LitWiki - User contributions [en]

To Build a Fire/Annotated Bibliography

2021-10-06T06:23:05Z

AJCarey: annotated bibliography and other minor edits

{{DISPLAYTITLE:<span style="font-size:22px;">{{BASEPAGENAME}}/</span>{{SUBPAGENAME}}}}
{{Refbegin|indent=yes}}
*{{cite journal
| last1 = Bowen
| first1 = James
| date = Winter 1971
| title = Jack London's "To Build a Fire": Epistemology and the White Wilderness
| journal = Western American Literature
| volume = 5
| issue = 4
| page = 287-289
}} The dog's survival in "To Build a Fire," symbolically reflects London's idea that man should, sometimes, rely on his intuition truths rather than his intellectual cognitive processes. He appears to suggest that animals live by instinct, individuals with low mental capacity fail, and human beings who use good judgment, balanced by emotional insights, overcome a harsh environment. He had a problem in that he lacked imagination. In the simple things in life, he was quick and vigilant, but only in these things, not in the significances. Rather than representing the victory of instinct over reason, London offers a third choice as a new perspective on human existence. In this case, it would be the old-timer from Sulphur Creek.
*{{cite journal
| last1 = Hillier
| first1 = Russell
| date = 2010
| title = Crystal Beards and Dantean Influence in Jack London's 'To Build a Fire (II)'
| journal = American Literature
| volume = 23
| issue = 3
| page = 172-178
}} In the article Hillier explores the idea that the intense cold that defeats the protagonist is an attribute to Hell and the raging fire. Hillier compares the various times the protagonist tried to build a fire, to the punishments that sinners must suffer in Dante's nine cycles of Hell. The burning of his hand with matches and the numbing cold is his punishment for the man's sins. To conclude, Hillier describes the "ice muzzle" around his mouth as the final cycle of hell. His attitude towards others, nature, and being overly confident is what ultimately destroys him at the end of the story.
*{{cite journal
| last1 = Pizer
| first1 = Donald
| date = April 2010
| title = Jack London's 'To Build a Fire': How Not to Read Naturalist Fiction
| journal = Johns Hopkins University Press
| volume = 34
| issue = 1
| page = 218-227
}} Mitchell's travels alone to prove his case that "To Build a Fire" communicates the naturalistic reason that man lives in a world that denies him the possibility to travel alone. It is mid-winter in the Arctic during a cold day, that the man is traveling alone. The storyteller is deciding on this choice because of his record of the setting and the idea of the man. The man didn't stress about the shortfall of the sun, since he realizes that it will return in a couple of days. However, we understand very quickly, the man has just a piece of shallow information on the Arctic. As he remains on the bank of the Yukon. He has almost not seen the outrageous danger presented by the cold. This is his first winter. Afterward, the man likewise knows the reality that the sun will return, that it is fifty degrees under nothing, yet he doesn't have the smartest idea about the significance of this reality that it predicts passing for any individual who makes himself defenseless against its capacity to kill.
{{cite journal
|author=
|date=
|title= The Symbolism of Fire (Examples from Literature and Religion)
|url= https://firefightergarage.com/symbolism-of-fire/
|journal=
|volume=
|issue=
|pages=
|doi=
|access-date=}}
The article explains the different symbolic meanings of fire in literature and how it is interpreted. The use of the word hope and explanation lines up with how the main character is feeling when he initially gets a fire burning.

To Build a Fire

2021-10-06T06:10:59Z

AJCarey: /* Explanation of the Work's Title */

{{Infobox short story 
| name = To Build a Fire
| image =
| caption =
| title_orig =
| translator =
| author = [[w:Jack London|Jack London]]
| country =

| language = English
| series =
| genre = Adventure, short story
| published_in =
| publication_type =
| publisher =
| media_type =
| pub_date = 1902, 1908
| english_pub_date =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
| preceded_by_italics =
| followed_by_italics =
}}

“'''To Build a Fire'''” is a 1908 short story by Jack London.


==Plot==


==Characters==
===The Man===
The man travels in the Yukon Territories with a husky. He is a “''chechaquo''," or a newcomer,{{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=149}} making him overconfident and inexperienced, but self-assured because he knows the “facts.”{{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=160}}

===The Dog===
The dog is a “big native husky”{{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=150}} that accompanies the man along on his journey; the dog operates based on instinct.{{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=160}}

===The Old-Timer===
Though he only appears in flashbacks, the Old-Timer from Sulphur Creek warns the man about the cold and traveling alone. {{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=154}}

==Major Themes==

A major theme of “Fire” is man versus nature, specifically, that man’s arrogance blinds him to nature and its potential.{{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=161}} The Klondike is an area that is a grasping story of the battle of the frozen Yukon trail.{{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=157}} It is an account of man versus nature, yet inside that story is one more story about a man's pride and unreadiness to acknowledge nature for what it is. {{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=161}} At the point when the man dismisses the law of nature, the discipline managed out naturally is serious. {{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=156}} The punishment of death comes to about because of attempting to stay away from it. {{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=158}} There is a big contrast between the information and that man has and the information he ought to have had.{{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=149}}

The importance of community, as opposed to self-reliance in survival and growth, is emphasized in “Fire.”{{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=161}}

Critic Donald Pizer explains how the limit of individualism is a key theme in this story. {{sfn|Pizer|2010|p=219}} The protagonist of the novel frequently claims his ability to travel alone and feels he can survive the harsh winter conditions. {{sfn|Pizer|2010|p=220}} Despite the cautions of the old man at Sulphur Creek, he refuses to travel with a companion, which ultimately leads to his death. {{sfn|Pizer|2010|p=221}}The man is unaware of the value of receiving assistance from others and believes that his own abilities will assure his survival. Apart from declining to go with a companion, the man demonstrates independence by dismissing the old man's wisdom and ignoring experience and guidance. The fact that the old man is an American in unfamiliar terrain is one piece of information that we are provided with. Individual freedoms and liberties are prized in American culture, and London's experience exemplifies the risks that these beliefs can engender.

A theme of "To Build A Fire" by London, is self-destruction. The protagonist not only ignores the old-timers warning to travel with a partner, lacks imagination but he is incapable of companionability. {{sfn|Hillier|2010|p=173}} He traveled alone except for a wolf dog, which he treated with contempt and hostility. {{sfn|Hillier|2010|p=173}} Not only by trying to use him to check for faults in the ice, at the end he thought about killing him to warm his hands. The protagonist also contuses to chew tobacco causing an amber beard to form, which later obstructs his mouth when tries to eat. {{sfn|Hillier|2010|p=175}} Then we are presented by the repetition of him trying to build a fire and failing again and again at his own despise. first by having the fire blotted out by an avalanche of snow, second, by having his book of Sulphur matches extinguished in one fell, and third by having fire snuffed out by a large piece of moss. {{sfn|Hillier|2010|p=173}} These failed attempts show that his arrogance and unwillingness to listen to others will lead to his own downfall.

