Convention, Love and Money
How does one attempt self-discovery? Often, in many novels we read of self-discovery through a traumatic event or in this case a loss of sorts. In a quest to discover their unique self, we follow young Amory Blaine, from F. Scott Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise, from his childhood years right through his times at Princeton. He is a wealthy young man, who is brought up in a high-class society. On a similar quest as Amory, we follow Henry David Thoreau in Walden, he does not live a life of a high-class society, rather a much more simple existence. He leaves all that he owns behind to start anew on Walden lacking the convention of society, love and an abundance of money. However, unlike Thoreau's plan for a simple life, Amory begins his quest for himself with convention, love and money because he believes it is these things that will truly find him happiness. Walden is a narrative of Thoreau's time being alone on Walden Pond with no more than the necessities of life: food, clothing and shelter. He leaves all that he owns behind because he knows that without these things the focus on the self is much more clear and defined. He says, regarding simplicity: "the wisest have ever lived a more simple and meager life than the po
If only Amory Blaine could read Walden, he would not have to go through such heartache and confusion. He was born into a wealthy family; his sophisticated education separates him from his peers: "she [his mother] fed him sections of the 'Fetes Galantes,' before he was ten, he could talk glibly" (Fitzgerald 13). As Amory enters boarding school, and even at Princeton, he attempts in every way possible to behave in a conventional manner. He soon learns that convention brings conformity, and that conformity is not his suit. Amory receives guidance from a childhood friend, Darcy, who tells him in a letter: "we are not personalities, but personages, you must find who you are at heart" (Fitzgerald 99). His quest for his niche in society becomes relevant at a party with his friends; there he believes that he sees a vision of the devil. This vision is a symbol for Fitzgerald to show that Amory understands the immorality around him, and to show that he has a conscience. It is from this experience that Amory knows he must lose the conventional aspects of his life. His search for individuality leads him to the love of a woman, Rosalind. However, she rejects him because he lacks financial security. From this experience Amory is more determined in his quest to find his "personage" (Fitzgerald 99). Shortly after his time at Princeton, he loses mother. She leave
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Approximate Word count = 921
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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