Short stories go down like ice cream, but they often leave the reader with lingering sensations. What are those sensations? What do they have to do with your experience? Is "Literature" with a capital L a more effective brand of cultural meaning-making than commercials, Twitter, or the news?
Hopefully, we'll get the ball rolling on some of these questions. Featured texts describe utopian visions, bovine rebellion, freezing to death, and school shootings (among other things).
Greed and selfishness are two themes within the short story “Winter Dreams”. The character Dexter is greedy throughout the story, however his greed can be justified by his hard work. “He wanted not association with glittering things and glittering people-he wanted the glittering things themselves” (Fitzgerald 4). Dexter is quite materialistic and has a high living standard. This can be viewed as greedy, however Dexter did go into a laundry business and work hard in order to obtain his high income. Another way that Dexter can be viewed as selfish is the fact that he is superficial. He kissed Judy and wanted to be with her before he even really knew her as a person. He was going off of the fact that she is gorgeous. Judy is a selfish character. This is seen from a young age when she has a tantrum and swings a golf club at her nurse. This is seen again when she is older and hits a golf ball at a man’s stomach. Judy doesn’t care about the well-being of others or their safety, she only really thinks about herself. We see Judy’s selfish characteristics again when she is a little older and is unable to handle her love life. Judy is very impulsive and loves a different man every day. She can’t possibly be getting to know each man and falling in love with him if this is the case. She is caught up in her own thoughts and her own world. Judy also thinks that she is in control of other men. For example, she broke off her engagement and expected Dexter to marry her because she finally felt like it. The impression is given off that Judy thinks everyone will just do what she wants and she forgets to learn how other people feel about a given situation. In the end of “Winter Dreams”, both Dexter and Judy are unhappy. Judy ends up with an unfaithful and alcoholic husband. Dexter regrets never marrying Judy. The unfortunate ending could be a result of greed and selfishness.
There were many themes throughout the story “Winter Dreams”. Emptiness seemed to be one of them. Judy was always playing around with all these different men which was obvious that she was missing something in her life because she failed to find someone she could settle down with and be happy. She needed that immediate gratification to make herself feel better, feel less empty inside. It seemed like she didn’t have her parents around all that often for a functional family. Which makes sense because of all the luxuries the parents had, they didn’t have enough time for Judy. Regardless of what sparkly thing she was handed and how much money was given to her, she only wanted to feel wanted and loved because she didn’t get that from her parents. She did however, flaunt her beauty and money in order to have an interesting life as a young women even if she wasn’t dedicated to one man. This led her to feel emptier in the end of the story when she married an unfaithful alcoholic. Because not only did he not give her the love she longed for, but she lost her beauty, liveliness, and freedom in the long run as well. This left her with nothing in the end. She didn’t have the love she always searched for, and she lost her ability to go out and find that love because she was tied down and less beautiful. Judy was always a selfish person and it caught up with her in the end. I feel that she would’ve never married Dexter in the first place because it would’ve tied her down too early in life and she wanted that freedom, but she also wanted that sense of love that she felt that Irene was getting and it wasn’t fair in her mind. She only longed to be happy and loved. Dexter also experienced that emptiness in the end because he also grew old and never married. He felt empty even though he had his money and power. He realized that he has no one to back up his wealth, he was no one to share it with. He has no relationship and he regrets not marrying Judy, which left him empty in the end.
The theme that I get from the story "Winter Dreams" is this constant battle between reality and perception. Dexter, the main character grew up in a modest low/middle class family while working as a golf caddy for rich, well to do folk. It is here where he meets Judy Jones. Dexter knows that if he is to ever win the heart of Judy Jones he must one day become a successful wealthy man because back then image and status were major contributing factors to a "successful" relationship. Dexter worked hard and became a wealthy man while always longing after Judy, who was constantly floating in and out of his live. This idea that money buys happiness is a perceived idea by many but in reality it doesn't always work like that. Dexter finds this out the hard way when he cannot keep Judy all to himself. She is a selfish girl who, in my opinion, is not happy with who she is. This explains why she is always latching on to someone new and doing so very sporadically. Like Dexter, Judy is also caught up in this battle between reality and perception. She views her relationships in a superficial manner and portrays this image of being content with her life...and why wouldn't she be? Judy could have any man she wanted, she is beautiful and comes from a wealthy family. Outsiders, especially Dexter, view Judy as a magnificent charming Woman, when in reality she is hollow and misleading. Scott Fitzgerald makes it a point that Judys actions are always without malice which just goes to show how naive her character really is. All of these negative qualities unfold at the end when Dexter finds out how run-down and worn she has become. This idea that he has always believed Judy to be was not a real one, but a perceived one. I think Dexter blames himself for some of what she has become because he always believed he could keep that image of her alive, at least in his mind. But now these ideas and those memories he cherished have withered away and are no more. His fantasies and all that he believed in..which ultimately was love, have died. This is what "Winter Dreams" means to me. Winter can symbolize death because mother nature is in a state of barren sleepyness....just like Dexters old dreams of Judy, love, and living a truly happy life with her.
Dexter, in the short story “Winter Dreams” is a man who is in love with the best things and is also in love with Judy Jones. He is on love with her solely because of her looks and this to me is confusing. Judy was always with a new guy and kept many other guys hanging around just waiting for her. She took him to a picnic and then later disappeared with another man. The first time is understandable but how can somebody love someone else who is always with another man and playing with their emotions? In my opinion Dexter should’ve forgotten about her long before he did because she had caused him so much agony. He is responsible for his own happiness and he shouldn’t be pushed around like he was by this woman. Judy on the other hand is just doing what’s best for her. I don’t believe she was trying to hurt the feelings of Dexter or of anyone else. She was trying to find happiness through all these men. In the end of the story Judy we find out is married to a man who is an alcoholic and treats her horribly. In a way Judy and Dexter have switched positions. Judy is treated awfully and is cheated on and she still stays faithful to her husband and Dexter is working in New York and he does not care about her just like she didn’t care about him and I believe he is content with himself just like the moment right before he met Judy on the lake.
The team that I get out of the reading “Winter Dreams” (and I hope I don’t regret saying this but…) is that women can be players! And I don’t want all the girls in class to hate me for saying this but you have to admit that this women Judy Jones was a real heart breaker.. Alight let me back myself up by saying that Judy Jones was the type of women the guys fell for easily and she used this to her advantage. It almost seemed liked she was just bored all the time and that she always wanted attention, for example when she was playing golf and she hit her ball into Mr. T.A. Hendricks in the gut, she just waltzed on over and used her charms in front of the guys as if it was an accident and walked away. Also, Judy Jones always seemed to be with a different guy all the time which makes you thing, why? Is she doing it for greed and for money? Or is she doing it just because she want attention or is bored all the time and just wants to have fun? It seemed like it was both because at the end of the reading she was talking to Dexter and making him fall for her which ended up being a very stupid mistake that Dexter did and caused him to end his happy relationship with his fiancé Irene Scheerer. To sum it all up, some women such as Judy Jones and not all women can be real heart breakers. (I hope this does not lead class discussion tomorrow either..)
