a caddy. Dexter next found himself playing a round of golf with the very men who he had caddied for years before. The men who he was always striving to become. He wasn’t always comfortable in this environment and at times felt he didn’t belong. He spent plenty of time looking back at the caddies, “trying to catch a gleam or gesture that would remind him of himself that would lessen the gap which lay between his present and his past”. This statement clearly shows that Dexter is still unsure of his social position and perhaps is contemplating whether or not it’s really any better than his past. Dexter also realized that these rich men were not actually much fun to be around and in fact weren’t very good at golf, either. This part of the story shows us that Dexter’s dreams don’t translate to reality and that this upper-class life style he is chasing is not always what it appears to be. It was during this weekend at the Golf Club that Dexter crossed paths with Judy Jones for the first time since he