Bernice Bobs Her Hair (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
"Bernice Bobs Her Hair" by F. Scott Fitzgerald teaches a very important lesson about superficial popularity, and the cruel pressures which demand that individuals conform to the standards of a social set. It was interesting to watch the development of the main character, a quiet, passive person who longed for popularity, then found it, then lost it, and finally became strong and independent. The story is about an eighteen-year old girl named Bernice who is visiting her snobbish cousin, Marjorie. At first, Bernice is considered boring and dull by Marjorie and her friends, because she can't make witty conversation and doesn't dress fashionably. Bernice finally agrees to let Marjorie teach her how to be popular. According to Marjorie's superficial formula for popularity, conversation must be carefully planned and rehearsed in order to shock and amuse the audience. For conversational purposes, Marjorie suggests that Bernice use the topic of bobbing her hair. In 1920, when the story was written, short hair was a daring new fashion, adopted by only the most adventurous women, and it had the power to shock the average person. Jealous of Bernice's new popularity, Marjorie sets a trap for Bernice by calling her bluff on the hair b
The author uses hyperbole and metaphors when describing Bernice's feelings as she walked into the barber shop. "Bernice had all the sensations of Marie Antoinette bound for the guillotine in a tumbrel." The Sevier Barbershop" was a guillotine indeed, and the hangman was the first barber." The contrast between Marjorie's delicate appearance and her vicious nature was described in similes. Marjorie, braiding her hair, "looked like a delicate painting of some Saxon princess." Her braids "moving under the supple fingers like restive snakes" suggest her treachery. Fitzgerald also uses foreshadowing when Marjorie called Bernice's bluff about wanting to leave. Later Marjorie called her bluff about bobbing her hair. As Bernice's hair was being cut, "there was a curious narrowing of her eyes" that foreshadowed her expression when she got the idea to bob Marjorie's hair. "Suddenly she drew in her breath sharply and an expression flashed into her eyes that a practiced character reader might have connected vaguely with the set look she had worn in the barber's chair - somehow a development of it. It was a new look for Bernice - and it carried consequences." Both characters underwent a change after Marjorie began to coach Bernice in the art of being popular. Bernice learned all the superficial tricks of attracting interest and capturing attention. Together, they prepared and perfected conversations which were calculated to amuse, flatter, and shock Bernice's audience. The pretended intention to bob her hair was the most shocking and successful of all. Bernice became more socially confident. "With the feeling that people really enjoyed looking at her and listening to her came the foundation of self-confidence." The project began to turn sour for Marjorie after Warren McIntyre, "Marjorie's most reliable beau ... made an amazing face-about and was giving an indisputable rush" to Bernice. Jealousy brought out the vic
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1304
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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