I agree with crumpl. Some girls just like to have fun and get a kick out of making all the guys drool over them just so they can feel good about themselves. Judy uses all these different guys just so she can have the satisfaction of knowing that she can get what she wants by manipulating guys. I don't think she does it for the money because her family is already quite wealthy and she sounds like she likes poor fellows except for the one that was using her (the dude was a gold digger). But chris makes a valid point. Guys do this sort of thing, so who says girls don't? (P.S. to any girls reading this, don't hate me.)
I feel that the theme of “Winter Dreams” is the concept of materislism. Even at a young age, Dexter loves to be successful by his own hands. By this I mean that he works hard to get where he is in life. He seems to dislike people who inherent their wealth from their families, but he likes to be around the upper class because he feels like that’s where he belongs. That’s why he quit his job as a caddy when he was 14 and why he sold his laundry business to his partner. He knew there’d be a better opportunities out there for him to become more successful. As for his relationship with Judy from his perspective, he basically sticks around with her at first because he likes the fact that she is good looking and for her social status amongst wealth. But as the story carries on, he develops feelings for him because of the way she treats him. He starts to get carried away from his overall goal of success and wants to just settle down with her. But this is difficult for him to do once he finds out she has a dozen more guys on the side. So he’s in a conflict with pleasing the woman he loves while also pleasing the life that he desires. For Judy, her many relations are to help her feel better about herself. She tells Dexter in the story that a guy she really liked was using her for her wealth and that she didn’t like that. So, in my opinion, she surrounds herself by a bunch of men at a time so if she’s ever upset by one of them, she could just move on to another one. Another theme that’s in the story is imagination. All Dexter ever thought about was becoming rich and successful, especially during the fall and winter (hence the title). He spends his whole life trying to make his fantasy a reality. He does a good job by obtaining so much money over his many years. But, his perfect life isn’t complete without the perfect girl, which is Judy. He tries so desperately to get her to marry him, but he knows it’ll never happen due to her seeing many men at a time. At the end of the story, he finds out that Judy is now married and has a husband who does the same thing that Judy did to Dexter. So, he finally comes back to reality and realizes that he can never have the girl he fantasized about for so many years. Dexter can never have his “Winter Dream”.
In the short story, “Winter Dreams” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the main character Dexter falls in love with this beautiful woman named Judy. Judy is from a wealthy family, and because of her wealth and beauty, men fall quickly in love with her. Unfortunately she takes advantage of all the men that fall head over heels in love with her and moves on from one man to the next and sometimes back again. Dexter is one of those men that Judy takes advantage of. Even though Dexter doesn’t even know Judy, unable to control himself, he ends up kissing her. What Dexter should have realized was that she was using him, and all the men she was with, selfishly for her own pleasure, enjoyment, and because I believe she has commitment issues and need that sort of “comfort” and attention. Dexter should have realized from the beginning that she was trouble, but his feelings for Judy lead him to be oblivious, and also selfish. When Dexter was engaged to a woman named Irene Scheerer, Judy showed up in town again. Judy, proving that she is selfish, left her fiancé to be with Dexter, even though he at the time was with Irene. She told him that she needed to marry him, so Dexter, also proving his selfishness, broke up his relationship with Irene. But Judy takes advantage of Dexter and says that he cannot marry him because she didn’t want to ruin his relationship with Irene… too late. In the end, Dexter finds out that Judy marries an alcoholic husband who is unfaithful to her (karma). Judy loses her beauty and Dexter wishes that he married Judy. Because of their selfishness and greediness, they were unable to realize what they want and end up losing what they truly care about.
Dexter ignores Judy’s toward personality because he is comfortable with her social and economic status. Dexter was infatuated by Judy’s beauty. Throughout the story Judy used manipulation on numerous men to get her way. Some women have a tendency to manipulate man for their own gain. I believe that Dexter was attracted to Judy because she fit into Dexter’s materialistic obsession. For instance, Judy was the ideal trophy wife for Dexter. Dexter strived for success during his young career. Dexter sold his laundry company in pursuit of more material objects such as Judy Jones. I am not saying women are material objects, but in this case Judy is depicted as one. I see Dexter as walking contradiction because he both glorifies his working-class upbringing and also feels more important than others due to his wealth. Dexter’s feelings Judy are all artificial, he can’t see beyond her beauty because it is her beauty that is the missing piece to his definition of success. Dexter has already acquired money and stability at a very young. The title Winter Dreams, signifies the season that Dexter started to created his dreams. Dexter attempted to complete the goals that he set in his dreams as a teenager. The only goal that Dexter didn’t complete was spending the rest of his life with Judy. Once Dexter heard the news that Judy was now married to an unfaithful husband with children, Dexter has come to the realization that his dream of being with Judy is over. Due to the fact that Judy has aged rapidly and doesn’t have the same stunning looks, Dexter’s attraction towards Judy is gone. The end of the story illustrates Dexter crying because his Winter Dreams have come to an end and he must face reality.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Winter Dreams, he tells the story of a young man named, Dexter, who grew up in a low, middle class life and falls in love with a woman named Judy, who was brought up in a wealthy family. While he became infatuated with her beauty, Judy used her beauty to attract other men and get what she wants. I believe that she acts this way around other men because usually, these actions reflect that she needs to feel good about herself. It also seems like the factor of money was the love between Judy and her family because she was given so many luxuries growing up. Families this Judy’s probably did not have enough time to spend with the kids and therefore give them material items. Even though material things are nice to have, the lack of love to a kid is needed more than anything. In Judy’s case, although she basically takes advantage of these men, deep down inside, she is seeking love from someone that is willing to give her that. She only longed to be happy and loved. Also, Dexter experienced that emptiness in the end because he also grew old and never married Judy. Even though he gained money and established himself, he still felt empty. Now that he is alone, he cannot share his wealth with anyone and will continue to be by himself. In the end, the characters are again, unhappy with life.