Another theme for "To Build A Fire is a pride. It is the man's pride that allows him to start his uncertain journey, prevents him from moving back when he realizes how cold it is which ultimately leads to death. The man was warned not to travel alone but instead of preventing the man from making the trip he set out anyway and after soaking his feet he thought about the advice, given by that man.{{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=154}} Few hours into his trip when he has a chance to turn back, he finds that it is very cold and still has overconfidence which puts him in a danger because the temperature matters.{{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=149}} The man's pride is deep-seated after the falling snow put out his fire and his hands and feet are freezing totally he thought that old-timer from Sulphur creek was right and even after knowing that the death is not so far he doesn't realize that he was wrong. {{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=154}}

==Development History==


===Publication History===


===Explanation of the Work's Title===

The title “to build a fire” can symbolize the building of hope. {{sfn|symbolism of fire}} The main character can be seen chasing this hope to escape the hell of the snowy Yukon territory with his repeated attempts to spark a fire. However, as we see that hope appears we also see that it does not take long for it to be destroyed by the environment around him.

==Literary Significance and Reception==


==Awards and Nominations==


==Adaptations==

"To Build A Fire" was adapted into a multi-award-winning short film in 2016. The making of the film was to celebrate the 100th year anniversary of Jack London. It was directed and written by Fx Goby.{{sfn|Gatrell|2018}}

==Citations==

{{Reflist}}

==Works Cited==
See also: [[/Annotated Bibliography/]].
{{Refbegin|indent=yes|30em}}

* {{cite book |last=Gair |first=Christopher |date={{date|2011}} |chapter=The Wires Were Down: The Telegraph and the Cultural Self in “To Build a Fire” and ''White Fang'' |title=Jack London |editor-last=Bloom |editor-first=Harold |series=Bloom’s Modern Critical Views |url= |location=New York |publisher=Bloom’s Literary Criticism |pages=73–90 }}
* {{cite journal
| last1 = Hillier
| first1 = Russell
| date = 2010
| title = Crystal Beards and Dantean Influence in Jack London's 'To Build a Fire (II)'
| journal = American Literature
| volume = 23
| issue = 3
| pages = 172-178
}}
* {{Cite book |last=London |first=Jack | date=2002 |orig-year=1908 |chapter=To Build a Fire |title=Reading and Writing about Literature |editor-last=Sipiora |editor-first=Phillip |publisher=Prentice Hall |location=Upper Saddle Creek, NJ |pages=149–160 }}
* {{cite journal
| last1 = Pizer
| first1 = Donald
| date = April 2010
| title = Jack London's "To Build a Fire": How Not To Read Naturalist Fiction
| journal = Philosophy & Literature
| volume = 34
| issue = 1
| pages = 218-227
}}
* {{Cite book |date={{date|2002}} |title=Reading and Writing about Literature |editor-last=Sipiora |editor-first=Phillip |publisher=Prentice Hall |location=Upper Saddle Creek, NJ |pages=149–160 }}
{{cite journal |author= |date= |title= The Symbolism of Fire (Examples from Literature and Religion) |url= https://firefightergarage.com/symbolism-of-fire/ |journal= |volume= |issue= |pages= |doi= |access-date=}}
{{Refend}}

==External Links==


* {{cite web |last=Gatrell |first=Henry |title= Short of the Week - To Build a Fire |url=https://oneroomwithaview.com/2018/01/22/short-week-build-fire/ |date=2018 |website= oneroomwithaview.com |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}

[[Category:Literary]] 
[[Category:20th Century]] 
[[Category:Naturalism]] 
[[Category:Short Stories]]

To Build a Fire

2021-10-06T06:08:05Z

AJCarey: /* Works Cited */ symbolism of fire

{{Infobox short story 
| name = To Build a Fire
| image =
| caption =
| title_orig =
| translator =
| author = [[w:Jack London|Jack London]]
| country =

| language = English
| series =
| genre = Adventure, short story
| published_in =
| publication_type =
| publisher =
| media_type =
| pub_date = 1902, 1908
| english_pub_date =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
| preceded_by_italics =
| followed_by_italics =
}}

“'''To Build a Fire'''” is a 1908 short story by Jack London.


==Plot==


==Characters==
===The Man===
The man travels in the Yukon Territories with a husky. He is a “''chechaquo''," or a newcomer,{{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=149}} making him overconfident and inexperienced, but self-assured because he knows the “facts.”{{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=160}}

===The Dog===
The dog is a “big native husky”{{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=150}} that accompanies the man along on his journey; the dog operates based on instinct.{{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=160}}

===The Old-Timer===
Though he only appears in flashbacks, the Old-Timer from Sulphur Creek warns the man about the cold and traveling alone. {{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=154}}

==Major Themes==

A major theme of “Fire” is man versus nature, specifically, that man’s arrogance blinds him to nature and its potential.{{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=161}} The Klondike is an area that is a grasping story of the battle of the frozen Yukon trail.{{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=157}} It is an account of man versus nature, yet inside that story is one more story about a man's pride and unreadiness to acknowledge nature for what it is. {{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=161}} At the point when the man dismisses the law of nature, the discipline managed out naturally is serious. {{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=156}} The punishment of death comes to about because of attempting to stay away from it. {{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=158}} There is a big contrast between the information and that man has and the information he ought to have had.{{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=149}}

The importance of community, as opposed to self-reliance in survival and growth, is emphasized in “Fire.”{{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=161}}

Critic Donald Pizer explains how the limit of individualism is a key theme in this story. {{sfn|Pizer|2010|p=219}} The protagonist of the novel frequently claims his ability to travel alone and feels he can survive the harsh winter conditions. {{sfn|Pizer|2010|p=220}} Despite the cautions of the old man at Sulphur Creek, he refuses to travel with a companion, which ultimately leads to his death. {{sfn|Pizer|2010|p=221}}The man is unaware of the value of receiving assistance from others and believes that his own abilities will assure his survival. Apart from declining to go with a companion, the man demonstrates independence by dismissing the old man's wisdom and ignoring experience and guidance. The fact that the old man is an American in unfamiliar terrain is one piece of information that we are provided with. Individual freedoms and liberties are prized in American culture, and London's experience exemplifies the risks that these beliefs can engender.

A theme of "To Build A Fire" by London, is self-destruction. The protagonist not only ignores the old-timers warning to travel with a partner, lacks imagination but he is incapable of companionability. {{sfn|Hillier|2010|p=173}} He traveled alone except for a wolf dog, which he treated with contempt and hostility. {{sfn|Hillier|2010|p=173}} Not only by trying to use him to check for faults in the ice, at the end he thought about killing him to warm his hands. The protagonist also contuses to chew tobacco causing an amber beard to form, which later obstructs his mouth when tries to eat. {{sfn|Hillier|2010|p=175}} Then we are presented by the repetition of him trying to build a fire and failing again and again at his own despise. first by having the fire blotted out by an avalanche of snow, second, by having his book of Sulphur matches extinguished in one fell, and third by having fire snuffed out by a large piece of moss. {{sfn|Hillier|2010|p=173}} These failed attempts show that his arrogance and unwillingness to listen to others will lead to his own downfall.

