The 1700-1939 Book Club! discussion
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This Side of Paradise
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This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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Jamie
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Mar 01, 2015 03:53PM
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I was surprised by the sort of steam of conscious style of writing in this book. I have not read a lot of Fitzgerald but I had not expected that narrative style from him but thus far I am really enjoying it. I find that Armory is not necessarily particularly sympathetic or likeable in many ways, but he is quite amusing.
Perhaps because both books revolve around young men trying to find themselves and define their identity within the school atmosphere but while reading this I cannot help but think of Catcher in the Rye. And I find myself thinking that Armory is just the kind of person that Holden would call a "phony."
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Just picked it up from the library, and will start reading over this weekend.
TSOP is a tough read. I doff my cap to anyone who persists all the way through it. Minimal dialog; near nonexistent-plot..much introspection..ruminations on poetry and literature. Rich, ornate, prose. The novel which catapaulted FSF to fame but which resembles nothing of his later work. Interesting book to choose for a group read.
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I wonder, what is the significance in Chapter 3: The Egoist Considers, of the strange vision of the devil like figure that Armory has? It had a bit of a Dr. Faustus feel to it I thought.
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It had a bit of a Dr. Faustus feel to it I thought."
I always like to read Sparknotes and sometimes get a different prospective on a novel. This is what it says:
"His vision of the devil is a difficult one to dissect and stands as a reminder of his young age. In many ways, it highlights the moral backbone that sets Amory apart from his peers. The phantasm appears in the midst of a morally vacuous party and Amory, in seeing the devil, sees to the core of the situation. Amory has a conscience. The way in which Amory bolts from the company of his friends, totally disregarding them, shows that he no longer cares about social image. The scene is a poignant culmination of Amory's removing himself from convention, "the egotist considering," as the title of the chapter says. The fact that Tom sees this devil watching Amory as well hints at the connection between these two and suggests Tom's own independence from the conventionalizing forces of society."
I found it helpful because I thought he might be having a break down like his mom. I'm still enjoying the story! Hope everyone else is :)
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I finished this one in the last week or so, and have been waiting until I had time to post my thoughts on it here. I finally have a few minutes, so here goes:I have always had a real problem with being able to like a book when I don't like the main character, and I really, REALLY didn't like most of the characters in this book. (My one exception that I can think of it Monsignor Darcy, who I actually found funny and charming.) It's the main reason why I HATE The Catcher in the Rye and On the Road. I can't seem to distance myself from how I feel about the people in the story - not actual villains, but unlikeable heroes - from the story itself. I recently came across an article on bookriot about this problem of mine, and I was honestly thrilled to find out that I'm not alone in this.
http://bookriot.com/2015/03/18/overco...
I also get the feeling that I'm 'finding' this book too late. High School Me probably would have been rocked to her core by it, whereas Thirty-Something-Above-Five Me was thinking about how I wouldn't want to have a ten minute conversation with any of these people.
That all being said, I still like Fitzgerald's way with words, and I actually LOVED the very end, which was the reason it got three stars from me instead of the two I'd been planning on.
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I have always had a real problem with..."
I agree with having a hard time liking books when you don't like the characters. I need to check out the article! I also have a hard time liking books that push beliefs/views/ideas I do not agree with. I'm sure most people have this problem as well. As long as I can get something out of the book and am able to use an opposite view to strengthen my own I am ok but I don't want to waste my time on certain books. I also didn't like The Catcher in the Rye but since read it in high school I want to reread. Even though I didn't like any of the characters in This Side of Paradise I still enjoyed it. I think I really like character studies.
I am having trouble with many of the literary and other references mentioned during his Princeton years. Is this just me?
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I agree. I felt I needed a wider range of literary knowledge to fully understand the meaning of what they said. Knowing what the books were about and what the authors points of view were like would have helped.
Mara wrote: "I am having trouble with many of the literary and other references mentioned during his Princeton years. Is this just me?"Why don't you post a list of the literary references for us to comment on?
What is the significance of Monsignor Darcy being a former hedonist?
Silver wrote: "I was surprised by the sort of steam of conscious style of writing in this book. I have not read a lot of Fitzgerald but I had not expected that narrative style from him but thus far I am really en..."Armory a phony according to Holden? Probably so.
I found Armory much more likable than Holden, but Holden would consider me a phony as well.
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Why don't you post a list of the literary references for..."
Halfway through I wished I had. While reading (at work with no WIFI) I didn't look many things up. I think I need to start journaling each book so the notes can be used later. I think chronicling cities, places, literary references and quotes would be great.
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At the end of the book Armory decides he wants to help people which can be the opposite of being a hedonist, although helping people should make you feel good so maybe it is another form of the same thing. He hopefully will think about others more than himself. I think Monsignor Darcy and Armory's lives mirror each other in a way like the book implies.
Jamie. I was thinking that Darcy was a somewhat Faustian character who sought redemption in the end. In his early years as a scholar he no doubt gravitated toward prechristian Greco-Roman philosophy such as Epicureanism. Perhaps as he grew older he changed for 1 of 2 reasons: 1 to save his soul or 2 to gain acceptance by society.
I haven't gotten around to the literary references yet, but I hope to before Thursday.
The 1700-1939 Book Club!
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The Catcher in the Rye (other topics)On the Road (other topics)