From the short story “Winter Dreams” by Fitzgerald I observed the theme of growing up. The very first scene in the text demonstrated this right off the bat. Dexter was fourteen years old working as a caddy and he tells Mr. Jones he doesn’t want to caddy anymore, “I’m too old.” First, I think by showing him working his summers away when he was fourteen illustrated how Dexter grew up quick, worked hard for his money, and was very mature. Also, when he says, “I’m too old” I think this was his way of saying this part of my life is in the past and it’s time to move on and conquer a new challenge. On the other hand, Miss Judy Jones was a hand full in this story from beginning to end! While Dexter is there working his hardest and attempting to move on with his life and grow up, Judy is over here throwing a temper tantrum pounding her golf club in the ground because they had to wait for a caddy to arrive. And the only reason she stopped her tantrum was because the caddy showed up; she got what she wanted. These are kind of the introduction to these two characters for the story. As the story progresses Dexter grows into a wealthy, hardworking business owner asking Judy to settle down and marry him. Something a mature adult would do. Whereas, Judy is with a different guy every night, turned down Dexter’s proposal, and came crawling back when she hit rock bottom. Even though at the end of the story both characters ended up unhappy, Fitzgerald made it clear Dexter’s life was way better than Judy’s. I believe Dexter was better off than Judy and not because of the money, because of his mind set, maturity, and what he accomplished in his life. Judy didn’t have any goals or had perception of earning money or settling down with one man. I pictured her as a party girl. I also believe since Judy knew she was pretty she could marry any man she wanted. She knew she didn’t have to work hard and would have things handed to her; something an immature and ungrateful person would expect. I can kind of relate to this in a way. It’s showing me where I can end up if I accomplish my goals at school, and where I could end up if I stay home and do nothing with my life.
In the short story, "Winter Dreams", two themes that I saw was materialism and emptiness. Materialism in the sense that Judy Jones was only interested in a man until something better came along. She was only concerned with how the man of that day made her feel. Never once did she care about what the men might have been feeling. Judy used her good looks to get what she wanted and it wasn't fair to anyone else. Dexter learned this the hard way. Although, he tried to get over her when she up and left him, it never really worked out for him. His mind would constantly drift back to the thought of Judy and all the time that they spent together. Judy was an extremely selfish woman who played with men's feeling. Judy also wanted what she couldn't have in a way. When she came back and realized that Dexter was engaged to Irene, she decided that she was interested in Dexter all over again. Judy cares about her feelings, if she has them, and that's about it. It's sort of ironic that Judy marries a man who cheats on her while she stays at home with their kids. Not saying that anyone deserves to be cheated on, but Judy did that multiple times with multiple men, it was bound to happen to her at some point.
After reading this short story, there were several things that stood out to me about it. One was the selfishness of Judy, which I felt defined the story more so than the character of Dexter. I thought that this selfishness was mostly seen in the way that Judy kept leading Dexter on throughout the story. An example of this is when he asks her to marry him earlier in the story and she responds by saying “maybe some day” and “I’d like to marry you” but nothing ever comes of it. Even after Dexter is married to Irene, and Dexter gives up on ever being with Judy, she still feels the need to string him along. She really doesn’t care about anyone but herself at all, if she really cared about Dexter, she would have just let him be happy with his wife. The other thing about this story that stood out to me was the similarity to another book by F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby. Many of the characters from this story were similar to those from The Great Gatsby, mostly Judy and Daisy. Both of those characters were selfish women who didn’t care what they did to other people. Also, throughout the story, it seemed as though the plot of Winter Dreams and the plot of The Great Gatsby paralleled each other, and even crossed at a few points. One of the places where I thought the plots crossed was when Judy started to cry on her first date with Dexter because the man she cared about had told her that he was poor as a church mouse. This is very similar to the plot of The Great Gatsby where Daisy gets a letter from Gatsby telling her that he had no money. The other part that I found similar was at the end where Judy marries a man that cheats on her just like Tom Buchanan cheated on Daisy in The Great Gatsby.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams”, is a very sad love story. The main character Dexter, became a very successful man through his hard work and he got everything he ever wanted, except for the love of his life Judy. Judy was a very promiscuous woman who had so many different men trying to love her that she never had time to become an honest woman for Dexter. I think Dexter threw away his chance of ever finding love because he was so obsessed with Judy, no one was ever good enough for him. When he finally found an honest woman who loved him he gave it all up for a fling with Judy. I think Dexter wanted Judy so bad because every other guy in town wanted her, he wanted to have that one thing that everyone else wanted, and for him to have her would be a huge accomplishment. In the end he ends up a lonely man and Judy becomes a housewife whose husband constantly cheats.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story “Winter Dreams” explores the theme of obtaining wealth but never achieving happiness. Our generation always dreams about being wealthy and we will be able to gain power, status and fulfill all our dreams that we want. Through wealth and power we will be able to achieve happiness however, “Winter Dreams” depicts that having wealth or status doesn’t make oneself happy. Dexter Green was a middle class boy from Lake Erminie and he came not from a wealthy family. But, he was capable enough to work hard, earn money and be part of the group of people he once worked for such as Mister Hedrick. Dexter was known for his hard work and being successful professionally. Even though he was rich, he was never happy because of his love for Judy Jones. His love and devotion for Judy Jones brought him immense unhappiness and loneliness. Judy Jones used men for her pleasure and she discarded men, whenever she was bored with them. However, she kept coming back to Dexter and giving him false hope for future. Dexter was happy and willing to marry Irene but Judy Jones came back in his life before he was ready to make a commitment. I believe that Judy Jones was never satisfied with her life and always moving on to a new conquest that might makes her happy one day. But, in the end both Dexter are unhappy with their lives because Dexter leaves his worries behind for war and Judy marries an abusive husband.
“Winter Dreams” explores the idea of the American dream. From the beginning of the story we learn that Dexter Green has come from money considering his father owns the second best grocery store in the area. He soon gets his own job at a golf course where he meets a woman named Judy and from then on his motive is to make her his. A major theme in this story is reality versus idealism. Dexter is infatuated with making Judy his but it just doesn’t seem like things will ever work out. He becomes successful professionally but not emotionally. He quickly realizes that no matter how successful he becomes money cannot buy happiness which is why he eventually sells his business off. In the end Dexter breaks off his engagement with another woman who he loves in order to try one last time for Judy but again things don’t work out and both are left unhappy.
I think a moral to this story is to be yourself. Dexter is a character that grew up in a low/middle class while working at a golf course as a caddy for the rich. When he meets Judy Jones who belongs to the upper class group he believes she would not want to be with someone like himself. He knew in order to be with someone like Judy Jones he would have to go to school and be successful and become wealthy. They ended up dating on and off but never truly ended up together. This goes to show that you can change all you want but whatever is meant to be will happen. He learned that no matter how much he changed himself and tried to mould himself into something he thought Judy would want it, would not matter. I think another moral of this story is whatever goes around comes around. Judy Jones was known to be with more than one man at a time and could not commit to one person. Even though she has Dexter that would have done anything to be with her she did not want the same. Judy was unfaithful to Dexter and did not put as much into the relationship as he did. In the end, Judy ends up with someone just like herself. She has a child and it married to a man that is unfaithful to her and does not treat her well. I think that is a good symbol for treat others the way you want to be treated.
