The_Beautiful_and_Damned

The Beautiful and Damned 1. About the author Francis Scott Fitzgerald, who named for his distant cousin, Francis Scott Key, was one of the best known American authors of the 1920s and '30s and he is closely associated with the era of "Jazz Age." Fitzgerald's stories often featured people like himself: middle-American characters spoiled with the wealth and status of upper-crust society. Fitzgerald was a popular celebrity of these days and along with his wife, Zelda, became famous for their extravagant lifestyle and controversial behavior. His major published novels include This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and Tender Is the Night. The Beautiful and Damned is the 2nd Fitzgerald’s novel written in 1922. It’s interesting that the plot of The Beautiful and Damned has lots of resemblance with Francis and Zelda Fitzgerald story. 2. Main ideas, themes and meanings To my mind the main ideas of the book are perfectly shown in the title The Beautiful and Damned. Usually we imagine the rich to live the most interesting and careless life with no reasons to be sad or to be worry. But the author gives us more realistic picture: beauty and money aren’t the the earnest of a perfect life. Moreover, they’re the cause of many disappointments and problems. Here we have a newly married couple, Anthony and Gloria Patch. They’re very attractive, young, rich (and expect to have more money after Anthony grandfather’s death), in love with each other. The thing is it’s not quite enough for them to have all these things. They want more money, so they could afford more luxuries, have more parties, and, as a result, they will be in love with each other forever and live happily forever after. That’s the problem. They couldn’t see that they already have everything to be happy. But still, most of their conversations and dreams are like “When we get the inheritance, we will…” They always wanted to get the most but do the least. Their life was consumed by these dreams, but the expectation of money took it longer than planned, their world of illusions and dreams started to ruin, and so did their life. With no real purpose and discipline, Anthony became an alcoholic and Gloria became helpless with her fading beauty and boredom of such an empty life – no children, no more beauty, no more perfect husband. In the end they got the inheritance, but it’s too late: Anthony’s physically and mentally broken, and Gloria is no more interested in family life. 3. Characters, their weak and strong points • Anthony Patch. He’s a graduate of Harvard, a man who dreams to become a writer, but, as it may sound as ridicule, does everything to avoid becoming a writer. He was born to be rich and wallow in luxury and takes everything for granted. So, when he faces hard times he can’t force himself to organize his life, and it gets even worse, leading to his depression and alcohol addiction. He’s shown by the author as a weak person, who’s not serious and responsible. In the beginning of his relationship with Gloria he seems to be romantic, caring and reliable – these are good qualities that Anthony possesses; as he gets more disappointed in his life, he turns into an exasperating drunk, who ruined his life with his own arms. • Gloria Gilbert Patch seems to be too egocentric. From her teen ages she had been admired by men. Gloria believes in the privileges of her beauty. Her biggest dream was to be young and beautiful forever. But the beauty can’t stay forever, but she didn’t want to realize it. As the time goes she loses her chance to become an actress. She fades in her empty life with Anthony. The problems of a real life change her selfish personality as she never expected to be a wife of an alcoholic and live in poverty. Unlike her husband, Gloria possesses some endurance and brave, but still she’s very proud and short-sighted. 4. Language of the book Speaking of the language of the book I’d love to say it was lucid and vivid. The author managed to create the atmosphere of the Roaring 20s. Moreover, all events in the story were described with such a clear and fascinating lively language so I really felt myself inside the story. To my great surprise, I enjoyed descriptions of places and nature as well as I enjoyed the littlest details about Gloria’s dresses and names of popular songs of these years. It wasn’t too boring or too complex, it was just enough to understand. 5. New information about… The Jazz Age refers to a period of time after World War I, beginning with the Roaring Twenties and ending with the beginning of the Great Depression. The age refers to the popular music of the time—jazz. The age represents a shift in values in America, and a focus on living life to the fullest. The Prohibition influenced the birth and development of Jazz in the United States. The Prohibition was a period that banned the sale of alcoholic drinks. This resulted in the growth of a great number of bars, which illegally sold alcoholic beverages. Jazz exuberated in this environment, and grew in popularity because it was able to reach a wide audience. The jazz age also refers to a growing materialism among America. After World War I and the flu epidemic, people wanted to enjoy life after the misery of the previous decade. People were more willing to spend money on vacations and parties. As it seen in the novel, the young wanted just to live a life full of pleasure, didn’t care about the future and such things like work and career.