Bernice Bobs Her Hair
Picture a fragile glass merry-go-round, a menagerie, if you will, of adolescent social classes and structure. The animals revolve, always mindlessly following the one in front, each measuring his own height compared to his neighbors. If you fall short or fall behind, never fear, just throw a jagged rock and shatter Mr. Popularity in front, take his place, and the merry-go-round revolves still. There is no world outside, nothing matters more than this brittle status-seeking ambition and the taboos, requirements, and rewards that come with it. Every action is fair game, whatever it takes to achieve your supremacy is allowed and accepted. Fitzgerald's "Bernice Bobs Her Hair", from his collection The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald, revolves significantly around this "semicruel world of adolescence" (26), where, as the character Marjorie eloquently states, "these days it's every girl for herself" (30). Fitzgerald opens the story at a dance, the setting itself creating an immediate and vivid picture of the rotating social classes. Teenagers whirl in, whirl about, and some, "A few disappointed stags caught in midfloor as they had been about to cut in subsided listlessly back to the walls" (26), whirl directly out of the popular
ity-ring. These unfortunately pathetic young men didn't make the cut, because "this was not like the riotous Christmas dances - these summer hops were considered just pleasantly warm and exciting" (26); they were neither suave nor provocative enough to climb the social ladder. Apparently, charm and wit buy popularity- those without must take their places on the sidelines. The rigid social system even prevents familial love, as Bernice's own cousin hurls a few more rocks into the ring. Marjorie sees Bernice as a waste of her time, as " 'She's absolutely hopeless!' " (30). Not only that, Bernice hinders Marjorie's own social advancement, dragging her down as she is coupled with someone so "dopeless". Marjorie whines emphatically to her mother, " 'no girl can permanently bolster up a lame-duck visitor' " (30), while poor secluded Bernice overhears in the hallway. Distraught, Bernice confronts her cousin the following morning, sniffling that she will return home if she is such a "nuisance" (32), and Marjorie, bored and annoyed, replies maliciously, " 'I wasn't trying to be nice... When do you want to go?' " (30), obviously expressing no sympathy for the dramatic emotional scene before her. Friendly social competition creates friendly malice - Marjorie becomes a traitor against the Bernice she created, and calls her bluff. Bernice never intended to actually get her hair bobbed, in fact she fainted at the first suggestion, it was merely a ploy formed entirely by Marjorie to cause social success. In the heat of competition for Warren's affections, Marjorie cruelly reveals Bernice's plot, " 'That's only a bluff of hers. I should think you'd have realized.' " (41). Thus Bernice is forced downtown, forced into the hotel, forced into the barber's chair, if she has any intention of upholding her honor. She was spurred forth by "Four eyes - Warren's and Marjorie's - [that] stared at her, challenged her, de
Some common words found in the essay are:
Bernice Marjorie's, Warren Bernice, Scott Fitzgerald, Warren Marjorie's, Marjorie Bernice's, Regarding Warren, , Marjorie Bernice, Distraught Bernice, Sevier Hotel, 27 warren, social classes, rock shatter, charitable impulse,
Approximate Word count = 1288
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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