Out of all of the short stories we have read so far this month, my favorite is, by far, "Babylon Revisited". I really enjoyed the character development, as well as the overall plot. Charlie's actions and thoughts show us that he truly has changed from who he was long ago. While his sister-in-law may have her suspicions, we, as the readers, know that Charlie really does want to take his daughter back and become a responsible and worthy parent. I really didn't like Marion's character. I can understand that she wants what's best for Honoria, but I can't ignore the fact that she doesn't give second chances. The moment Charlie made a mistake (the locking-his-wife-out-in-the-heart-of-winter incident), Marion's image of him was tainted eternally. She lost all faith in the idea that he could become responsible and worthy of his wife and daughter, and took out her anger by keeping Honoria from going to stay with her father. Even when she did start to give in, a single occurrence that wasn't even Charlie's fault took away the glimmer of trust that had started to grow within her and shrouded her in doubt and stubbornness once more. Speaking of that occurrence, I was even more frustrated with Duncan and Lorraine than Marion -- mostly Lorraine. Lorraine was so tied to the past experiences she had shared with Charlie that she failed to see how he had changed and therefore kept pushing towards him in fruitless attempts at getting her way. Her and Duncan were the final straw that set off Marion. All three of these characters were so troublesome to Charlie's reunion with his daughter that I almost wanted to rewrite the story and give it a happier ending by leaving Duncan and Lorraine out completely.
The part of the story I liked the best was the second section where Charlie is having lunch with Honoria and they attempt to get to know each other a bit better. I thought this part was simply adorable, with Honoria and her father conversing in a playful manner at first, and then delving into deeper thoughts -- like Honoria's mother. You can tell in this scene that all Honoria wants is to be with her father, as well as the fact that Charlie is, indeed, up for the challenge of becoming her actual guardian. That's why I was so sad in the end when it was determined that it could never be, that Marion would not put Honoria under Charlie's care. Charlie struggled throughout the entire story, simply striving to find a way to make amends with Marion so that he could finally live together with his daughter, and all of his efforts were simply slammed into a wall. The problem was never resolved, and that made me sad. I really liked the story line and the way it was written, I just wish the ending could have been happier.
Well, that concludes my thoughts on "Babylon Revisited", as well as my blog posts for AP Lit. One more week to go, guys. Hang in there! :)
Theresa, I really like your insights into the importance of Duncan and Lorraine as characters. When I was reading, I saw them as secondary, more superficial characters for plot purposes, but your perspective makes me want to go back and reread the story again. I too, really enjoyed this story, even though it was not exactly what i expected from Fitzgerald after reading *The Great Gatsby.* Nonetheless, I love his writing and agree with you that it was a sad, or at least unapologetically realistic ending rather than one with a comforting resolution. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that this story seemed out of character for Fitzgerald. It seems so melancholic (not that his other stories aren't, but this was particularly so). It's an interesting piece of literary history, though. Fitzgerald's life fell apart in much the same manner as Charlie's. This is widely regarded as the last worthwhile thing that he wrote. It's sad, really.
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