Another theme for "To Build A Fire is a pride. It is the man's pride that allows him to start his uncertain journey, prevents him from moving back when he realizes how cold it is which ultimately leads to death. The man was warned not to travel alone but instead of preventing the man from making the trip he set out anyway and after soaking his feet he thought about the advice, given by that man.{{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=154}} Few hours into his trip when he has a chance to turn back, he finds that it is very cold and still has overconfidence which puts him in a danger because the temperature matters.{{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=149}} The man's pride is deep-seated after the falling snow put out his fire and his hands and feet are freezing totally he thought that old-timer from Sulphur creek was right and even after knowing that the death is not so far he doesn't realize that he was wrong. {{sfn|Sipiora|2002|p=154}}

==Development History==


===Publication History===


===Explanation of the Work's Title===


==Literary Significance and Reception==


==Awards and Nominations==


==Adaptations==

"To Build A Fire" was adapted into a multi-award-winning short film in 2016. The making of the film was to celebrate the 100th year anniversary of Jack London. It was directed and written by Fx Goby.{{sfn|Gatrell|2018}}

==Citations==

{{Reflist}}

==Works Cited==
See also: [[/Annotated Bibliography/]].
{{Refbegin|indent=yes|30em}}

* {{cite book |last=Gair |first=Christopher |date={{date|2011}} |chapter=The Wires Were Down: The Telegraph and the Cultural Self in “To Build a Fire” and ''White Fang'' |title=Jack London |editor-last=Bloom |editor-first=Harold |series=Bloom’s Modern Critical Views |url= |location=New York |publisher=Bloom’s Literary Criticism |pages=73–90 }}
* {{cite journal
| last1 = Hillier
| first1 = Russell
| date = 2010
| title = Crystal Beards and Dantean Influence in Jack London's 'To Build a Fire (II)'
| journal = American Literature
| volume = 23
| issue = 3
| pages = 172-178
}}
* {{Cite book |last=London |first=Jack | date=2002 |orig-year=1908 |chapter=To Build a Fire |title=Reading and Writing about Literature |editor-last=Sipiora |editor-first=Phillip |publisher=Prentice Hall |location=Upper Saddle Creek, NJ |pages=149–160 }}
* {{cite journal
| last1 = Pizer
| first1 = Donald
| date = April 2010
| title = Jack London's "To Build a Fire": How Not To Read Naturalist Fiction
| journal = Philosophy & Literature
| volume = 34
| issue = 1
| pages = 218-227
}}
* {{Cite book |date={{date|2002}} |title=Reading and Writing about Literature |editor-last=Sipiora |editor-first=Phillip |publisher=Prentice Hall |location=Upper Saddle Creek, NJ |pages=149–160 }}
{{cite journal |author= |date= |title= The Symbolism of Fire (Examples from Literature and Religion) |url= https://firefightergarage.com/symbolism-of-fire/ |journal= |volume= |issue= |pages= |doi= |access-date=}}
{{Refend}}

==External Links==


* {{cite web |last=Gatrell |first=Henry |title= Short of the Week - To Build a Fire |url=https://oneroomwithaview.com/2018/01/22/short-week-build-fire/ |date=2018 |website= oneroomwithaview.com |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}

[[Category:Literary]] 
[[Category:20th Century]] 
[[Category:Naturalism]] 
[[Category:Short Stories]]

Sonny's Blues

2021-09-30T05:50:43Z

AJCarey: /* Explanation of the Story’s Title */ added an explination

{{Infobox short story
| name = Sonny’s Blues
| image = 
| caption =
| author = [[w:James Baldwin|James Baldwin]]
| title_orig =
| translator =
| country = United States
| language = English
| series =
| genre =
| published_in = ''Partisan Review''
| publication_type =
| publisher =
| media_type =
| pub_date = 1957
| english_pub_date =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
| preceded_by_italics =
| followed_by_italics =
}}

'''“Sonny’s Blues”''' is a 1957 short story by [[w:James Baldwin|James Baldwin]] first published in ''Partisan Review''.


==Plot==
The story begins with the unnamed narrator on his way to work as a math teacher and opening up a newspaper finding out his brother, Sonny had been arrested for using and selling heroin.{{sfn|Baldwin|2002|p=79}} The whole day his mind was set on the disturbing news. When his class was over, a friend of Sonny's came through the school yard to talk to the narrator about the situation and that he felt responsible for getting sonny hooked.{{sfn|Baldwin|2002|p=80-82}} After the narrator daughter died of polio, he felt the need to write Sonny.{{sfn|Baldwin|2002|p=82}} When sonny got out of jail he had to live with the narrator wife Isabel's parents so that he could go to school and have access to a piano.{{sfn|Baldwin|2002|p=90}} Meanwhile, Sonny did not go to school, he started doing acid.{{sfn|Baldwin|2002|p=91}} After that he ran off to the navy and came back, him and the narrator got into a argument which made the narrator try to figure out sonny.{{sfn|Baldwin|2002|p=92}} So he goes to where sonny plays the piano and likes it and he send his brother a drink of a alcoholic scotch and milk.{{sfn|Baldwin|2002|p=99}} Sonny really didn't have no remorse for losing his parents at all.{{sfn|Baldwin|2002|p=82}}

==Characters==
'''Narrator''': He is a math teacher and he is 7 years older than Sonny.

'''Sonny''': He is the narrator's brother, jazz musician, and heroin addict who lived in New York.

'''Isabel''': The wife of the narrator.

==Major themes==
• One of the major themes is power of music, Sonny compares music's affective power to that of heroin. It makes him feel, "warm and cool at the same time" distant, sure and in control.{{sfn|Baldwin|2002|p=94}}

•A theme presented in the story is brotherly division{{sfn|Stone|2013|p=1}}. The symbology of the death of Grace plays an essential role in both the narrator and Sonny’s relationship. Sonny’s fall from grace depicts his morality and corroded decisions leading to an isolated life.{{sfn|Stone|2013|p=2}} A fall from grace always has consequences in Christianity. The family is sorrowed over the death of the narrator’s daughter, leading to disintegration of grace within the brothers, causing them to drift apart and threatens to destroy their relationship.{{sfn|Stone|2013|p=3}}

==Development history==
~history of the work's development, if available
(e.g., “[[w:The Man Who Studied Yoga|The Man Who Studied Yoga]]”)~

===Publication history===
~*year, country, publisher ISBN 1234567890, Pub date DD Month Year, binding~




===Explanation of the Story’s Title===
~Explain the work's title if it's not immediately obvious
(e.g., ''[[w:Things Fall Apart|Things Fall Apart]]'')~

