Stephanie Bernal Professor Rose English 20 November 2009 Outline I.
Introductory Paragraph a. Summary i. “Babylon Revisited” by F. Scott Fitzgerald is about a man named Charlie that attempts redemption from his hedonistic ways by regaining custody of his daughter. ii. Charlie is a thirty-five year old man that has returned to Paris after a year and a half of recuperating from alcoholism, the loss of his wealth, and the death of his wife, Helen. iii. The story begins in a bar in Paris; Charlie is catching up on the whereabouts of his old cohorts before going to the home of his brother and sister-in-law, Lincoln and Marion Peters, to see his daughter. iv. Charlie constantly overcompensates in order to convince Marion and Lincoln that he is capable of sole guardianship of his daughter, Honoria. They are reluctant to consider his request because he had been very irresponsible prior to the death of his wife and the stock market crash in 1929. v. Charlie is tempted to return to his alcoholic ways throughout the
story; he runs into old “friends” that are surprised by his new behavior and attitude. vi. During the final discussion regarding Charlie’s custody of Honoria, two of his old friends show up at Marion and Lincoln’s home and completely deplete any faith that had been built up in Charlie’s favor. vii. Marion becomes extremely upset and Lincoln tells Charlie he will have to wait six more months for the matter of custody to be considered again. b. Thesis/ Central Idea: Fitzgerald demonstrates how difficult it can be to escape the past. i. Theme: haunting past ii. No matter how much Charlie had changed, his friends and family would not allow him to escape his past mistakes. iii. Many people attempt to create fresh starts for themselves, but the regret continues to plaque them. iv. Fitzgerald demonstrates how difficult it can be to be forgiven for past mistakes. II.
Charlie is remorseful yet appreciative and has learned fundamental life lessons from the tragedy he has endured. a. Fitzgerald connects the reader with Charlie as Carlos Baker’s explains in his analysis by writing that ”we cannot help feeling compassion for this fictive prisoner, who tries so hard to measure up, only to be defeated by a
past that he can never shed” (Baker 24). b. Charlie is a round character, because he experiences a range of emotion and thoughts in this story. i. He has dealt with a great deal of sadness in the few years prior to this story beginning. He was caught up in a whirlwind of prosperity, which caused the destruction of his marriage along with his health. Marion and Lincoln were granted guardianship of Charlie’s daughter, because he was in rehab when Helen passed away. Charlie was melancholy and regretful; he seemed to be lost in thought. ii. He walked around Paris, and remembering his careless ways, Charlie thinks, “I spoiled this city for myself… the days came along one after another, and then two years were gone, and everything was gone, and I was gone” (271). c. His attitude is represented through Direct and Indirect Characterization. i. After all of the horrible things that took place in his life, somehow he is optimistic and appreciative of all the “little things” he could not see in his hedonistic haze. ii. As he strolls through Paris, Charlie realizes how much he now appreciates things that may have seemed trivial in the past. An example of his admiration for the beautiful city is apparent when Charlie realizes “he never eaten at a really cheap restaurant in Paris…for some odd reason he wished he had” (271). This is an
example of Fitzgerald’s use of Indirect Characterization. iii. Direct characterization is used when describing Charlie’s looks, his age and face is described in detail. Charlie’s thoughts and feelings are described directly, as well. d. Charlie is also a static character, because he undergoes no change throughout the conflict in this story. All of his philosophical changes took place before the story begins. i. He finds it necessary to boast about his accomplishments, in order to establish credibility with Marion and Lincoln. There are a few instances throughout this story in which Charlie creates an uncomfortable atmosphere between himself and the Peters. He comes across to them as arrogant, but he is desperately trying to be seen as capable and competent. III.
The struggle in this story is mainly between Charlie and his sister-in-law; therefore the conflict is Person vs. Person, which is external. a. The exposition of the story involves Charlie’s return to Paris and his attempt to see everything in a new light. Charlie had already won the internal conflict before this story began by sobering up and getting his priorities in order. The rising action begins when Charlie expresses his desire to have Honoria come to stay with him. Then the struggle between Charlie and Marion is over his credibility and capability of taking care of his daughter. i. Marion will not allow herself to see Charlie in a better light; she
has hung onto her resentment for Charlie ever since he became wealthy while she and Lincoln lived averagely. Her anger grew as Helen and Charlie began to have marital problems, and it flourished when Helen became sick and passed away. ii. “I can’t help what I think! How much you were responsible for Helen’s death” (278). b. After taking some time to cool off, Marion attempted to understand and respect Charlie’s position and his right to have custody of Honoria. The climax begins Charlie’ plans are cut short by his old friends Lorraine and Duncan show up to the Peter’s residence. i. When the two ghosts of Charlie’s past, who Baker describes as ”the counterforce to all he now longs for,” show in a drunken stupor, they spoil the progress Charlie had made with Marion (Baker 25). ii. Because Marion was already skeptical of Charlie’s growth, it didn’t take much for her to revert to her previous distaste for him. With their despicable intrusion, Lorraine and Duncan ruined Charlie’s chances of fulfilling the dreams he had for himself and Honoria. iii. Marion is so appalled at the sight of these “friends” of Charlie’s, she and Lincoln chose not to allow Honoria to move with Charlie after all. Lincoln gently explains to Charlie that they have chosen to let the matter “slide for six months; I can’t take the chance of
working her up to this state again” (284). IV.
The Point of View used in this story is limited omniscient or third person. a. The narration comes from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s perspective, so you see more of the setting and feeling than if Charlie’s character narrated the story. i. The limited omniscient point of view allows the reader to get a better understanding of the other characters in the story. Marion is a multi dimensional character rather than flat, and although she is a minor character, Fitzgerald described her demeanor regarding Charlie. ii. An example of the Point of View used in this story is shown when Charlie is having the discussion of Honoria’s custody with Marion and Lincoln. He describes Marion’s feelings by writing “part of her saw that Charlie’s feet were planted on the earth now, and her own maternal feeling recognized the naturalness of his desire” (278).
III. Conclusion a. Fitzgerald evokes emotion through the use of characterization and limited omniscient point of view to illustrate this story. Charlie turned his life around, but it is clear that he can only make progress with the things he has control over. Regaining custody of his daughter is the one thing he wants most, but poor decisions he made in his past have inhibited that from happening. Charlie’s headstrong sister-in-law has built up animosity and resentment
toward him since Helen passed away. Regardless of Charlie’s newfound elation and clarity, ”he knows he must serve a further sentence in the prison of his days” (Baker 27). b. Fitzgerald shows people’s reluctance to forgive past mistakes and trust in their transgressors.