Literary Analysis Of Babylon Revisited

Sapp

John Sapp

Hensley

English 11/ Fourth Period

05 February 2018

Part 12: Rough Draft

“Babylon Revisited” is a very detailed and well written story that has many ups and downs bound to leave the reader on the edge of their seat.F. Scott Fitzgerald uses many different types of writing techniques in “Babylon Revisited” to make this story grab the reader’s attention even more so than some of his previous works.Fitzgerald’s style portrays one of the most important aspects of this book by far, setting the tone for this story giving you more details throughout. From attention to detail, to setting, to literary devices used throughout this story, Fitzgerald really hit home with this one.With the many different writing details used in this story,

Scott Fitzgerald also used them to impact his readers. The most common and the most heavily used theme you encounter throughout “Babylon Revisited” is change and transformation. This theme is the most important one encountered throughout this story. For example, in the criticism passage, Paul Bodine states, “ On the surface, the story is about a father’s attempt to regain custody of his daughter after a series of personal disasters” (Bodine 17). This statement shows both themes of change and transformation in one sentence.This statement given by Bodine explains the entire plot of the story.It also supports the main theme by giving a very brief summary of the story, in which this theme is heavily present. Another statement,made by the author of the original short story, shows this as well. In “Babylon Revisited,” Fitzgerald writes, “He thought he knew what to do for her. He believed in character;he wanted to jump back a whole generation and trust in character again as the eternally valuable element. Everything else wore out” (Fitzgerald 8). This statement shows Charlie’s desire to go back in time and fix his mistakes in order to redeem himself and prove that he is truly dedicated to becoming a changed man. It also shows that he realizes what he had done was wrong which was a big change for Charlie as well, giving the fact he spent most of his life drinking and living a bad lifestyle, his decision to give it all up and turn himself around is probably the most important

Fitzgerald uses many different literary devices throughout “Babylon Revisited”, but one of the most common ones is symbolism.With it being the most heavily used literary device throughout the “Babylon Revisited”,symbolism gives a subliminal meaning to many different things as well as ties into the theme of the story too. Fitzgerald uses it for many things. For examples in “Babylon Revisited,” when Fitzgerald writes, “I only take one drink every afternoon, and no more” (Fitzgerald 9).This symbolizes the change that Charlie went through, going from a useless drunk to trying to become a father for his daughter.Showing that Charlie actually wanted to change for the better. Another example of symbolism is shown when author William J. Brondell states “She reassures him that she also wants him to have custody of Honoria,and she praises him for his restoration” (Brondell 24). This symbolizes Honoria and hope because it shows that she too believes that Charlie honestly wants to change in order to become a better father. It also shows Charlie’s determination to change for the better and give up his old life up for a chance at a new one, as well as a chance to be a better