The title of the story "Sonny's Blues” explains more about the story than it puts on even though his brother is the narrator, the character Sonny, still seems to have the story centered around him. As the book begins, we get to know just what Sonny's "blues" or woes are. Going into the second paragraph the narrator describes his concern for his brother as " A great block of ice... settled in my belly ". {{sfn|Baldwin|2002|p79}} He further goes on to describe the block of ice to be expanding until it felt like his guts " were going to spill out" he "was going to choke scream". {{sfn|Baldwin|2002|p79}} The narrator goes on to talk about how Sonny was arrested in a raid for “peddling and using heroin”. {{sfn|Baldwin|2002|p79}}

==Literary significance and reception==
~description of the work's initial reception and legacy based on the work of literary critics and commentators over
the years, give citations; if no literary significance should just be called reception~

==Awards and nominations==
~lists awards the work received, and significant nominations, if applicable; include in reception if brief~

==Adaptations==
~references to major film, TV, theatrical, radio, etc. adaptations, if applicable~

==Citations==
{{Reflist}}

==Works Cited==
See also: [[/Annotated Bibliography/]]
{{refbegin}}
{{cite journal
|last1=Baldwin
|first1=James
|date=1987
|title= Sonny Blues
|journal=Reading and Writing about Literature
|pages= 79-99
|access-date=September 2021
}}
{{cite book
}}{{cite journal
| last1 =Stone
| first1 = Caitlin
| date = Oct 2013
| title = Lost and Found: The Fall of Grace in Sonny's Blues
| url = https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=mlf&AN=2015383085&site=eds-live&scope=site&custid=ns235467
| journal = The Explicator
| volume = 71
| issue = 4
| pages = 251-254
}}

{{refend}}{{refbegin}}
*
{{cite book
|last=Eui Young
|first=Kim,
|date=2018 July-Sept
|title=The Sociology of the Ghetto in James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues
|location=Taylor & Francis, Routledge
|publisher=journal article Language of Publicatin: English Update Code: 2011901
|page= 161-165
}}' Due to Baldwin's compelling portrayal of brotherly estrangement and the difficult process of reconciliation, critics have frequently elided the dense description of the physical setting.
{{cite journal
| last1 =Eui Young
| first1 = Kim
| date = Oct 2013
| title = The Sociology of the Ghetto in James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues
| url = https://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=2&sid=e33e657f-6128-4232-b32c-0e9cf3727082%40pdc-v-sessmgr02&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLHNoaWImc2l0ZT1lZHMtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=2019402391&db=mlf
| journal = The Explicator
| volume = 94890
| issue = 2019402391
| pages = 161-165
}}

{{cite journal
|last1=Baldwin
|first1=James
|date=1987
|title= Sonny Blues
|journal=Reading and Writing about Literature
|pages= 94
}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* . . .

[[Category:Short Stories]]
[[Category:20th Century]]
[[Category:Literary]]
[[Category:Contemporary]]

To Build a Fire

2021-09-19T17:49:34Z

AJCarey: added citation

To Build a Fire

2021-09-18T18:55:18Z

AJCarey: citation for movie adaptation

To Build a Fire

2021-09-15T14:41:50Z

AJCarey: Film adaptation of short story

Araby

2021-09-01T14:35:53Z

AJCarey: /* Adaptations */ Film adaptation of "Araby"

{{Infobox short story
| name = Araby
| image = 
| caption =
| author = [[w:James Joyce|James Joyce]]
| title_orig =
| translator =
| country = Ireland
| language = English
| series =
| genre =
| published_in = ''[[w:Dubliners|Dubliners]]''
| publication_type =
| publisher =
| media_type =
| pub_date = 1914
| english_pub_date =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
| preceded_by_italics =
| followed_by_italics =
}}

'''''“Araby”''''' is a short story by James Joyce that appeared in the collection ''Dubliners'' published in 1914.


==Plot==
Araby is about a young boy who falls for a girl who lives across the street. When the girl expresses her desire to attend a particular bazaar, he sees this as the perfect chance to win her heart by visiting the bazaar and bringing her a gift. When the narrator's hopes of Araby are dashed, he finds that reality does not always match his expectations, it's a loss of innocence.{{Cn|date=September 2021}}

==Characters==

==== '''<big>The Narrator</big>''' ====
The narrator is a young boy who lives with his aunt and uncle. He develops a crush on Mangan's sister and begins to lose interest on everything around him and his main goal is to be with her.

==== '''<big>Narrator's Uncle</big>''' ====
The narrator and his friends seem to fear him by hiding in the shadows until he was safely housed. He owes money to Mrs. Mercer the pawnbrokers wife. The text implies that he may have a drinking problem when he comes home late drunk, trying to avoid giving the narrator money for the Araby market.

==== '''<big>Narrator's Aunt</big>''' ====
The narrator's aunt is like a mother figure to him. She appears to be a devout Catholic who is concerned that the Araby bazaar is a Freemason gathering. She uses religious terminology to warn the narrator that he might not be able to make it to the market on "this night of our Lord." She talked his uncle into giving him money for keeping him up so late.

==== '''<big>Mangan</big>''' ====
The narrator’s friend from the Christian Brothers' School. He lives across the street from the narrator and often plays in the street with him and the other boys before dinner.

==== '''<big>Mangan's Sister</big>''' ====
The older sister of the narrator's friend, Mangan. The narrator is madly in love with her. When she comes outside to call her brother in for tea, she routinely interrupts the boys playing in the street. She is a member of a convent and is interested in the Araby bazaar, which piques the narrator's interest in it. There is no evidence that she is aware of the narrator's crush on her.

==== '''<big>The Priest</big>''' ====
The former tenant of the narrator’s house, who died in the back drawing room. He is mentioned because some of his belongings, including three books that the narrator is interested in, are still at the house. The priest primarily serves as a moral reference point – all of these objects imply that the priest had a life outside of the church, that he rode a bicycle and read crime and romance novels.

==== '''<big>Mrs. Mercer</big>''' ====
On the night of the Araby market, the pawnbroker's widow waits for the narrator's uncle to return home and ask for the money he owes her. She's described as a "old, garrulous woman" who collects used postage stamps to sell to collectors for profit, usually for religious purposes.

==== '''<big>Female Shopkeeper</big>''' ====
As the narrator approaches her stall at the Araby bazaar, a young woman is flirting with two men. The narrator notices that she and the men with whom she converses all have English accents. The woman approaches the narrator and asks if he plans to buy anything, but he observes that she does not sound “encouraging” and appears to speak to him solely for the purpose of her job. And her flirting with the Englishmen appears to have made him realize the foolishness and vanity of his own attempt to impress Mangan's sister with a gift.