This story happens to be that classic chasing love plot. Dexter was a man who at the time when he met Judy Jones did not have a plan for his life. His life was very fragile. The wrong influence could put him in a constant state of agony. He fell for Judy's charms and malicious intentions. He knew she was no good, but he could not resist the beauty that was Judy Jones. Dexter needed to settle down after chasing Judy Jones for two years. He desperately wanted to love her and be with her, but a stable relationship with out strings attached he could not get from her. Irene showed him compassion, and true love. This was something that Dexter needed; unfortunately for him he loved Irene, but always had Judy in the back of his mind. This represents Dexter's desperation for a solid relationship but his desire to have a woman with impeccable beauty. Judy learned the hard way that walking all over someone will only end up hurting you the most in the end. Others will move on like Dexter did and Judy took too long to realize what she had until she truly lost it. Dexter has a good life with the woman he settled down with. That being said both Dexter and Judy will be haunted. There is the unspoken love they will always have for each other and the thoughts of what could of happened if things worked out will stay with them forever. Be careful what you wish for and always appreciate what you have.
"Winter Dreams" a classic short story that involves a man, Dexter, wanting more then what he can have. In this story Dexter finds himself in love with a woman named Judy Jones, Judy is a woman of incredible beauty, who is compassionate, and extremely desirable. Judy is a woman of many tastes, by this I mean that she doesn't only have feelings for Dexter, as she finds herself going out with different men every other night. Dexter knows about these men, but doesn't want to leave Judy. Later on in the story Dexter finds himself in love with another women, Irene, who is loving, caring, and doesn't go out with other men. Irene showed Dexter what it was like to be loved, and he was grateful for this, but in the back of his mind he still couldn't stop thinking about Judy. Dexter finds himself wanting two things, in which he can only have one. He wants the loving and caring that Irene shows him, but he wants the compassion and beauty of Judy. In all parts of society people always want what they can't have. In this case Dexter's vision of being able to have both girls, ultimately drives both women away from him. People in society need to appreciate the things that they have instead of always wanting more. Dexter had two people who were great in his mind, but he ended up alone because he wasn't able to appreciate either one of them, and he always wanted more then he could have.
“Winter Dreams” is a short story that involves a man named Dexter and a woman named Judy. Dexter worked as a caddy but he quit and became a wealthy laundry owner. Then Judy was a eleven year old when Dexter first saw her with a nurse. The story stated that Judy was “beautifully ugly as little girls are apt to be who are destined after a few years to be inexpressibly lovely.” At this part in the story I thought it hinted at some self-esteem issues. Judy wasn’t as appealing as she was in her adult years, so she used men to make her feel beautiful. But throughout the story I wondered why Dexter wanted someone that used him. Irene was a good person but there was something about Judy. Dexter tried to convince himself that he was over Judy but he was never really over her. I think Judy symbolized wealth toward Dexter. He started as a caddy and didn’t have as much money as he has with the laundry business. So Judy makes Dexter feel like he belongs in the wealthy class. Another reason Dexter might have stayed with Judy is because of the liveliness she made him feel. She made him feel so many emotions at once, from anger, happiness and sadness. She also was wanted by many men who she switched up between. This sounds like the idea of “falling for the bad guy.” People always want what is not good for them, and Dexter is in a similar situation. He could have stayed with Irene but it’s something about the unavailable person that draws people in.
In "Winter Dreams" by F. Scott Fitsgerald, protagonist Dexter Green finds himself intransed by the beautiful Judy Jones. He claims to be in love with her but toward the end it seems like he was more in love with the idea of her. When he hears she is married and her looks have faded he feels he has lost something because his idea of her has changed in the worst way imaginable.He feels more at a loss hearing she is no longer strikingly beautiful then at knowing she is married to anyone but him. HIs love for her illusion becomes then an obssession that he cant shake off. A sort of "this is what I want but I know I can't have" dawns on him and he comes to understand he has not obtained the glittering thing but merely an association which is entirely the opposite of his style. Absorbed by all of this he loses a part of himself and merely goes about existing in life instead of living. Life is Judy Jones and he doesn't have her and never will; to him it's like becoming part of a living death.
The short story “Winter Dreams,” by F. Scott Fitzgerald is about the tragic hero, Dexter Green. Dexter did come from wealth, however, he was no bum who lived off “daddy’s money.” He went out and showed the true American Dream; he put all his money into getting the best college education because he knew he was going to be rich. He went from taking out loans for college to owning the largest chain of laundries in the Midwest. He was definitely a hero in his persistence to achieve a goal that few would attempt. However, he had a tragic flaw. The flaw was Judy Jones. Judy was very manipulative and toyed with men to get her way. She could do this because she was rich and pretty, but Dexter didn’t care about her money. He was just astonished by her beauty. However, she never showed him the love he showed her, so he quit on his dream of marrying her. All his life he never quit on achieving what looked what some would say is an impossible task. Nevertheless, he did, and he would regret doing this once he heard how miserable Judy was when she finally decided to settle down. In the end, Judy got what she deserved for being such an emotionless manipulator, but this was at the cost of Dexter’s happiness as well. This story showed how people should never give up on their goals, no matter how impossible the task and the cliché of what goes around comes around.
In the story,"Winter Dreams," it mostly deals with the general issue of the main character gaining something but losing another. When Dexter Greene was a young boy he worked at a golf course and would always imagine himself living the big life and actually playing on the same exact course himself. He eventually did achieve this goal of his and gained that "dream" of prosperity, wealth, and success. However, in the dream he became acquainted with this girl Judy Jones who eventually is the cause of his downfall. The love that he felt for her was so grand, but it was useless. They both had moved on with their lives, she was married, stable, with children, washed out from her youth and beauty as he was so told- nothing of what he remembered her as or as he could even think of. So there he was, lost and would never forget about her with a feeling of emptiness and no emotion. His last and only thriving dream of being in love with Judy Jones and a life together was now completely and forever gone.
In the story “Winter Dreams” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there was something that stood out to me from the beginning. Dextar is a dreamer. Whatever is going on in his life, he seems to be in his own little world and have these expectations. The biggest example of this is when he meets Judy Jones. Dextar has this sort of dream or expectation that she will fall in love with him and stay devoted to him. He soon finds out that even though she said she likes him, she is still going off will other guys. This is interesting to me because Dextar loves her so he will not break up with her even though he knows she is going off with other guys. Judy then leaves and Dextar waits for her to come back. He has some sort of expectation that she will come back to him and I think that we do things like this to. When we like someone so much but cannot be with them, we sort of dream and hope that something will happen that will bring the two together. This story does remind me a bit of “The Great Gatsby” and being that it is written by the same author, it makes sense. Both stories have similar romances. Both stories also take place in the New York/ Long Island area.
