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Character Analysis : The Great Gatsby

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F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story based on his own story involving his daughter Scottie “Babylon Revisited” is one of the many pieces of literature written by Fitzgerald that has not necessarily been forgotten, but has been shadowed in the success of his novel The Great Gatsby. This story revolves around Charlie, a man who had gone through incredible economic times, felt the crash of the stock market in 1929, and is now starting to get back on his feet, and his battle for custody for his daughter, Honoria, who had been given to his late wife’s sister, Marion, because of Charlie’s irresponsible and desperate behavior, especially toward his late wife, Helen. Before the story begins, we need a little background, which we find out throughout …show more content…

Most people that read this story recognize Marion’s distrust of Charlie, and that she hesitates in giving Honoria back to Charlie, and it is pretty easily traced back to Charlie’s alcoholic mistreatment of Helen. It is pretty obvious and easy to see, especially when Marion says things like, “‘I’ll never be able to forget the morning when Helen knocked at my door, soaked to the skin and shivering and said you’d locked her out’” (513) and, “‘Frankly, from the night you did that terrible thing you haven’t really existed for me.’”(513) and, “‘When she was dying she asked me to look out for Honoria. If you hadn’t been in a sanitarium then, it might have helped matters’” (513). These experiences that Charlie has put through Marion are incredibly awful and traumatic, but these are not the only reasons she hesitates in giving Honoria back. Marion and Lincoln have been raising Honoria since she was six years old, so it is not unreasonable to think they have grown close to each other. The bond they have formed is further strengthened by the fact that she is still a little kid, so they have been raising her and teaching her about the secrets and keys to success in life. Even Charlie says, “‘But if we wait much longer I’ll lose Honoria’s childhood and my chance for a home’” (513).

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