== Major themes==
<nowiki>One theme of the story is love, he has a crush on Mangan's sister and "her image accompanied me even in places that most hostile to romance"{{August 2021|reason=</nowiki>''page 39''<nowiki>}}</nowiki>

==Development history==
~history of the novel's development, if available
(e.g., ''[[w:Things Fall Apart|Things Fall Apart]]'')~

===Publication history===
~*year, country, publisher ISBN 1234567890, Pub date DD Month Year, binding~




==Explanation of the Story's Title ==
"Araby" is a bazaar.{{sfn|Joyce|2002|p=39}} It represents the narrator's wish to escape the drab monotony of life in Dublin.{{sfn|Malty|2020}}

== Literary significance and reception ==
~description of the work's initial reception and legacy based on the work of literary critics and commentators over
the years, give citations; if no literary significance should just be called reception~

==Awards and nominations==
~lists awards the work received, and significant nominations, if applicable; include in reception if brief~

==Adaptations==
* The movie adaptation of "Araby" was released in 1999 and directed by Dennis J. Courtney. {{sfn|Kestner, J. (2010). James Joyce’s “Araby” on Film. Joyce Studies Annual 2010, 241-247. doi:10.1353/joy.2011.0002.}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Works Cited==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book
| last = Joyce
| first = James
| date = 2002
| chapter = Araby
| title = Reading and Writing about Literature
| editor-last = Sipiora
| editor-first = Phillip
| publisher = Prentice Hall
| location = Upper Saddle Creek, NJ
| pages = 38-41
}}
* {{cite web |url=https://literaryocean.com/what-is-the-significance-of-the-title-of-the-story-araby-by-james-joyce/ |title=What is the significance of the title of the story “Araby” by James Joyce? |last=Malty |first=Supriya |date={{date|2020-03-02|MDY}} |website=Literary Ocean |publisher= |access-date={{date|2021-09-01|ISO}} }}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Literary]]
[[Category:20th Century]]
[[Category:Short Stories]]

User:AJCarey

2021-08-30T14:41:34Z

AJCarey: project 1

Hey everyone! I look forward to this semester with you all. This is my fourth semester here at Middle Georgia State and it is looking like it should be fun.

==Project 1==
I will write a theme for "Indian Camp" about the depiction of western medicine.

Indian Camp

2021-08-30T12:56:57Z

AJCarey: /* Major Themes */ grammar

==Indian Camp==

==Factual Information==
"Indian Camp" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway.

==Characters==

===Nick===
Nick is a young boy who goes on a trip with his dad to an Indian Camp. He has no idea of what he is going to encounter when he arrives because his father did not tell him where they were going or why. The story is based on Nick's experiences at the Indian Camp.

===Nick's father===
Nick's father is a doctor who goes to the Indian Camp to help a young Indian woman give birth to her baby. Towards Nick he is very caring and he seems to be a good father.

===Uncle George===
Uncle George goes along with Nick and his father to the Indian Camp. He doesn't seem to be as nice and caring as Nick's father. The narrator of the story gives the reader the impression that he doesn't have any sort of attachments, and shows up whenever he wants to. Textual evidence suggests that George might be the baby’s father.

===Young Indian Woman===
The young Indian woman has been in labor for two days. Her baby is not turned correctly and Nick's father, the doctor, must operate on her. The doctor perform's a Caesarian with a joack-knife and then sews her up with nine-foot, tapered gut leaders. She is took weak to see her baby after it is born.

==Metaphors==
Nick and his father set out for the Indian Camp during the nighttime and come back during the day. This is a [[metaphor]] for Nick not knowing what he is going to encounter and then coming out of the whole situation by learning a few life lessons. "Other metaphoric relationships (father and son, white man and Indian, middle-class and poor) serve important purposes in this compelling story"(34).

==Major Themes==
One major [[theme]] of this story is how Nick matured after he witnessed both life and death. He went into the camp as being a young inexperienced boy and came out being confused about death. The trip started out as just being a doctor with his son going into an Indian camp to deliver a baby. Not only does he learn about new life by watching the woman give birth, he learns that sometimes women go through great pain. Women can sometimes have difficulty having children. One of these reasons could be because the baby is not turned the correct way. His father explains to him that babies should be born head first and that when they are not it can cause trouble for everybody. [29]

While they were there, the baby's father committed suicide. Nick witnessed birth and death on this trip. He came out with questions about life and death he would have never had before. Although Nick did mature a great deal, he is still young and doesn't fully understand everything he witnessed. ". . .he felt quite sure he would never die"(31). Nick doesn't yet understand that everyone has to die at some point in their life.

Another theme of the story was how the doctor treated the Indians in the story. He was very caring towards Nick, but when it came to the Indians he acted as if they had no feelings. "But her screams are not important. I don't hear them because they are not important"(29). He didn't seem to care that he was in terrible pain and just continued with the surgery.

The point of a white doctor being called to aid the Indians helps push the notion that Western medicine had also advanced to the point that it's seemingly leaving Indian practices at the time obsolete.

==Works Cited==
Sipiora, Phillip. “Indian Camp.” Reading and Writing about Literature. New Jersey: Upper Saddle River, 2002.

Indian Camp

2021-08-30T12:54:07Z

AJCarey: /* Major Themes */ western medicine as a theme

==Indian Camp==

==Factual Information==
"Indian Camp" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway.

==Characters==

===Nick===
Nick is a young boy who goes on a trip with his dad to an Indian Camp. He has no idea of what he is going to encounter when he arrives because his father did not tell him where they were going or why. The story is based on Nick's experiences at the Indian Camp.

===Nick's father===
Nick's father is a doctor who goes to the Indian Camp to help a young Indian woman give birth to her baby. Towards Nick he is very caring and he seems to be a good father.

===Uncle George===
Uncle George goes along with Nick and his father to the Indian Camp. He doesn't seem to be as nice and caring as Nick's father. The narrator of the story gives the reader the impression that he doesn't have any sort of attachments, and shows up whenever he wants to. Textual evidence suggests that George might be the baby’s father.

===Young Indian Woman===
The young Indian woman has been in labor for two days. Her baby is not turned correctly and Nick's father, the doctor, must operate on her. The doctor perform's a Caesarian with a joack-knife and then sews her up with nine-foot, tapered gut leaders. She is took weak to see her baby after it is born.

==Metaphors==
Nick and his father set out for the Indian Camp during the nighttime and come back during the day. This is a [[metaphor]] for Nick not knowing what he is going to encounter and then coming out of the whole situation by learning a few life lessons. "Other metaphoric relationships (father and son, white man and Indian, middle-class and poor) serve important purposes in this compelling story"(34).

==Major Themes==
One major [[theme]] of this story is how Nick matured after he witnessed both life and death. He went into the camp as being a young inexperienced boy and came out being confused about death. The trip started out as just being a doctor with his son going into an Indian camp to deliver a baby. Not only does he learn about new life by watching the woman give birth, he learns that sometimes woman go through great pain. Woman can sometimes have difficulty having children. One of these reasons could be because the baby is not turned the correct way. His father explains to him that babies should be born head first and that when they are not it can cause trouble for everybody. [29]

While they were there, the baby's father committed suicide. Nick witnessed birth and death on this trip. He came out with questions about life and death he would have never had before. Although Nick did mature a great deal, he is still young and doesn't fully understand everything he witnessed. ". . .he felt quite sure he would never die"(31). Nick doesn't yet understand that everyone has to die at some point in their life.

