Babylon Revisited Analysis

Charlie introduces the concept of dissipation early on "Babylon Revisited":So much for the effort and ingenuity of Montmartre. All the catering to vice and waste was on an utterly childish scale, a...

Though the date is never specified, we know from the text that "Babylon Revisited" takes place after the stock market crash of 1929 – characters repeatedly refer to "the crash," which is clea...

"Babylon Revisited" is narrated in a close third person, meaning that we only see things through Charlie's eyes, and are privy to his thoughts and observations. Normally, you might hear that the cl...

"Babylon Revisited," as we discuss in "In a Nutshell," is largely considered to be the greatest of Fitzgerald's short stories. Its literary merit is indisputable; you'll find us gushing over the br...

Because of the personal connections Fitzgerald had with his tale (see "Genre" for all the details), we see that Fitzgerald's attitude towards his story is very similar to Charlie's attitude towards...

Fitzgerald is generally known for his lush, flowery, expansive prose – check out any passage in The Great Gatsby and you'll see exactly what we're talking about. The man doesn't hold back. Bu...

Babylon is a term taken from The Book of Revelation in the Bible. The Biblical Babylon is a city characterized by extravagance, debauchery, and sin, but it is really taken as a symbol rather than a...

Before we talk about the final scene at the Ritz, let's talk about the conclusion to Charlie's saga – the fact that Duncan and Lorraine show up and ruin everything. Interestingly, Charlie is...

Charlie is back in Paris.We know that Charlie is revisiting Paris and stopping by his old haunts while he's there. As he talks with the barman, we get hints of his past, but the central conflict ha...

A brief note: To interpret "Babylon Revisited" as a tragedy is only one point of view, and a pretty narrow view of the story. If you only see the story as a typical tragedy, you'll miss a good de...

Charlie returns to Paris and gets ready to do (verbal) battle with Marion for his daughter. He travels through Paris and sees it with new, sober eyes. He staves off Duncan and Lorraine.Charlie trie...

F. Scott Fitzgerald was paid $4,000 for "Babylon Revisited" – in 1931. That's the equivalent of over fifty thousand dollars today. In a letter to Ernest Hemingway, he described himself as an...

"Babylon Revisited" examines a life of extravagance, waste, and self-destruction, but focuses on alcohol and money, not sex.

Josephine Baker (1.52) Claude Debussy, La Plus que Lente (1.27)