Dick as Tragic Hero in Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night Essays

Nicole gets together with Francis and they gain trust in eachother. In the book this is where the story picks up. On page 76 it shows that Nicole is pretty happy. “Saturday afternoons at the Plymouth downtown became our weekly date- the word made my head spin: I was actually dating Nicole Renard.” The quote shows that Nicole is happy and fine with Francis.

What the readers know of Dick’s past is very little, as Capote works to characterize him through flashbacks the readers know it was his plan to kill the Clutters and he does have some family “there were those Dick claimed to love: three sons, a mother, a father, a brother—persons he hadn’t dare confide his plan to(Capote 106).” But Capote characterizes Dick more so through descriptions of his habits than through his memories. “Inez was a prostitute…she was eighteen and Dick had promised to marry her. But he had also promised to marry Maria, a women of fifty who was a widow of a very rich banker(Capote 118-119)” Dick is shown throughout the book as someone who uses people to get what he wants, he calls on Perry to help him with his plan, he uses women for sex and money while making promises he never intends to keep. “If he knew Dick, and he did—now he did—would spend the money right away on vodka and women(Capote 119). Capote does not draw any sympathy from the readers, Dick is perceived as an emotionless man who pretends to believe in people and want the same

The dynamic partnership between Dick and Perry stems from their egos, or lack thereof. Perry is especially self-conscious, and his behavior as presented in the book is due to his sense of lacking and

Throughout the passage told from Dick’s point of view, the syntax is surprisingly curt and choppy. As he is expressing his exasperation towards Perry, his sentences break off repeatedly. He states, “He was annoyed. Annoyed as hell”, which not only is comprised of two extremely short sentences, but also emits an aggressive tone (Capote 108). Dick’s attitude towards Perry becomes apparent quickly, as whenever Perry begins to speak Dick is filled with negative thoughts about his half-witted partner. The curtness and negative content of his thoughts show the annoyance and sheer contempt that Dick feels. Also, Capote uses the short and concise sentences when describing Dick to show his clear mindedness and his seemingly rational thought process. The simplicity of Dick’s thoughts make him seem more focused and reliable. He uses this contrast to emphasize the

During which time I’m sure they developed a different relationship than I am familiar with. All the time that they had spent together and learning each other’s secrets. It seems that they both have indifferent sexual tendencies towards others. Dick tells Perry several times “how about it honey?” He was sorry he felt as he did about her, for his sexual interest in female children was a failing of which he was sincerely ashamed (Capote 201). I can’t remember Perry mentioning much about his sexual interests in the book except for maybe what he says about Willie-Jay. The only other thing is when Perry mentions that he is disgusted with people who cannot control their own sexual desires.

Over time, she falls deeper into her depression and longing for a time that no longer exists. Yet, she finds a man who treats her like gold and brings her all the food and clothes that he can smuggle to her. When Dick asks her what she misses most about home, she responds with the lilac tree and all the memories associated with it. In turn, he vows “One day, when this is over, I’ll plant you a lilac bush. Perhaps it will grow old and become a tree, like the one you remember” (144-145). This vow gives her the hope that she needs in order to keep going on her darkest days

In one specific account, Perry couldn't act like he was a believer to Dicks faith even though he knew he was risking staying friends with the person he feels could really make a strong bond with him. “Perry decided to speak out; he was sorry, but it was not for him—heaven, hell, saints, divine mercy—and if Willie-Jay's affection was founded on the prospect of Perry's someday joining him at the foot of the Cross, then he was deceived and their friendship false, a counterfeit like the portrait. “ (Capote,149) . It's a very courageous move on Perry's part to state his ground and go with what he felt. He refused to be a hypocrite. Through the book, the author tends to touch/exaggerate on many things that some people might say is controversial. Capote liked to build up certain characters to make the reader have a sense of feeling for them, while trying to make the story sound better and make the reader want to read more. Capote stated that everything in the book was true, even though some events in the book are said to be exaggerated and or not true to the story. Hes also known to make certain characters seem different than how they actually act. Of course, Dick was very literal-minded, very—he had no understanding of music, poetry—and yet when you got right down to it, Dick's literalness, his pragmatic approach to every subject, was the primary