Another theme of the story was how the doctor treated the Indians in the story. He was very caring towards Nick, but when it came to the Indians he acted as if they had no feelings. "But her screams are not important. I don't hear them because they are not important"(29). He didn't seem to care that he was in terrible pain and just continued with the surgery.

The point of a white doctor being called to aid the Indians helps push the notion that Western medicine had also advanced to the point of that seemingly leaves Indian practices at the time to be obsolete.

==Works Cited==
Sipiora, Phillip. “Indian Camp.” Reading and Writing about Literature. New Jersey: Upper Saddle River, 2002.

User:AJCarey/sandbox

2021-08-25T14:42:55Z

AJCarey: added source

==Works Cited==
*{{Cite book
| last =Fitzgerald
| first =F. Scott
| author-link =
| year =2002
| title = Reading and Writing about Literature
| publisher =
| location =upper saddle creek,NJ
| isbn =
| pages =6-18
}}
*{{Cite journal
| author = Sutton Brian
| date =
| year = 2007
| title = The Explicator
| journal = Fitzgerald's THE GREAT GATSBY and BABYLON REVISITED
| volume = 65
| issue = 3
| pages = 164-167
| doi =
| id =
| url =
}}

User:AJCarey/sandbox

2021-08-25T14:17:40Z

AJCarey:

User:AJCarey/sandbox

2021-08-25T14:15:26Z

AJCarey: /* ==work cited== */

<nowiki>==work cited==</nowiki>

{{Cite book
| last =Fitzgerald
| first =F. Scott
| author-link =
| year =2002
| title = Reading and Writing about Literature
| publisher =
| location =upper saddle creek,NJ
| isbn =
| pages =6-18
}}

User:AJCarey/sandbox

2021-08-25T14:14:55Z

AJCarey: Created page with "====== ==work cited== ====== {{Cite book | last =Fitzgerald | first =F. Scott | author-link = | year =2002 | title = Reading and Writing about Literature | publisher..."

====== ==work cited== ======
{{Cite book
| last =Fitzgerald
| first =F. Scott
| author-link =
| year =2002
| title = Reading and Writing about Literature
| publisher =
| location =upper saddle creek,NJ
| isbn =
| pages =6-18
}}

Babylon Revisited

2021-08-24T01:15:03Z

AJCarey: /* Honoria Wales */

{{Infobox short story
| name = Babylon Revisited
| image = 
| caption =
| author = [[w:F. Scott Fitzgerald|F. Scott Fitzgerald]]
| title_orig =
| translator =
| country = United States
| language = English
| series =
| genre =
| published_in = ''[[w:The Saturday Evening Post|The Saturday Evening Post]]''
| publication_type = Magazine
| publisher =
| media_type =
| pub_date = 1931
| english_pub_date =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
| preceded_by_italics =
| followed_by_italics =
}}

"Babylon Revisited" is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It first appeared in ''The Saturday Evening Post'' on February 21, 1931 but he wrote it in December of 1930.

==Characters==
===Charlie Wales===
Charlie Wales, 35, the story’s protagonist, has come to Paris from Prague to regain custody of his daughter, Honoria, from his sister-in-law.

=== Helen Wales ===
Charlie’s dead wife and mother of Honoria. Helen and Charlie shared a drinking problem during the course of their relationship. She passed away due to heart troubles because of a dreadful situation that happened with Charlie. She suffered with pneumonia when Charlie locked her out in a snowstorm, and inevitably died shortly afterwards.

===Honoria Wales===
Honoria is the daughter of Charlie Wales and his deceased wife, Helen. She is also one of the three children that live in the Peters' house.

===Marion Peters===
Marion is a tall woman with worried eyes. She is the sister-in-law to Charlie Wales and sister to the deceased, Helen. She is the antagonist who stands in the way of Charlie getting his daughter back, who she has full custody over.

===Lincoln Peters===
Lincoln is married to Marion Wales and shares custody of Honoria. He is sympathetic for Charlie wants him to be able to have custody of Honoria.

===Lorraine Quarrles===
Lorraine, “a lovely, pale blonde of thirty,” is a friend of Charlie’s from his past. She likely had an affair with Charlie.

"She's a big part of Charlie's "bad habits."

===Duncan Shaeffer===
Duncan is a friend of Charlie's from college.

==Plot==
“Babylon Revisited” is about Charlie Wales attempting to correct his past and regain custody of his daughter. He has to overcome his drinking addiction and try to regain his wealth. He returns to Paris from Prague to try and convince his sister-in-law, who has custody of his daughter, that he had changed so that she would sign over custody of his daughter to him. Charlie has to stay from the bar and liquor to prove that he has changed. "The story shows that self motivation can take you a long way where you're on the road to recovery."

==Themes==
One [[theme]] of this story is Charlie's struggle to prove to everyone that he has overcome his drinking and partying habit. Some passages in the story indicate that he may not be over his drinking because when he comes back to town he goes straight back to the bar. "Charlie's charter seems to have an up and down roller coster effect."

==Comparisons To The Author's Life==
It is easy to see parallels between a piece of literature and the life of it’s author. This is made evident with F. Scott Fitzgerald and his essay “Babylon Revisited”. The essay is a story of money and family lost to alcoholism and the remnants of life left behind. As compelling a story as this is on it’s own, it becomes even more interesting with the knowledge that Fitzgerald experienced much of the same.

In “Babylon Revisited” Fitzgerald writes of a man who falls into a great deal of money, then spends without caution while in France with his wife. He becomes an alcoholic, the money is quickly lost, his wife dies, and custody of their young daughter goes to his late wife’s sister. All of this is given almost as an after thought, as the story picks up as the protagonist, Charlie Wales, comes back to America to reclaim custody of his daughter. It is not an easy task, as his sister-in-law, Marion, blames Charlie for the death of his wife. The overall theme of the story is living to regret misusing an extravagant lifestyle. By all indications, this is also the overall theme to Fitzgerald’s life.

In 1920 Fitzgerald married Zelda Sayre and they began a lifestyle of decadence. While he tried to gain credibility in the literary world, he was seen as too much the party boy. The couple had their first and only child, affectionately known as Scottie, in 1921. His drinking quickly escalated to the point of alcoholism. His wife also drank, but was not seen as an alcoholic. The couple fought quite often, being in a hostile state that was brought on by drinking. During their years together the couple spent their money too extravagantly, putting them in debt. The family went to France in early 1924, where he wrote The Great Gatsby. While there Zelda’s partying ways went too far: she had an affair. Though they stayed together, the marriage was irreparably damaged. She later suffered mental breakdowns and ended up spending her life in and out of asylums. Fitzgerald eventually moved out of his family’s home and rented a house for himself. He was not providing a good enough environment for his 14 year old daughter so she was sent to a boarding school. Another family, the Obers, took over caring for her. Fitzgerald kept up writing to her and kept a hand over her education. Fitzgerald died in a girlfriend’s apartment in 1940. Zelda died in a fire at a sanitarium in 1948.

