Questions to First Half of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender Is The Night
1.Much of the first book (to page 112) is told from the perspective of Rosemary, an American film star just turning 18. At one point, her mother tells her that “economically you’re a boy” (40). What does that mean? Describe the relationship between Rosemary and her mother. Do you think it is a healthy one? Why or why not? What do you think of Rosemary? Do you find her likeable as a character? Why or why not?
During the time that the book takes place; women are not the breadwinners of families. Women are not usually economically prosperous. Their hope for economic prosperity depends upon who they can land for a husband. But Rosemary is different because her working as an actress, and a popular one, commands a lot of monetary rewards. Her mother tells her, “You were brought up to work” (Fitzgerald, 40).
This defines the relationship between Rosemary and her mother. Her mother has raised her and trained her to act at the level that she does. She is a popular movie star who travels all over the world. She is also a home wrecker though. Part of her mother’s training has backfired, and she has become too driven for her own good. Her mother may have helped create her, but it seems that this is for her selfish reasons.
I do not find her a likeable character because she seems a rather artificial and contrived character. When she exclaims her “most sincere thing” to Dick, she says, “Oh, we’re such ACTORS—you and me” (Fitzgerald, 122). This sums up who she is as a character—fake. Everything she does is done with an intention. In a sense, she never lets anything happen to her. Onstage and offstage, she is always playing a part. Sometimes she is playing the part of others, and other times she is playing the part of herself, but she is always playing a part, even in her real life. “Rosemary made an exit that she had learned young, and on which no director had ever tried to improve” (Fitzgerald, 143).
2. At Dick and Nicole’s party at their house on the French Riviera, Mrs. McKisco comes “upon a scene” on her way to the bathroom (36). What do you think she saw? How and why does this lead to a duel?
Amidst heavy drinking, there is a lot of flip-flopping amongst characters allegiances in this part. Perspective also matters in this part. The reader learns of the duel from Rosemary, who learned about it from Campion. The Duel happens because McKisco believes that, from Mrs. McKisco’s insinuation about the “scene” that she saw, that his wife’s honor has been compromised. McKisco is drunk, so this informs the behavior that he exhibits.
3. Why doesn’t Abe North go back to America as planned? Do his friends like being around him? Why or why not? What sort of trouble does Abe get himself into? What do you think is the cause of Abe’s main problem? Use a quotation from the text to support your response.
Instead of going to America like he was supposed to, Abe North returns to Paris and drank through the night. The author does not give an entirely clear picture of what happened, and this is a literary technique to better relate the situation in which the characters are experiencing the action—drunkenly. What is related is that through the course of the night’s debauchery, North thought that a black man was robbing him and the police, on his accusations, jail a black restaurant owner, “We have arrested a Negro. eE is convinced we have at last arrested the correct Negro” (Fitzgerald, 110). Abe’s real problem is his alcoholism. It seems that his alcoholism has led to changes in his behavior. Nicole tells Rosemary, “Abe used to be so nice SO nice. Long ago—when Dick and I were first married” (Fitzgerald, 114). She goes on to tell him about the much more considerate, quiet person he used to be. He used to spend his time in the library, playing the piano. But now he has changed, and it seems the difference is his social associations and the level of his substance consumption.
4. Who was Jules Peterson and why did someone murder him? What happened to his body after he was killed? In general, how are black people depicted in this novel? Use a quotation from the text to support your response
Jules Peterson was “a small, respectable Negro, on the suave model that heels the Republican Party in the Border States” (Fitzgerald, 131). Black people in the novel are depicted as secondary citizens. The body of Jules Peterson ends up in a bed and when she screams Dick Diver responds by saying, “‘Look here, you mustn’t get upset over this—it’s only some nigger scrap’” (Fitzgerald, 144). In the end, the body is played out in the hallway and Dick phones in an anonymous call that will keep the blame of him and his associates.
