Significant Connections

In almost all of F Scott Fitzgeralds’ short stories, the presence of time is a common theme, one that cannot be controlled by the characters and they are the ones controlled by it. Just like in real life, time is a continuous force, that one must live through and endure both the hardships and joys of life. In the short stories ‘The Great Gatsby’, ‘Winter Dreams’, ‘The Rich boy’, and the film inspired by one of Fitzgerald’s stories, ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’, time is a recurring theme, that plays a huge role in all of the characters lives. I think the reason that Fitzgerald includes the important aspect of time because he was running out of it himself, dying at the early age of 44, and wasting his precious time-consuming alcohol and suffering through depression. Some of the text in these stories reflect the hardships of what he was going through, and the time he was running out of.

“Relationships have a time and a place”  This quote from Benjamin Button is certainly true, and he learns this firsthand in the movie ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button inspired by one of Fitzgerald’s short stories. Benjamin is cursed (or blessed in some situations) that for him, he ages backward, contradicting the natural laws of time, meaning that when he is born he appears as a man suffering from old age, and when on his deathbed, will appear as a newborn baby. This situation is a problem for Benjamin, as he loves childhood friend Daisy, who for her of course, time moves forward. As a child he is told that he and Daisy should “not to be playing together!” much to their dismay. As Benjamin, ‘grows up’ he lives in his home, the home for the elderly, and makes his way to the ‘real world’ becoming a sailor, and traveling abroad. Benjamin makes many friends and lovers as he grows older, but due to his special circumstances, these relationships are not long-lasting. Benjamin eventually returns home, finding life has changed for everyone, as time moves forwards for them. His adoptive father has passed, his mother’s appearance has become frail and wrinkled, and none of the elderly that were with him growing up are still alive. This is the moment that it really sinks in for Benjamin that he cannot control time, as it’s a constant flow of change, and he can only hope to adapt to his situation. Only Daisy is there, almost frozen in time with him for the few years they spend together. They are now the same age, and life seems more normal for Benjamin at this time, but of course, this cannot last either, and Benjamin must leave Daisy to bring up their child as he will be too young to look after her and be a hassle to Daisy. I think that the lesson to take away is that although it may seem that some people move through time differently, some being successful at an early age, some withering away poor, there is one constant, time, and we will all die eventually, whether the time is moving forwards, or backward in Benjamin’s case.

Like Benjamin Button, Anson Hunter from ‘The Rich Boy’ experiences heartbreak from the fact that the power of time has broken off a very special relationship, in Benjamin’s case Daisy, and in Anson’s case Paula Legrandre. Time had always favored Anson, he was rich coming from a wealthy family, and the time he had spent as a young adult had been pleasant, and when he met Paula, the time he spent with her was even better. They were always engaged in a deeper meaning conversation, and to others passing by, it seemed as if they were almost frozen in time, with no one else stuck with them. Good things must come to an end though, a common theme in Fitzgerald’s stories, maybe because he had experienced this himself, with him and his wife becoming estranged near the time of his death. Just like Fitzgerald, Anson was an alcoholic, and this strained his relationship with Paula, leading to there separation, and Anson finding a new partner, Dolly Karger. Although the two were about to get engaged, both knew that Anson only had eyes for Paula, and he wished he could go back in time to fix his mistakes, and have more of those long conversations, but the fact is that time cannot be controlled like that, we as humans are controlled by it. “that gentleness with which he had always met her optimism as if afraid to mar its surface” This quote explains that Anson does deeply miss Paula, and a different side of both of them was brought out when they were together. Eventually the two reunite, with Paula now married and pregnant, but again, time is too powerful to harness and even Paula succumbs to childbirth, Anson finally seeing that time has run out for her. and he will never spend another living moment with her.