The parallels are quite obvious between the protagonist’s life and that of the author -- spending beyond his means, drinking to excess, and losing his child to another family. Though Fitzgerald’s wife died years after his own death, it could be argued that the parallel between his life and the death of Charlie Wales’s wife comes when Zelda had her affair. While the guilt he may have felt over his wife straying is not known, it is known that after that affair the marriage had essentially ended. It suffered a metaphoric death.

In reading through the life of Charlie Wales, strong parallels are shown to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life. The high times Charlie experiences are those of Fitzgerald’s. The losses of Charlie are Fitzgerald’s. And it is safe to assume that the guilt and crushing pain Charlie wrestles with throughout the essay is that of a broken man wishing to share his story with sympathizers in a weary world.

==Works Cited==
{{refbegin}}
* Bruccoli, Matthew J. “A Brief Life of Fitzgerald” F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Life in Letters Ed. Matthew J. Bruccoli. New York: Scribners, 1994. University of South Carolina F. Scott Fitzgerald Centenary. 4 Dec. 2003 <http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/biography.html>
* Sipiora, Phillip. "Babylon Revisited." Reading and Writing about Literature. New Jersey: Upper Saddle River, 2002.
{{refend}}

[[Category:Literary]]
[[Category:Short Stories]]
[[Category:Modenist]]
[[Category:20th Century]]

Babylon Revisited

2021-08-24T01:11:09Z

AJCarey: /* Charlie Wales */

{{Infobox short story
| name = Babylon Revisited
| image = 
| caption =
| author = [[w:F. Scott Fitzgerald|F. Scott Fitzgerald]]
| title_orig =
| translator =
| country = United States
| language = English
| series =
| genre =
| published_in = ''[[w:The Saturday Evening Post|The Saturday Evening Post]]''
| publication_type = Magazine
| publisher =
| media_type =
| pub_date = 1931
| english_pub_date =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
| preceded_by_italics =
| followed_by_italics =
}}

"Babylon Revisited" is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It first appeared in ''The Saturday Evening Post'' on February 21, 1931 but he wrote it in December of 1930.

==Characters==
===Charlie Wales===
Charlie Wales, 35, the story’s protagonist, has come to Paris from Prague to regain custody of his daughter, Honoria, from his sister-in-law.

=== Helen Wales ===
Charlie’s dead wife and mother of Honoria. Helen and Charlie shared a drinking problem during the course of their relationship. She passed away due to heart troubles because of a dreadful situation that happened with Charlie. She suffered with pneumonia when Charlie locked her out in a snowstorm, and inevitably died shortly afterwards.

===Honoria Wales===
Honoria is the daughter of Charlie Wales and his deceased wife, Helen.

===Marion Peters===
Marion is a tall woman with worried eyes. She is the sister-in-law to Charlie Wales and sister to the deceased, Helen. She is the antagonist who stands in the way of Charlie getting his daughter back, who she has full custody over.

===Lincoln Peters===
Lincoln is married to Marion Wales and shares custody of Honoria. He is sympathetic for Charlie wants him to be able to have custody of Honoria.

===Lorraine Quarrles===
Lorraine, “a lovely, pale blonde of thirty,” is a friend of Charlie’s from his past. She likely had an affair with Charlie.

"She's a big part of Charlie's "bad habits."

===Duncan Shaeffer===
Duncan is a friend of Charlie's from college.

==Plot==
“Babylon Revisited” is about Charlie Wales attempting to correct his past and regain custody of his daughter. He has to overcome his drinking addiction and try to regain his wealth. He returns to Paris from Prague to try and convince his sister-in-law, who has custody of his daughter, that he had changed so that she would sign over custody of his daughter to him. Charlie has to stay from the bar and liquor to prove that he has changed. "The story shows that self motivation can take you a long way where you're on the road to recovery."

==Themes==
One [[theme]] of this story is Charlie's struggle to prove to everyone that he has overcome his drinking and partying habit. Some passages in the story indicate that he may not be over his drinking because when he comes back to town he goes straight back to the bar. "Charlie's charter seems to have an up and down roller coster effect."

==Comparisons To The Author's Life==
It is easy to see parallels between a piece of literature and the life of it’s author. This is made evident with F. Scott Fitzgerald and his essay “Babylon Revisited”. The essay is a story of money and family lost to alcoholism and the remnants of life left behind. As compelling a story as this is on it’s own, it becomes even more interesting with the knowledge that Fitzgerald experienced much of the same.

In “Babylon Revisited” Fitzgerald writes of a man who falls into a great deal of money, then spends without caution while in France with his wife. He becomes an alcoholic, the money is quickly lost, his wife dies, and custody of their young daughter goes to his late wife’s sister. All of this is given almost as an after thought, as the story picks up as the protagonist, Charlie Wales, comes back to America to reclaim custody of his daughter. It is not an easy task, as his sister-in-law, Marion, blames Charlie for the death of his wife. The overall theme of the story is living to regret misusing an extravagant lifestyle. By all indications, this is also the overall theme to Fitzgerald’s life.

In 1920 Fitzgerald married Zelda Sayre and they began a lifestyle of decadence. While he tried to gain credibility in the literary world, he was seen as too much the party boy. The couple had their first and only child, affectionately known as Scottie, in 1921. His drinking quickly escalated to the point of alcoholism. His wife also drank, but was not seen as an alcoholic. The couple fought quite often, being in a hostile state that was brought on by drinking. During their years together the couple spent their money too extravagantly, putting them in debt. The family went to France in early 1924, where he wrote The Great Gatsby. While there Zelda’s partying ways went too far: she had an affair. Though they stayed together, the marriage was irreparably damaged. She later suffered mental breakdowns and ended up spending her life in and out of asylums. Fitzgerald eventually moved out of his family’s home and rented a house for himself. He was not providing a good enough environment for his 14 year old daughter so she was sent to a boarding school. Another family, the Obers, took over caring for her. Fitzgerald kept up writing to her and kept a hand over her education. Fitzgerald died in a girlfriend’s apartment in 1940. Zelda died in a fire at a sanitarium in 1948.

The parallels are quite obvious between the protagonist’s life and that of the author -- spending beyond his means, drinking to excess, and losing his child to another family. Though Fitzgerald’s wife died years after his own death, it could be argued that the parallel between his life and the death of Charlie Wales’s wife comes when Zelda had her affair. While the guilt he may have felt over his wife straying is not known, it is known that after that affair the marriage had essentially ended. It suffered a metaphoric death.

In reading through the life of Charlie Wales, strong parallels are shown to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life. The high times Charlie experiences are those of Fitzgerald’s. The losses of Charlie are Fitzgerald’s. And it is safe to assume that the guilt and crushing pain Charlie wrestles with throughout the essay is that of a broken man wishing to share his story with sympathizers in a weary world.

