Author: kg4vma

…rough draft of a short essay i need to turn in tomorrow…

Human emotion, with regard to matters relating to the heart, can be quite an interesting topic for discussion, and one which is brought forth in reading F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams”. Our central character in this short tale is a young man by the name of Dexter Green. Dexter comes from humble beginnings, yet manages to live an American dream of owning and operating a successful business, rewarding him with the ability to stand amongst the same character of men he had once caddied for as a child. Dexter’s fortune has brought him many things in life; love—or the love he had desired for so long—isn’t among the rewards.

On the day Dexter had decided to quit his job as a caddy at age fourteen, Dexter crossed paths with a young lady and her nurse; the child he had recognized from a year or so prior, yet this time she seemed more striking—perhaps because she had grown closer to the age of pubescence, though still “beautifully ugly” at the age of eleven. This spoiled, privileged child—who had been throwing a tantrum of sorts in finding that a game of golf might be out of the question—caught his eye and captured his heart with an innocent yet devilishly mischievous smile.

Years passed, and Dexter went off to college, taking loans against his degree following graduation and purchasing a laundering service. Through the combination of becoming successful and catering to the special laundering needs of golfing attire, Dexter was extended an invitation to the club where he had caddied. While on the links playing among the men he had once followed, Dexter once again crossed paths with little Miss Jones, who was now a much older and “matured” Judy Jones. Later that evening, Dexter and Judy dined together, and spoke of varying topics, with the final being an attraction to another followed by some heavy petting. Though these actions were undeniably based on mere physical attraction, and possible attraction of assumed social status, Dexter fell madly in love, connecting the experience to the first time his eyes were drawn to her smile so many years ago.

Judy was, sadly, a bit of a flirt and strung along many men over the years, and had even continued to do so while her and Dexter were “together”. Understandably, Dexter was upset when he discovered that Judy was so set in having what she wanted—so much so that she extended this selfishness into her love life, and saw no issue with it. Dexter was, however, still deeply infatuated with Judy; Dexter had found himself into many of the elite club and society gatherings just so that he could have opportunity to find time with her. Eventually, Dexter tried to push the thoughts of this first love aside, and sound another interest, Irene, to whom he became engaged. The engagement didn’t last, however, as Judy once again entered his life, and took him away to her boudoir.

Dexter had spent so many years pining over Judy, and it led to nothing but heartache. Roughly ten years had passed, and their paths hadn’t crossed—not a thought had been given—until the day a gentleman, a Devlin character with business in Detroit off-handedly mentioned Judy. The simple mention of her name brought about all of the old feelings Dexter had for this woman. Concern and anger rose in Dexter as Devlin shared how Judy was nothing more than a fairly common housewife now—no special beauty or endearing, mischievous smiles graced her face anymore. A love that enveloped Dexter for so long—a love which had caused him to lose his fiancée—was no more; Judy, though still alive, no longer existed. Dexter, having received this word, has found that a part of himself has died as well. Judy was more than an old-flame, but a “dream” of his—a part of his heart, his mind, his soul—that had helped and caused harm in making him the man he had become.

…once again, I go above and beyond in length for a forum posting. The following was submitted in response to a classwork assignment:

Personally, I believe that O’Brien simply wants to show that the soldiers are as vulnerable to fantasy, dreams and emotion as any other person. Soldiers of war are still very human—their minds shall never stop being creative in dealing with the troubles they face. Through painting this image, O’Brien leads us to ask whether this—being human in such an inhumane setting—is positive or negative.

Throughout this short we’re given multiple examples of the differences of what the men are thinking and how the war and prior lives have helped shape them. Though the military has prescribed a specific list of things the men must carry, each man carries something different with them—though in many ways, they still carry the same things. Comic books, photographs, letters, various “charms”—each man carrying something special to them which keeps them connected to their own world at home; each man carrying something which attempts to keep them connected to sanity.

In the end, our main character, Lt. Cross, sees that his own attempts at keeping sane have drawn his mind away from his duties to his men. I question whether this judgment is fair. Cross may have been miles away in his mind, but was he truly responsible for Lavender’s death? Day-dreaming of a woman that may not truly have “feelings”, imagining, questioning whether this girl was pure of mind, body and spirit—were these things really responsible for Lavender’s demise?

Boom-down. Zapped while zipping.

Cross, just as any other man would, found fault in himself, fault in his emotions, fault in being human, and decided to blame that fault for Lavender’s death. A good Lieutenant may not have been preoccupied with thoughts and visions of college girls playing volleyball, sure; but a good Lieutenant may have had his nose buried so deep in maps and radio communiqués that any number of men could have had their heads blown off.

Is imagination, fantasy, day-dreaming, escaping reality for a single moment—is it dangerous? It can be. Cross saw it as an avoidable danger in the end.

Are these separations from reality positive and helpful? Undoubtedly. One could question whether the men would be sane or even human if they did not take these breaks from the horror that they were living. It is my belief that the main point being driven here is that these feelings and emotions are impossible to escape; that to fantasize is simply a part of being human, and that it can and does happen at any time and in any setting. Whether these fantasies can be controlling—how influential they may be—is entirely up to the individual.

O’Brien delivers this message well amidst this tale of a seemingly small platoon in the Vietnam War. The main concept of the collection of stories is to deliver the experience of the war; what better way to do so, than to write it in such a way as to allow for the reader to connect on a more human—a more emotional—level? In order to accomplish this goal, O’Brien made use of the historical fiction genre, and drew upon the use of fantasy as the connecting element between the characters and the reader. Fantasy also serves as an interesting element in affecting the flow of the story, jerking the reader into and out of the fantasies as well.

Delivering a factual tale of a war can be less than entertaining; telling the reader of the various equipment used creates a sense that the writer simply copied the dry and sterile text of a military publication—an equipment list, a duty roster, or a technical manual on the assembly of some exotic weapon. These facts, as necessary as they may be, do not engage a reader; breaking away and dipping into the souls of the characters involved, however, is very engaging. This is why, I suspect, that O’Brien chose the tactic of drawing us into the character; introducing the “current” fantasy and then breaking away back to the more “mundane” details of the things they carried, cycling back to the other “things” they carried—repeating the cycle.

This method worked quite well to establish an engaging tale and give the reader a truer feeling of how fantasy can creep upon us, draw us in and then boom—back to reality.

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…just as a side note…

…a really nice reading of the short is available at: http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podshows/10573078