Veronica Brugmann
ReplyDeleteGreed and selfishness are two themes within the short story “Winter Dreams”. The character Dexter is greedy throughout the story, however his greed can be justified by his hard work. “He wanted not association with glittering things and glittering people-he wanted the glittering things themselves” (Fitzgerald 4). Dexter is quite materialistic and has a high living standard. This can be viewed as greedy, however Dexter did go into a laundry business and work hard in order to obtain his high income. Another way that Dexter can be viewed as selfish is the fact that he is superficial. He kissed Judy and wanted to be with her before he even really knew her as a person. He was going off of the fact that she is gorgeous.
Judy is a selfish character. This is seen from a young age when she has a tantrum and swings a golf club at her nurse. This is seen again when she is older and hits a golf ball at a man’s stomach. Judy doesn’t care about the well-being of others or their safety, she only really thinks about herself. We see Judy’s selfish characteristics again when she is a little older and is unable to handle her love life. Judy is very impulsive and loves a different man every day. She can’t possibly be getting to know each man and falling in love with him if this is the case. She is caught up in her own thoughts and her own world. Judy also thinks that she is in control of other men. For example, she broke off her engagement and expected Dexter to marry her because she finally felt like it. The impression is given off that Judy thinks everyone will just do what she wants and she forgets to learn how other people feel about a given situation.
In the end of “Winter Dreams”, both Dexter and Judy are unhappy. Judy ends up with an unfaithful and alcoholic husband. Dexter regrets never marrying Judy. The unfortunate ending could be a result of greed and selfishness.
There were many themes throughout the story “Winter Dreams”. Emptiness seemed to be one of them. Judy was always playing around with all these different men which was obvious that she was missing something in her life because she failed to find someone she could settle down with and be happy. She needed that immediate gratification to make herself feel better, feel less empty inside. It seemed like she didn’t have her parents around all that often for a functional family. Which makes sense because of all the luxuries the parents had, they didn’t have enough time for Judy. Regardless of what sparkly thing she was handed and how much money was given to her, she only wanted to feel wanted and loved because she didn’t get that from her parents. She did however, flaunt her beauty and money in order to have an interesting life as a young women even if she wasn’t dedicated to one man. This led her to feel emptier in the end of the story when she married an unfaithful alcoholic. Because not only did he not give her the love she longed for, but she lost her beauty, liveliness, and freedom in the long run as well. This left her with nothing in the end. She didn’t have the love she always searched for, and she lost her ability to go out and find that love because she was tied down and less beautiful. Judy was always a selfish person and it caught up with her in the end. I feel that she would’ve never married Dexter in the first place because it would’ve tied her down too early in life and she wanted that freedom, but she also wanted that sense of love that she felt that Irene was getting and it wasn’t fair in her mind. She only longed to be happy and loved. Dexter also experienced that emptiness in the end because he also grew old and never married. He felt empty even though he had his money and power. He realized that he has no one to back up his wealth, he was no one to share it with. He has no relationship and he regrets not marrying Judy, which left him empty in the end.
ReplyDeleteThe theme that I get from the story "Winter Dreams" is this constant battle between reality and perception. Dexter, the main character grew up in a modest low/middle class family while working as a golf caddy for rich, well to do folk. It is here where he meets Judy Jones. Dexter knows that if he is to ever win the heart of Judy Jones he must one day become a successful wealthy man because back then image and status were major contributing factors to a "successful" relationship. Dexter worked hard and became a wealthy man while always longing after Judy, who was constantly floating in and out of his live. This idea that money buys happiness is a perceived idea by many but in reality it doesn't always work like that. Dexter finds this out the hard way when he cannot keep Judy all to himself. She is a selfish girl who, in my opinion, is not happy with who she is. This explains why she is always latching on to someone new and doing so very sporadically. Like Dexter, Judy is also caught up in this battle between reality and perception. She views her relationships in a superficial manner and portrays this image of being content with her life...and why wouldn't she be? Judy could have any man she wanted, she is beautiful and comes from a wealthy family. Outsiders, especially Dexter, view Judy as a magnificent charming Woman, when in reality she is hollow and misleading. Scott Fitzgerald makes it a point that Judys actions are always without malice which just goes to show how naive her character really is. All of these negative qualities unfold at the end when Dexter finds out how run-down and worn she has become. This idea that he has always believed Judy to be was not a real one, but a perceived one. I think Dexter blames himself for some of what she has become because he always believed he could keep that image of her alive, at least in his mind. But now these ideas and those memories he cherished have withered away and are no more. His fantasies and all that he believed in..which ultimately was love, have died. This is what "Winter Dreams" means to me. Winter can symbolize death because mother nature is in a state of barren sleepyness....just like Dexters old dreams of Judy, love, and living a truly happy life with her.
ReplyDeleteDexter, in the short story “Winter Dreams” is a man who is in love with the best things and is also in love with Judy Jones. He is on love with her solely because of her looks and this to me is confusing. Judy was always with a new guy and kept many other guys hanging around just waiting for her. She took him to a picnic and then later disappeared with another man. The first time is understandable but how can somebody love someone else who is always with another man and playing with their emotions? In my opinion Dexter should’ve forgotten about her long before he did because she had caused him so much agony. He is responsible for his own happiness and he shouldn’t be pushed around like he was by this woman. Judy on the other hand is just doing what’s best for her. I don’t believe she was trying to hurt the feelings of Dexter or of anyone else. She was trying to find happiness through all these men. In the end of the story Judy we find out is married to a man who is an alcoholic and treats her horribly. In a way Judy and Dexter have switched positions. Judy is treated awfully and is cheated on and she still stays faithful to her husband and Dexter is working in New York and he does not care about her just like she didn’t care about him and I believe he is content with himself just like the moment right before he met Judy on the lake.
ReplyDeleteThe team that I get out of the reading “Winter Dreams” (and I hope I don’t regret saying this but…) is that women can be players! And I don’t want all the girls in class to hate me for saying this but you have to admit that this women Judy Jones was a real heart breaker.. Alight let me back myself up by saying that Judy Jones was the type of women the guys fell for easily and she used this to her advantage. It almost seemed liked she was just bored all the time and that she always wanted attention, for example when she was playing golf and she hit her ball into Mr. T.A. Hendricks in the gut, she just waltzed on over and used her charms in front of the guys as if it was an accident and walked away. Also, Judy Jones always seemed to be with a different guy all the time which makes you thing, why? Is she doing it for greed and for money? Or is she doing it just because she want attention or is bored all the time and just wants to have fun? It seemed like it was both because at the end of the reading she was talking to Dexter and making him fall for her which ended up being a very stupid mistake that Dexter did and caused him to end his happy relationship with his fiancé Irene Scheerer. To sum it all up, some women such as Judy Jones and not all women can be real heart breakers.