==Works Cited==
{{refbegin}}
* Bruccoli, Matthew J. “A Brief Life of Fitzgerald” F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Life in Letters Ed. Matthew J. Bruccoli. New York: Scribners, 1994. University of South Carolina F. Scott Fitzgerald Centenary. 4 Dec. 2003 <http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/biography.html>
* Sipiora, Phillip. "Babylon Revisited." Reading and Writing about Literature. New Jersey: Upper Saddle River, 2002.
{{refend}}

[[Category:Literary]]
[[Category:Short Stories]]
[[Category:Modenist]]
[[Category:20th Century]]

Babylon Revisited

2021-08-24T01:10:48Z

AJCarey: /* Charlie Wales */

{{Infobox short story
| name = Babylon Revisited
| image = 
| caption =
| author = [[w:F. Scott Fitzgerald|F. Scott Fitzgerald]]
| title_orig =
| translator =
| country = United States
| language = English
| series =
| genre =
| published_in = ''[[w:The Saturday Evening Post|The Saturday Evening Post]]''
| publication_type = Magazine
| publisher =
| media_type =
| pub_date = 1931
| english_pub_date =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
| preceded_by_italics =
| followed_by_italics =
}}

"Babylon Revisited" is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It first appeared in ''The Saturday Evening Post'' on February 21, 1931 but he wrote it in December of 1930.

==Characters==
===Charlie Wales===
Charlie Wales,35, the story’s protagonist, has come to Paris from Prague to regain custody of his daughter, Honoria, from his sister-in-law.

=== Helen Wales ===
Charlie’s dead wife and mother of Honoria. Helen and Charlie shared a drinking problem during the course of their relationship. She passed away due to heart troubles because of a dreadful situation that happened with Charlie. She suffered with pneumonia when Charlie locked her out in a snowstorm, and inevitably died shortly afterwards.

===Honoria Wales===
Honoria is the daughter of Charlie Wales and his deceased wife, Helen.

===Marion Peters===
Marion is a tall woman with worried eyes. She is the sister-in-law to Charlie Wales and sister to the deceased, Helen. She is the antagonist who stands in the way of Charlie getting his daughter back, who she has full custody over.

===Lincoln Peters===
Lincoln is married to Marion Wales and shares custody of Honoria. He is sympathetic for Charlie wants him to be able to have custody of Honoria.

===Lorraine Quarrles===
Lorraine, “a lovely, pale blonde of thirty,” is a friend of Charlie’s from his past. She likely had an affair with Charlie.

"She's a big part of Charlie's "bad habits."

===Duncan Shaeffer===
Duncan is a friend of Charlie's from college.

==Plot==
“Babylon Revisited” is about Charlie Wales attempting to correct his past and regain custody of his daughter. He has to overcome his drinking addiction and try to regain his wealth. He returns to Paris from Prague to try and convince his sister-in-law, who has custody of his daughter, that he had changed so that she would sign over custody of his daughter to him. Charlie has to stay from the bar and liquor to prove that he has changed. "The story shows that self motivation can take you a long way where you're on the road to recovery."

==Themes==
One [[theme]] of this story is Charlie's struggle to prove to everyone that he has overcome his drinking and partying habit. Some passages in the story indicate that he may not be over his drinking because when he comes back to town he goes straight back to the bar. "Charlie's charter seems to have an up and down roller coster effect."

==Comparisons To The Author's Life==
It is easy to see parallels between a piece of literature and the life of it’s author. This is made evident with F. Scott Fitzgerald and his essay “Babylon Revisited”. The essay is a story of money and family lost to alcoholism and the remnants of life left behind. As compelling a story as this is on it’s own, it becomes even more interesting with the knowledge that Fitzgerald experienced much of the same.

In “Babylon Revisited” Fitzgerald writes of a man who falls into a great deal of money, then spends without caution while in France with his wife. He becomes an alcoholic, the money is quickly lost, his wife dies, and custody of their young daughter goes to his late wife’s sister. All of this is given almost as an after thought, as the story picks up as the protagonist, Charlie Wales, comes back to America to reclaim custody of his daughter. It is not an easy task, as his sister-in-law, Marion, blames Charlie for the death of his wife. The overall theme of the story is living to regret misusing an extravagant lifestyle. By all indications, this is also the overall theme to Fitzgerald’s life.

In 1920 Fitzgerald married Zelda Sayre and they began a lifestyle of decadence. While he tried to gain credibility in the literary world, he was seen as too much the party boy. The couple had their first and only child, affectionately known as Scottie, in 1921. His drinking quickly escalated to the point of alcoholism. His wife also drank, but was not seen as an alcoholic. The couple fought quite often, being in a hostile state that was brought on by drinking. During their years together the couple spent their money too extravagantly, putting them in debt. The family went to France in early 1924, where he wrote The Great Gatsby. While there Zelda’s partying ways went too far: she had an affair. Though they stayed together, the marriage was irreparably damaged. She later suffered mental breakdowns and ended up spending her life in and out of asylums. Fitzgerald eventually moved out of his family’s home and rented a house for himself. He was not providing a good enough environment for his 14 year old daughter so she was sent to a boarding school. Another family, the Obers, took over caring for her. Fitzgerald kept up writing to her and kept a hand over her education. Fitzgerald died in a girlfriend’s apartment in 1940. Zelda died in a fire at a sanitarium in 1948.

The parallels are quite obvious between the protagonist’s life and that of the author -- spending beyond his means, drinking to excess, and losing his child to another family. Though Fitzgerald’s wife died years after his own death, it could be argued that the parallel between his life and the death of Charlie Wales’s wife comes when Zelda had her affair. While the guilt he may have felt over his wife straying is not known, it is known that after that affair the marriage had essentially ended. It suffered a metaphoric death.

In reading through the life of Charlie Wales, strong parallels are shown to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life. The high times Charlie experiences are those of Fitzgerald’s. The losses of Charlie are Fitzgerald’s. And it is safe to assume that the guilt and crushing pain Charlie wrestles with throughout the essay is that of a broken man wishing to share his story with sympathizers in a weary world.

==Works Cited==
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* Bruccoli, Matthew J. “A Brief Life of Fitzgerald” F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Life in Letters Ed. Matthew J. Bruccoli. New York: Scribners, 1994. University of South Carolina F. Scott Fitzgerald Centenary. 4 Dec. 2003 <http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/biography.html>
* Sipiora, Phillip. "Babylon Revisited." Reading and Writing about Literature. New Jersey: Upper Saddle River, 2002.
{{refend}}

[[Category:Literary]]
[[Category:Short Stories]]
[[Category:Modenist]]
[[Category:20th Century]]

User:AJCarey

2021-08-24T01:04:27Z

AJCarey: Created page with "Hey everyone! I look forward to this semester with you all. This is my fourth semester here at Middle Georgia State and it is looking like it should be fun."

Hey everyone! I look forward to this semester with you all. This is my fourth semester here at Middle Georgia State and it is looking like it should be fun.