Introduction
Ambitious and enterprising people are also victims of fallacy and fantasies.
Author F. Scott Fitzgerald in his short story” Winter Dreams” portrays the protagonist Dexter Green to be a man with dreams — a man with infallible stubbornness to attain the unattainable.
Dexter’s story
Right from the tender age of fourteen, Dexter who was so caught up in the pursuit of success and status used to “fantasize defeating the men for whom he caddies or dazzling them with fancy diving exhibitions”. He felt superior to the other caddies as he had come there just for pocket money but this illusion was shattered one fine morning by an 11 year old girl who was “beautifully ugly as little girls are apt to be who are destined after a few years to be inexpressibly lovely and bring no end of misery to a great number of men”
This proud teenager felt inferior by her casual attitude and so suddenly he decided to quit the golf club. To nurse his battered ego he decided against attending the state university his father could have paid for and instead attended a prestigious school, although he had trouble affording it. He was bothered by his lack of funds which did not allow him to possess the glittering things money could buy. After his graduation, with his foresight and commitment, he made tons of money in his laundry business and soon became well respected. At the age of twenty-seven, he had moved up the social ladder as he came to own the largest string of stores in his area.
Providence made this hot-blooded young man and the charming maiden meet again in the same field where he now golfed with men whom he had previously caddied for. He was so enthralled by her loveliness that he chose to ignore her indiscretions and superficial behavior. “Dexter had surrendered a part of himself to the most direct and unprincipled personality with which he had ever come in contact”.
She was his “winter dream “ which he was unconsciously being dictated to by – “she was the embodiment of a glittering world of excitement and promise. Through her, Dexter hopes to experience all the benefits that he believes his lifestyle can afford him”. Being sucked in the whirlpool of emotions for her he had lost interest in social niceties, did not heed to what others advised him or thought about him. “No disillusion as to the world in which she had grown up could cure his illusion as to her desirability.”
Dexter experienced an upheaval of emotions ranging from ecstasy to utter disappointment during their relationship when it finally dawned on him that it was impossible to possess her – Judy who to him symbolized “the epitome of what he considers to be the intense and passionate life of the American elite”. The passion for his “Winter Dream” was so deeply ingrained and alive that he knew his decision to marry Irene was just a compromise. She could be nothing more than a mother to his children and a companion to look after his home and needs.
Conclusion
“He who is in a reverie fades away from reality” – Anonymous. Afterlife took them in different directions, once Dexter happens to hear about Judy and how she has lost her youth and vitality with time, all of a sudden Dexter feels his “winter dream” crumble and realizes the illusory nature of it.
Many an ambitious youth have fallen prey to physical beauty, charm and wasted their youth pursuing such “winter dreams” only to realize that these fade in time and are not everlasting
References
- Winter Dreams Summary and Study Guide by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Web.
- Winter Dreams by F. Scott Fitzgerald. 1998. Web.