ReplyDelete(I hope this does not lead class discussion tomorrow either..)
I agree with crumpl. Some girls just like to have fun and get a kick out of making all the guys drool over them just so they can feel good about themselves. Judy uses all these different guys just so she can have the satisfaction of knowing that she can get what she wants by manipulating guys. I don't think she does it for the money because her family is already quite wealthy and she sounds like she likes poor fellows except for the one that was using her (the dude was a gold digger). But chris makes a valid point. Guys do this sort of thing, so who says girls don't? (P.S. to any girls reading this, don't hate me.)
DeleteI feel that the theme of “Winter Dreams” is the concept of materislism. Even at a young age, Dexter loves to be successful by his own hands. By this I mean that he works hard to get where he is in life. He seems to dislike people who inherent their wealth from their families, but he likes to be around the upper class because he feels like that’s where he belongs. That’s why he quit his job as a caddy when he was 14 and why he sold his laundry business to his partner. He knew there’d be a better opportunities out there for him to become more successful. As for his relationship with Judy from his perspective, he basically sticks around with her at first because he likes the fact that she is good looking and for her social status amongst wealth. But as the story carries on, he develops feelings for him because of the way she treats him. He starts to get carried away from his overall goal of success and wants to just settle down with her. But this is difficult for him to do once he finds out she has a dozen more guys on the side. So he’s in a conflict with pleasing the woman he loves while also pleasing the life that he desires. For Judy, her many relations are to help her feel better about herself. She tells Dexter in the story that a guy she really liked was using her for her wealth and that she didn’t like that. So, in my opinion, she surrounds herself by a bunch of men at a time so if she’s ever upset by one of them, she could just move on to another one. Another theme that’s in the story is imagination. All Dexter ever thought about was becoming rich and successful, especially during the fall and winter (hence the title). He spends his whole life trying to make his fantasy a reality. He does a good job by obtaining so much money over his many years. But, his perfect life isn’t complete without the perfect girl, which is Judy. He tries so desperately to get her to marry him, but he knows it’ll never happen due to her seeing many men at a time. At the end of the story, he finds out that Judy is now married and has a husband who does the same thing that Judy did to Dexter. So, he finally comes back to reality and realizes that he can never have the girl he fantasized about for so many years. Dexter can never have his “Winter Dream”.
ReplyDeleteIn the short story, “Winter Dreams” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the main character Dexter falls in love with this beautiful woman named Judy. Judy is from a wealthy family, and because of her wealth and beauty, men fall quickly in love with her. Unfortunately she takes advantage of all the men that fall head over heels in love with her and moves on from one man to the next and sometimes back again. Dexter is one of those men that Judy takes advantage of. Even though Dexter doesn’t even know Judy, unable to control himself, he ends up kissing her. What Dexter should have realized was that she was using him, and all the men she was with, selfishly for her own pleasure, enjoyment, and because I believe she has commitment issues and need that sort of “comfort” and attention. Dexter should have realized from the beginning that she was trouble, but his feelings for Judy lead him to be oblivious, and also selfish. When Dexter was engaged to a woman named Irene Scheerer, Judy showed up in town again. Judy, proving that she is selfish, left her fiancé to be with Dexter, even though he at the time was with Irene. She told him that she needed to marry him, so Dexter, also proving his selfishness, broke up his relationship with Irene. But Judy takes advantage of Dexter and says that he cannot marry him because she didn’t want to ruin his relationship with Irene… too late. In the end, Dexter finds out that Judy marries an alcoholic husband who is unfaithful to her (karma). Judy loses her beauty and Dexter wishes that he married Judy. Because of their selfishness and greediness, they were unable to realize what they want and end up losing what they truly care about.
ReplyDeleteDexter ignores Judy’s toward personality because he is comfortable with her social and economic status. Dexter was infatuated by Judy’s beauty. Throughout the story Judy used manipulation on numerous men to get her way. Some women have a tendency to manipulate man for their own gain. I believe that Dexter was attracted to Judy because she fit into Dexter’s materialistic obsession. For instance, Judy was the ideal trophy wife for Dexter. Dexter strived for success during his young career. Dexter sold his laundry company in pursuit of more material objects such as Judy Jones. I am not saying women are material objects, but in this case Judy is depicted as one. I see Dexter as walking contradiction because he both glorifies his working-class upbringing and also feels more important than others due to his wealth. Dexter’s feelings Judy are all artificial, he can’t see beyond her beauty because it is her beauty that is the missing piece to his definition of success. Dexter has already acquired money and stability at a very young. The title Winter Dreams, signifies the season that Dexter started to created his dreams. Dexter attempted to complete the goals that he set in his dreams as a teenager. The only goal that Dexter didn’t complete was spending the rest of his life with Judy. Once Dexter heard the news that Judy was now married to an unfaithful husband with children, Dexter has come to the realization that his dream of being with Judy is over. Due to the fact that Judy has aged rapidly and doesn’t have the same stunning looks, Dexter’s attraction towards Judy is gone. The end of the story illustrates Dexter crying because his Winter Dreams have come to an end and he must face reality.
ReplyDeleteIn F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Winter Dreams, he tells the story of a young man named, Dexter, who grew up in a low, middle class life and falls in love with a woman named Judy, who was brought up in a wealthy family. While he became infatuated with her beauty, Judy used her beauty to attract other men and get what she wants. I believe that she acts this way around other men because usually, these actions reflect that she needs to feel good about herself. It also seems like the factor of money was the love between Judy and her family because she was given so many luxuries growing up. Families this Judy’s probably did not have enough time to spend with the kids and therefore give them material items. Even though material things are nice to have, the lack of love to a kid is needed more than anything. In Judy’s case, although she basically takes advantage of these men, deep down inside, she is seeking love from someone that is willing to give her that. She only longed to be happy and loved. Also, Dexter experienced that emptiness in the end because he also grew old and never married Judy. Even though he gained money and established himself, he still felt empty. Now that he is alone, he cannot share his wealth with anyone and will continue to be by himself. In the end, the characters are again, unhappy with life.
