The book choice for December 2012 is The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Anthony and Gloria are the essence of Jazz Age glamour. A brilliant and magnetic couple, they fling themselves at life with an energy that is thrilling. New York is a playground where they dance and drink for days on end.
The Beautiful and Damned is a 1922 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald that tells the story of Anthony Patch, a young artist and presumptive heir to a tycoon’s fortune. Anthony and his wife Gloria Gilbert become “wrecked on the shoals of dissipation” while excessively partying at the dawn of the hedonistic Jazz Age.
The novel is set in New York City and follows Anthony and Gloria from their courtship to their downfall. Anthony is a handsome and charming young man, but he is also lazy and irresponsible. Gloria is beautiful and intelligent, but she is also vain and materialistic. The two of them are drawn to each other by their shared sense of entitlement and their desire for a life of luxury.
After they marry, Anthony and Gloria live a life of leisure and excess. They spend money lavishly, throw wild parties, and drink to excess. They also become increasingly indifferent to each other. Anthony’s alcoholism worsens, and Gloria becomes increasingly restless and dissatisfied.
The novel’s climax comes when Anthony’s grandfather, Adam J. Patch, dies. Anthony expects to inherit a large fortune, but his grandfather leaves him nothing. This event shatters Anthony’s illusions about himself and his future. He realizes that he is not as talented or successful as he thought he was. He also realizes that Gloria is not the woman he thought she was.
The Beautiful and Damned explores a number of themes, including:
- The dangers of wealth and privilege
- The emptiness of a life of leisure
- The destructive power of alcohol
- The nature of love and marriage
- The American Dream
Here are some additional thoughts on the novel:
- The Beautiful and Damned is a very cynical novel. Fitzgerald does not believe in the American Dream, and he shows how it can lead to emptiness and despair.
- The novel is also very critical of wealth and privilege. Fitzgerald shows how the wealthy can become lazy and irresponsible, and how they can lose sight of what is important in life.
- The novel is beautifully written. Fitzgerald’s prose is sharp and witty, and he captures the atmosphere of the Jazz Age perfectly.
- The novel is a cautionary tale. It shows how easy it is to lose your way when you are surrounded by wealth and privilege.
Discussion Questions
- Do you see Anthony as a man without purpose, or as a man who won’t compromise with a brutal world? What are some of his failures?
- How does Anthony Patch’s quote on the title page, “The victor belongs to the spoils” relate to the novel?
- Who are the beautiful and damned? Do you think Anthony and Gloria are responsible for their miserable lives, or was it fate?
- Do you think Gloria loved Anthony? If so, why do you think she did so? Would she have been happier with Bloeckman?
- Were the female characters credible?
- What brings Anthony and Gloria to ruin? Society? The times? Divine retribution? Poor values? Fleshly desires? Money?
- Did the book glorify Anthony and Gloria’s hedonism, or moralize against it? Why?
- Do you sympathise with Anthony and Gloria?
- What did you think of Fitzgerald’s style and tone?
- In what ways were the period and setting of the book relevant to the story?
- Is there an equivalent to Fitzgerald’s diegesis today?
- Is there a moral implied by the course of events in the book, for example: “Actions have consequences”?
- Fitzgerald did a considerable amount of rewriting of this novel, largely at the solicited suggestions of friends. If you had been so consulted, what further alterations would you have recommended?
- Would you recommend the book?
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