Similar to Anson and Benjamin, James Gatz, or Jay Gatsby as he is now known, has chased the past ever since he acquired his enormous wealth. Years ago from the main timeframe of the story, Gatsby had ignited a spark with “the beautiful and desired Daisy Buchanan, often referred to as ‘the golden girl’ an idea that is referenced many times in different short stories by Fitzgerald, maybe relating to how he saw his wife, who herself had grown up admired for her ‘beauty and high spirits. All good things must come to an end though, and Daisy left Gatsby when he went off to war to marry the wealthy and powerful Tom Buchanan. This was a common scene in the early 1900s as marrying was more about staying wealthy and acquiring new wealth rather than loving the partner. Time goes on and Gatsby has almost reinvented himself, illegitimately rising to power and securing millions of dollars, often spent on lavish house parties and fancy cars. This power that the upper class had also influenced how they treated the law, and how the law treated them, often getting away with anything, even murder in Daisy’s case. Gatsby now has all this money and is sitting in the very upper-class, but still hasn’t achieved what money cant buy, love, and with the help of the narrator Nick Carraway, a relation of Daisy, he hopes to rekindle the flame he once had years ago. He wants to go back in time and relive those moments with her which is just impossible, time cannot be controlled, it’s like white water rapids, the rafters only hope to stay afloat and move with the rapids, they cant go back to the top of the river. “Can’t repeat the past?” he cried incredulously, “Why of course you can!” This quote supports the fact that Gatsby is still under the illusion that time is moldable and can be controlled, but finally accepts his fate when the consequences of his actions catch up with him and his time runs out. The final line of the book, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” strengthens this notion that ultimately trying to fight time and go “against the current” is futile. When Gatsby dies to his wounds, not even Daisy Buchanan the one who lead him on throughout the story, and even once loved him attends, because she is running from her past, now turning the page to a new chapter in life without Gatsby knowing that time cant be reversed and he can’t be brought back.

There are many correlations and similar ideas that link the two books “The Great Gatsby” and “Winter Dreams”, such as the idea of the ‘Golden Girl’ in this case being Judy Jones, and the main theme, time. Dexter Green started his time in life comfortably, not too rich, but certainly not in poverty. This somewhat traced Fitzgerald’s life, growing up in a middle-class home with reasonably wealthy parents. We start the story with Dexter as a caddy for Mr. Jones, his daughter being the main love interest throughout the story, Judy Jones. Dexter moves with time like anyone else must, growing up and graduating, getting a job, and meeting new people, but when he meets the wild, outgoing, and beautiful girl Judy Jones, he is swept into her spell that she casts on many men as we find out. “It did not take him many hours to decide that he had wanted Judy Jones ever since he was a proud, desirous little boy.” Dexter has already succumbed to Judy’s enchantment, and sees her as the pinnacle of life, holding the key to his happiness. He also thinks that he is the one she loves, but Dexter finds out soon enough that she has played this cat and mouse game with many others, and that at this moment he is just another short fling. Dexter ages and goes on with life, but still wish to go back into the past to be with the woman he loves, Judy, but this is obviously not possible so he settles for a wife in Irene Scheerer who he cares for but does not truly love as he did Judy Jones, and doesn’t see her as ‘The Golden Girl’ Dexter constantly finds himself still longing to be with Judy, and we see that her constant search for satisfaction has burned out, she has married badly to a drunk and lazy businessman who works in Detroit while she stays at home with the kids. The once extravagant and illustrious Judy Jone has succumbed to time, her youth gone and her dreams unfulfilled. Once Dexter sees that Judy is no longer the embodiment of success and the key to the life he has always yearned for, he weeps for the first time in years, and in the final lines of the book proclaims, “Long ago,” he said, “long ago, there was something in me, but now that thing is gone. Now that thing is gone, that thing is gone. I cannot cry. I cannot care. That thing will come back no more.”

F Scott Fitzgerald commonly uses the theme of time in many of his short stories, some being ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’, ‘The Great Gatsby’, ‘Winter Dreams’, and ‘The Rich boy’. He finds a way to link all these stories with the protagonists having similar experiences of how time is an almighty and uncontrollable force, that one must merely let control them, with the characters each finding this out in their own way, Gatsby being shot to death after chasing the past with his lover Daisy, Anson being ultimately rejected after reuniting with Paula, Benjamin eventually dying as a young child after moving backward past his previous partners, and Dexter Green when he sees that the girl he has been chasing is not so perfect after all, and has succumbed to the inevitability of time.