ReplyDeleteFrom the short story “Winter Dreams” by Fitzgerald I observed the theme of growing up. The very first scene in the text demonstrated this right off the bat. Dexter was fourteen years old working as a caddy and he tells Mr. Jones he doesn’t want to caddy anymore, “I’m too old.” First, I think by showing him working his summers away when he was fourteen illustrated how Dexter grew up quick, worked hard for his money, and was very mature. Also, when he says, “I’m too old” I think this was his way of saying this part of my life is in the past and it’s time to move on and conquer a new challenge. On the other hand, Miss Judy Jones was a hand full in this story from beginning to end! While Dexter is there working his hardest and attempting to move on with his life and grow up, Judy is over here throwing a temper tantrum pounding her golf club in the ground because they had to wait for a caddy to arrive. And the only reason she stopped her tantrum was because the caddy showed up; she got what she wanted. These are kind of the introduction to these two characters for the story. As the story progresses Dexter grows into a wealthy, hardworking business owner asking Judy to settle down and marry him. Something a mature adult would do. Whereas, Judy is with a different guy every night, turned down Dexter’s proposal, and came crawling back when she hit rock bottom. Even though at the end of the story both characters ended up unhappy, Fitzgerald made it clear Dexter’s life was way better than Judy’s. I believe Dexter was better off than Judy and not because of the money, because of his mind set, maturity, and what he accomplished in his life. Judy didn’t have any goals or had perception of earning money or settling down with one man. I pictured her as a party girl. I also believe since Judy knew she was pretty she could marry any man she wanted. She knew she didn’t have to work hard and would have things handed to her; something an immature and ungrateful person would expect. I can kind of relate to this in a way. It’s showing me where I can end up if I accomplish my goals at school, and where I could end up if I stay home and do nothing with my life.
ReplyDeleteIn the short story, "Winter Dreams", two themes that I saw was materialism and emptiness. Materialism in the sense that Judy Jones was only interested in a man until something better came along. She was only concerned with how the man of that day made her feel. Never once did she care about what the men might have been feeling. Judy used her good looks to get what she wanted and it wasn't fair to anyone else. Dexter learned this the hard way. Although, he tried to get over her when she up and left him, it never really worked out for him. His mind would constantly drift back to the thought of Judy and all the time that they spent together. Judy was an extremely selfish woman who played with men's feeling. Judy also wanted what she couldn't have in a way. When she came back and realized that Dexter was engaged to Irene, she decided that she was interested in Dexter all over again. Judy cares about her feelings, if she has them, and that's about it. It's sort of ironic that Judy marries a man who cheats on her while she stays at home with their kids. Not saying that anyone deserves to be cheated on, but Judy did that multiple times with multiple men, it was bound to happen to her at some point.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this short story, there were several things that stood out to me about it. One was the selfishness of Judy, which I felt defined the story more so than the character of Dexter. I thought that this selfishness was mostly seen in the way that Judy kept leading Dexter on throughout the story. An example of this is when he asks her to marry him earlier in the story and she responds by saying “maybe some day” and “I’d like to marry you” but nothing ever comes of it. Even after Dexter is married to Irene, and Dexter gives up on ever being with Judy, she still feels the need to string him along. She really doesn’t care about anyone but herself at all, if she really cared about Dexter, she would have just let him be happy with his wife.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing about this story that stood out to me was the similarity to another book by F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby. Many of the characters from this story were similar to those from The Great Gatsby, mostly Judy and Daisy. Both of those characters were selfish women who didn’t care what they did to other people. Also, throughout the story, it seemed as though the plot of Winter Dreams and the plot of The Great Gatsby paralleled each other, and even crossed at a few points. One of the places where I thought the plots crossed was when Judy started to cry on her first date with Dexter because the man she cared about had told her that he was poor as a church mouse. This is very similar to the plot of The Great Gatsby where Daisy gets a letter from Gatsby telling her that he had no money. The other part that I found similar was at the end where Judy marries a man that cheats on her just like Tom Buchanan cheated on Daisy in The Great Gatsby.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams”, is a very sad love story. The main character Dexter, became a very successful man through his hard work and he got everything he ever wanted, except for the love of his life Judy. Judy was a very promiscuous woman who had so many different men trying to love her that she never had time to become an honest woman for Dexter. I think Dexter threw away his chance of ever finding love because he was so obsessed with Judy, no one was ever good enough for him. When he finally found an honest woman who loved him he gave it all up for a fling with Judy. I think Dexter wanted Judy so bad because every other guy in town wanted her, he wanted to have that one thing that everyone else wanted, and for him to have her would be a huge accomplishment. In the end he ends up a lonely man and Judy becomes a housewife whose husband constantly cheats.
ReplyDeleteF. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story “Winter Dreams” explores the theme of obtaining wealth but never achieving happiness. Our generation always dreams about being wealthy and we will be able to gain power, status and fulfill all our dreams that we want. Through wealth and power we will be able to achieve happiness however, “Winter Dreams” depicts that having wealth or status doesn’t make oneself happy. Dexter Green was a middle class boy from Lake Erminie and he came not from a wealthy family. But, he was capable enough to work hard, earn money and be part of the group of people he once worked for such as Mister Hedrick. Dexter was known for his hard work and being successful professionally. Even though he was rich, he was never happy because of his love for Judy Jones.
ReplyDeleteHis love and devotion for Judy Jones brought him immense unhappiness and loneliness. Judy Jones used men for her pleasure and she discarded men, whenever she was bored with them. However, she kept coming back to Dexter and giving him false hope for future. Dexter was happy and willing to marry Irene but Judy Jones came back in his life before he was ready to make a commitment. I believe that Judy Jones was never satisfied with her life and always moving on to a new conquest that might makes her happy one day. But, in the end both Dexter are unhappy with their lives because Dexter leaves his worries behind for war and Judy marries an abusive husband.
“Winter Dreams” explores the idea of the American dream. From the beginning of the story we learn that Dexter Green has come from money considering his father owns the second best grocery store in the area. He soon gets his own job at a golf course where he meets a woman named Judy and from then on his motive is to make her his. A major theme in this story is reality versus idealism. Dexter is infatuated with making Judy his but it just doesn’t seem like things will ever work out. He becomes successful professionally but not emotionally. He quickly realizes that no matter how successful he becomes money cannot buy happiness which is why he eventually sells his business off. In the end Dexter breaks off his engagement with another woman who he loves in order to try one last time for Judy but again things don’t work out and both are left unhappy.
ReplyDeleteI think a moral to this story is to be yourself. Dexter is a character that grew up in a low/middle class while working at a golf course as a caddy for the rich. When he meets Judy Jones who belongs to the upper class group he believes she would not want to be with someone like himself. He knew in order to be with someone like Judy Jones he would have to go to school and be successful and become wealthy. They ended up dating on and off but never truly ended up together. This goes to show that you can change all you want but whatever is meant to be will happen. He learned that no matter how much he changed himself and tried to mould himself into something he thought Judy would want it, would not matter. I think another moral of this story is whatever goes around comes around. Judy Jones was known to be with more than one man at a time and could not commit to one person. Even though she has Dexter that would have done anything to be with her she did not want the same. Judy was unfaithful to Dexter and did not put as much into the relationship as he did. In the end, Judy ends up with someone just like herself. She has a child and it married to a man that is unfaithful to her and does not treat her well. I think that is a good symbol for treat others the way you want to be treated.
