After some time passes, Dexter happens to meet again with Judy Jones, the daughter of the rich club member who had caused him to up and quit his job many years before. The importance of money and status symbols show through Dexter at this point, and his increasing awareness and self-consciousness becomes apparent as indicated by his inner monologues. He takes in Judy’s elaborate house in detail, saying it “was the finest house on Lake Erminie,” the house representing the aristocracy of the Jones family and all that he was not from (Fitzgerald 665). A tinge of insecurity is transparent in Dexter. He is entirely aware of the men that came before him, the men that entered college from prep-schools and came back from summer with “graceful” clothes,
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Charlie and his late wife were frequent party goers, traveling and spending as much money as they made on the regular. One night, while they were both drunk, Charlie locked his wife, Helen, out after getting angry with her. Unbeknownst to him, she followed him home and had to stay in the freezing weather where she got sick, and shortly after died of unrelated causes (Fitzgerald 684-85). Marion, however, blamed him for her death and because she could not let go of his past was reluctant to give him guardianship throughout the entirety of the story (Turner). The major theme of the “Babylon Revisited,” not escaping one’s past, plays a large role in developing the mind of Charlie. The past is what he is constantly surrounded by, and as hard as he works to overcome it, he is still constantly set back by old bars he’s been to, old friends, and a nagging sister-in-law (Fitzgerald). The question is not if Charlie is regretful or guilty, but yet if he believes himself to be so unworthy as to not have guardianship of his daughter because of it. As presented in the text, Charlie says outright that his past, “in retrospect was a nightmare,” and that he had no idea how he could have been so irresponsible all the time (Fitzgerald 686). He obviously regrets his actions, and has attempted to regain his composure for a year and a half—he restrains himself to one drink a day and shows considerable responsibility and exhibits much control in all aspects of his life (Twitchell). Marion cannot seem to accept this and always holds him responsible for Helen’s death which only furthers the guilt Charlie has burdened upon himself. This leads Charlie down an unhealthy path of self-deprecation where he is still consciously in control, but Twitchell calls into question if he may have subconsciously tried to get his old friends to ultimately disrupt his plans for guardianship of his daughter. Although Charlie is always
Charlie and his late wife were frequent party goers, traveling and spending as much money as they made on the regular. One night, while they were both drunk, Charlie locked his wife, Helen, out after getting angry with her. Unbeknownst to him, she followed him home and had to stay in the freezing weather where she got sick, and shortly after died of unrelated causes (Fitzgerald 684-85). Marion, however, blamed him for her death and because she could not let go of his past was reluctant to give him guardianship throughout the entirety of the story (Turner). The major theme of the “Babylon Revisited,” not escaping one’s past, plays a large role in developing the mind of Charlie. The past is what he is constantly surrounded by, and as hard as he works to overcome it, he is still constantly set back by old bars he’s been to, old friends, and a nagging sister-in-law (Fitzgerald). The question is not if Charlie is regretful or guilty, but yet if he believes himself to be so unworthy as to not have guardianship of his daughter because of it. As presented in the text, Charlie says outright that his past, “in retrospect was a nightmare,” and that he had no idea how he could have been so irresponsible all the time (Fitzgerald 686). He obviously regrets his actions, and has attempted to regain his composure for a year and a half—he restrains himself to one drink a day and shows considerable responsibility and exhibits much control in all aspects of his life (Twitchell). Marion cannot seem to accept this and always holds him responsible for Helen’s death which only furthers the guilt Charlie has burdened upon himself. This leads Charlie down an unhealthy path of self-deprecation where he is still consciously in control, but Twitchell calls into question if he may have subconsciously tried to get his old friends to ultimately disrupt his plans for guardianship of his daughter. Although Charlie is always