Nicole, although beautiful and elegant, was flawed. Described by Dick as a ‘beautiful empty shell', she was the object of Dick Diver's romantic imagination. He took it upon himself, to obtain this ‘beautiful shell', despite the obvious problems and warnings from his associates. Looking at his ‘need' for her, it wasn't just love; it was also the need for a challenge and he put his entire effort into proving that Nicole could be changed. When he met Rosemary, things started to look up. Finally he had met a woman, although not as beautiful as Nicole, that was stable and independent. He took advantage of her love for him to experience what a relationship with two equal participants would be like. After he had tasted what a relationship like this was like, his dream became

The dynamic between Dick and Perry was always fragile and dominated by a need to determine who was more masculine, who was in charge. This is made easier by simply blaming the other one for any negative consequences. Dick and Perry weren't particularly fond of one another; they had differing hopes, long-term goals, and motives. A dynamic as fragile as this was easily shattered after their arrests, leading to quick confessions and a solution to the puzzling quadruple

Fitzgerald indicates that wealthy people are not always happy. At Tom and Daisy’s dinner party, Nick says that Daisy’s face “was sad and lovely” (13). The description of Daisy’s attitude and appearance shows the reader that her beauty intends to mask her despair. Many

The second chapter starts with the dark-haired girl slipping Smith a note at work saying that she loves him. The two eventually make secret plans to meet far out in the country, and Smith learns that her name is Julia. The two eventually do meet and have sex hidden out in the countryside, simply for the purpose of pleasure and defying the Party. Julia and Smith then return to their respective homes, thinking themselves undiscovered.

Through Fitzgerald’s characterisation of the protagonists, the moral chaos within the society becomes evident, with a society of immense greed and wealth being born, revealing the dreaded materialistic trait within individuals in the society leading to drastic consequences. Similarly to the prodigious increase in wealth during the “roaring 20’s”, the luxurious society of New York revolves heavily around money, with “the rich getting richer and the poor getting children”. The materialistic trait is evident within the protagonist Daisy Buchanan - ‘a careless person”. We learn of Daisy’s materialistic behaviour through her decision to marry Tom Buchanan over Jay Gatsby “because she was

Dick was written. He seems to exemplify expected behaviour of a young boot-black by his rough exterior, involvement in fights, lack of money, and disregard for others including their property. Micky Maguire is the enemy of the story, and it is clear that the “hero” must always rise above the bad characters in order to provide a lesson with the story being told. Dick is known to keep his cool and remain confident around Micky, even when a fight is breaking out between the two of them (Alger 94). While Micky is indeed a cruel boy as it seems, Dick does bring on some of the taunting himself because of the cocky manner he upholds when speaking to Micky. Even with Dick being smart-mouthed toward Micky, there is not any sympathy towards Micky in the novel because of his ruffian ways and rudeness towards Dick. Alger does not give Micky credit for why he acts like this towards Dick nor does he establish a true reason why Micky turned out to be such a tough street boy. His childish actions are likely caused by jealously over Dick and not because of sheer hatred (Alger 91). Micky is not given chances like Dick and whether or not Alger sets it up so that option luck is a rewarded behaviour,

Charles Scribner III in his introduction to the work remarks that “the title evokes the transient, bittersweet, and ultimately tragic nature of Fitzgerald’s ‘Romance’ (as he had originally subtitled the book)” (Fitzgerald ix). Tender Is the Night parallels Fitzgerald’s own struggles with his mentally ill Zelda, and the characters are carefully constructed from his interactions with the social elite of artists,

A comparison of the ways in which Fitzgerald and Bronte present their heroes. (2742 words)