ReplyDeleteThis story happens to be that classic chasing love plot. Dexter was a man who at the time when he met Judy Jones did not have a plan for his life. His life was very fragile. The wrong influence could put him in a constant state of agony. He fell for Judy's charms and malicious intentions. He knew she was no good, but he could not resist the beauty that was Judy Jones. Dexter needed to settle down after chasing Judy Jones for two years. He desperately wanted to love her and be with her, but a stable relationship with out strings attached he could not get from her. Irene showed him compassion, and true love. This was something that Dexter needed; unfortunately for him he loved Irene, but always had Judy in the back of his mind. This represents Dexter's desperation for a solid relationship but his desire to have a woman with impeccable beauty. Judy learned the hard way that walking all over someone will only end up hurting you the most in the end. Others will move on like Dexter did and Judy took too long to realize what she had until she truly lost it. Dexter has a good life with the woman he settled down with. That being said both Dexter and Judy will be haunted. There is the unspoken love they will always have for each other and the thoughts of what could of happened if things worked out will stay with them forever. Be careful what you wish for and always appreciate what you have.
ReplyDelete"Winter Dreams" a classic short story that involves a man, Dexter, wanting more then what he can have. In this story Dexter finds himself in love with a woman named Judy Jones, Judy is a woman of incredible beauty, who is compassionate, and extremely desirable. Judy is a woman of many tastes, by this I mean that she doesn't only have feelings for Dexter, as she finds herself going out with different men every other night. Dexter knows about these men, but doesn't want to leave Judy. Later on in the story Dexter finds himself in love with another women, Irene, who is loving, caring, and doesn't go out with other men. Irene showed Dexter what it was like to be loved, and he was grateful for this, but in the back of his mind he still couldn't stop thinking about Judy. Dexter finds himself wanting two things, in which he can only have one. He wants the loving and caring that Irene shows him, but he wants the compassion and beauty of Judy. In all parts of society people always want what they can't have. In this case Dexter's vision of being able to have both girls, ultimately drives both women away from him. People in society need to appreciate the things that they have instead of always wanting more. Dexter had two people who were great in his mind, but he ended up alone because he wasn't able to appreciate either one of them, and he always wanted more then he could have.
ReplyDelete“Winter Dreams” is a short story that involves a man named Dexter and a woman named Judy. Dexter worked as a caddy but he quit and became a wealthy laundry owner. Then Judy was a eleven year old when Dexter first saw her with a nurse. The story stated that Judy was “beautifully ugly as little girls are apt to be who are destined after a few years to be inexpressibly lovely.” At this part in the story I thought it hinted at some self-esteem issues. Judy wasn’t as appealing as she was in her adult years, so she used men to make her feel beautiful. But throughout the story I wondered why Dexter wanted someone that used him. Irene was a good person but there was something about Judy. Dexter tried to convince himself that he was over Judy but he was never really over her. I think Judy symbolized wealth toward Dexter. He started as a caddy and didn’t have as much money as he has with the laundry business. So Judy makes Dexter feel like he belongs in the wealthy class. Another reason Dexter might have stayed with Judy is because of the liveliness she made him feel. She made him feel so many emotions at once, from anger, happiness and sadness. She also was wanted by many men who she switched up between. This sounds like the idea of “falling for the bad guy.” People always want what is not good for them, and Dexter is in a similar situation. He could have stayed with Irene but it’s something about the unavailable person that draws people in.
ReplyDeleteIn "Winter Dreams" by F. Scott Fitsgerald, protagonist Dexter Green finds himself intransed by the beautiful Judy Jones. He claims to be in love with her but toward the end it seems like he was more in love with the idea of her. When he hears she is married and her looks have faded he feels he has lost something because his idea of her has changed in the worst way imaginable.He feels more at a loss hearing she is no longer strikingly beautiful then at knowing she is married to anyone but him. HIs love for her illusion becomes then an obssession that he cant shake off. A sort of "this is what I want but I know I can't have" dawns on him and he comes to understand he has not obtained the glittering thing but merely an association which is entirely the opposite of his style. Absorbed by all of this he loses a part of himself and merely goes about existing in life instead of living. Life is Judy Jones and he doesn't have her and never will; to him it's like becoming part of a living death.
ReplyDeleteThe short story “Winter Dreams,” by F. Scott Fitzgerald is about the tragic hero, Dexter Green. Dexter did come from wealth, however, he was no bum who lived off “daddy’s money.” He went out and showed the true American Dream; he put all his money into getting the best college education because he knew he was going to be rich. He went from taking out loans for college to owning the largest chain of laundries in the Midwest. He was definitely a hero in his persistence to achieve a goal that few would attempt. However, he had a tragic flaw. The flaw was Judy Jones. Judy was very manipulative and toyed with men to get her way. She could do this because she was rich and pretty, but Dexter didn’t care about her money. He was just astonished by her beauty. However, she never showed him the love he showed her, so he quit on his dream of marrying her. All his life he never quit on achieving what looked what some would say is an impossible task. Nevertheless, he did, and he would regret doing this once he heard how miserable Judy was when she finally decided to settle down. In the end, Judy got what she deserved for being such an emotionless manipulator, but this was at the cost of Dexter’s happiness as well. This story showed how people should never give up on their goals, no matter how impossible the task and the cliché of what goes around comes around.
ReplyDeleteIn the story,"Winter Dreams," it mostly deals with the general issue of the main character gaining something but losing another. When Dexter Greene was a young boy he worked at a golf course and would always imagine himself living the big life and actually playing on the same exact course himself. He eventually did achieve this goal of his and gained that "dream" of prosperity, wealth, and success. However, in the dream he became acquainted with this girl Judy Jones who eventually is the cause of his downfall. The love that he felt for her was so grand, but it was useless. They both had moved on with their lives, she was married, stable, with children, washed out from her youth and beauty as he was so told- nothing of what he remembered her as or as he could even think of. So there he was, lost and would never forget about her with a feeling of emptiness and no emotion. His last and only thriving dream of being in love with Judy Jones and a life together was now completely and forever gone.
ReplyDeleteIn the story “Winter Dreams” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there was something that stood out to me from the beginning. Dextar is a dreamer. Whatever is going on in his life, he seems to be in his own little world and have these expectations. The biggest example of this is when he meets Judy Jones. Dextar has this sort of dream or expectation that she will fall in love with him and stay devoted to him. He soon finds out that even though she said she likes him, she is still going off will other guys. This is interesting to me because Dextar loves her so he will not break up with her even though he knows she is going off with other guys. Judy then leaves and Dextar waits for her to come back. He has some sort of expectation that she will come back to him and I think that we do things like this to. When we like someone so much but cannot be with them, we sort of dream and hope that something will happen that will bring the two together. This story does remind me a bit of “The Great Gatsby” and being that it is written by the same author, it makes sense. Both stories have similar romances. Both stories also take place in the New York/ Long Island area.
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