F.Scott Fitzgerald ‘s “ Winter Dreams ” paperss the life of Dexter Green, “ a immature adult male from a modest background who strives to be a portion of the sole universe inhabitated by the adult females he loves ” ( Perkins 1 ) . The work regards a period in Dexter Greens life, from the age of 14 to thirty two. Fitzgerald divides the narrative into six episodes through those 18 old ages, and each episode relates to Dexter ‘s relationship to Judy Jones. Judy ‘s love is what Dexter yearns for ; she pushes him to his vision of the perfect life filled with “ glistening things ” , wealth and a high societal position ( Fitzgerald 423 ) . The life Dexter desires is the American Dream in being successful, but it does non ever intend being happy, Fitzgerald uses the elements of symbolism, and imagination throughout his short narrative “ Winter Dreams ” to stand for his subject.
“ Winter Dreams ” signifies more than the basic apprehension of the rubric. The symbolism used in the rubric, adds a deepness to the narrative and displays the subject of the unhappy, affluent life. Throughout the old ages Dexter ‘s life alterations and “ the ripening procedure is signified by the word ‘winter ‘ in the rubric, but ‘winter ‘ besides signifies a passage that is more tragic than physical impairment ; by the terminal of the narrative, Dexter ‘s emotions have become frozen ” ( Gidmark 2 ) . Gidmark shows the dual significance, symbolism in the word “ winter ” by explicating both its intensions. Not merely does the word winter base for the weakening of Dexter, but it besides signifies how his temper and feelings become iced up, and unchangeable because of his bosom interruption. The first debut of Dexter ‘s dream is described as, “ [ it ] happened to be concerned at first with contemplations on the rich, [ aˆ¦ ] he wanted non association with glistening things and glistening people-he wanted the aglitter things themselves ” ( Fitzgerald 423 ) . The “ aglitter things ” include money and success which Dexter yearns for. Not merely does he desire to tie in with them, he besides wants the accomplishment to be his ain. Gidmark clearly analyzes Judy ‘s function in the short narrative, “ [ she ] is the image of passion and beauty, energy and comeliness, the true love and true dream that are with him until, larning of Judy ‘s diminution, he recognizes it as a signal of the death of his ain dreams ” ( 2 ) . Judy is what keeps Dexter ‘s dream traveling on, and without her his dream comes to a expiration. Harmonizing to Prigozy, Judy Jones “ comes to typify both the beauty and the mereticiousness of Dexter ‘s dreams- is clearly revealed as cruelly, in cold blood destructive ” ( 1 ) . Even though his dream of Judy keeps him traveling, she is besides a negative influence upon him because of her acrimonious bosom. Judy ‘s image to the universe shows her as populating a really pleased life with new work forces on her tail invariably, but inside she is entirely and frightened. Dexter ‘s vernal winter dreams became really closely related to Judy Jones and his love for her that, “ the inventive nowadays in which she remains alive for Dexter besides preserves that vernal profusion ” ( Clinton 405 ) . His demand for her blessing of the exultant American life style is what keeps his dream and himself lively. Fitzgerald displays what is traveling on, “ The dream was gone. Something had been taken from him ” ( 435 ) . Gidmark explicates Fitzgerald ‘s quotation mark, about when Dexter loses the capableness of feeling and lovingness, he states, “ [ Dexter ‘s ] ‘dream ‘ of Judy had kept him energetic, passionate, and alive, and now the dream has been taken from him ” , ( 2 ) . Judy and Dexter ‘s relationship ended a piece back, but Dexter still latched on to his dream.
Imagination in the short narrative, “ Winter Dreams ” produces mental images in one ‘s caput, picturing the subject. The images are used in order to, “ [ maintain ] alive his love for Judy Jones and the brightness of his vernal winter dreams in the lone manner the yesteryear can stay alive- by repairing its images out of clip and the existent universe in an inventive nowadays ” ( Burhans 4 ) . In the beginning of the narrative, Dexter describes the Minnesota winter “ [ it ] shut down like the white palpebra of a box ” ( Fitzgerald 421 ) . The scenery mirrors his depression, because while he wants a aureate hereafter he is populating in a dark cold life. The simile depicts how Dexter positions his dreams, by being shut down and closed. Fitzgerald utilizes another simile about Dexter, “ when he crossed the hills the air current blew cold as wretchedness ” ( Fitzgerald 421 ) . The simile draws a mental image, and the word “ wretchedness ” describes the melancholy presently in his life. Dexter grows and starts to go a successful adult male, all of a sudden, “ the Sun went down with a exuberant whirl of gold and changing blue and vermilions, and left the dry, whistling dark of Western summer ” ( Fitzgerald 425 ) . Now the dark images of the landscape have transformed into a delicious scene, because Judy and Dexter ‘s relationship begins. Fitzgerald uses “ gold ” in the scene to stand for Judy, and the gold in the images is present when Dexter is still making for his dream. Dexter is informed that Judy ‘s perfect life is now turned into a calamity. She is married to a adult male who treats her ailing, and her beautiful appeal is gone. After his rough realisation of Judy ‘s present life Dexter feels, “ The heartache [ I ] could hold borne was left behind in the state of semblance, of young person, of the profusion of life, where [ my ] winter dreams had flourished ” ( Fitzgerald 436 ) . He becomes emotionless, and his dreams rapidly go the past. Shattered, he is now experiencing vacant and lonely because his ideal miss is enduring. Burhans expresses how Dexter is in wretchedness when he can non retrieve the beautiful scenery, “ gone, excessively is a portion of himself besides profoundly associated with and still alive in these images: the delicate minute in clip when young person and his winter dreams were doing his life richer and sweeter than it would of all time be once more ” ( 2 ) . The earlier illustrations, “ green and unfastened infinites of the golf-course yearss in Minnesota are gone, replaced by the constricting, cold, gray cement and steel of a skyscraper ” ( Flibbert 2 ) . The cold and gray concept an image of acrimonious and aloneness. He can non resuscitate the green grass and xanthous Sun reflecting ; now the image is substituted with a rough one. Fitzgerald explains Dexter ‘s emotions, “ he had married Judy Jones and seen her fade away before his eyes ” ( 435 ) . He held Judy in the most particular topographic point within himself and now his perfect image of her is destructed. He can non regenerate her beautiful face, with his realisation of her, his images have disappeared.
Throughout the short narrative, “ Winter Dreams ” by F.Scott Fitzgerald, the subject of the ideal American life, of money and wealth is represented. The dream of this peculiar life style does non see one truly being happy or non. The supporter in the narrative, Dexter achieves this life but ends with a tragic ruin. He starts off desiring to be successful and one time he achieves his end, Judy Jones comes into his life. She is the uninterrupted “ dream ” in his life, and when he discovers that Judy has ended up unhappy his dream shatters. He ends up unhappy and “ frozen ” . Fitzgerald uses literary devices, such as symbolism and imagination to turn out his subject in an rational manner, with deepness.
