Sunday, February 19, 2012

IR MP3 1: This Side of Paradise

The beginning of F. Scott Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise, the story follows the life of Amory Blaine, a young man growing up in Minnesota with his mother Beatrice. Amory is a high-class individual and thinks very highly of himself and believes he has a promising future. This does get him into trouble often as he does not endure himself to his classmates.

Character/POV: Amory is a young "Aristocrat" who believes that he can become very successful with his charm and abilities. He lives in Minnesota with his mother Beatrice, where he believes he is much superior than his classmates. Eventually, he and Beatrice decide that he should attend a charter school in Connecticut to give him more opportunities. The changes in setting show how Amory is like many other adolescences with promising futures, except his pretentiousness makes him a pariah in Connecticut, whereas his peers in Minnesota are more accepting. The story is told in third person, but follows Amory and his actions. They also show how he conducts himself and how that connects to superiot thinking.

Setting/Plot: In Minnesota, Amory's family and friends are more laid back and Amory is able to excel in that environment. He thinks his status is elevated in Minnesota, but when he attends school in Connecticut, he is put into "even competition." When he moves to Connecticut, he must accept that the people there are like him; so he changes his attitude so that he is more accepting and will be able to succeed. He changes at school and becomes an excellent student, star football player, and successful writer. Amory was able to adapt to his new surroundings and that change showed how Amory confronted his problems and moved forward.

Theme: The story shows how Amory changes as person, but still believes that he is on a path of greatness. The story shows how Amory also displays the greed that people had and how they overlook those who are below them (socially). It is also mention that this book is a parallel to Fitzgerald's life as a young man.

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