51 pages 1 hour read

F. Scott Fitzgerald

This Side of Paradise

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1920

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Themes

The Experience of Disillusionment

One of the novel’s key themes explores the role disillusionment plays in an individual’s coming of age, as Amory’s grandiose self-image and idealized notions of life give way to a more sober and realistic view of the world as he matures. In This Side of Paradise, Amory must learn to cope with the disappointment of not everything turning out according to his wishes and expectations.

Amory experiences his first sense of disappointment when he kisses Myra at the Minnehaha Club. Amory views his feelings for Myra as an adventure and enjoys the chase. However, once he kisses the girl, “[s]udden revulsion seized Amory, disgust, loathing for the whole incident. He desired frantically to be away, never to see Myra again, never to kiss anyone” (21). This image of extreme disappointment foreshadows similar experiences where Amory’s expectations and ideals do not live up to reality. Amory asks to go to prep school thinking it will be a satisfying experience for him, but he ultimately ends up “discouraged and imagined himself a pariah” (33). Amory misunderstands the purpose behind his education at St. Regis’ and uses the experience only to further his social ambitions. This propensity for disappointment and discontent follows him to Princeton.

Related Titles

By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Study Guide

logo

Babylon Revisited

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Babylon Revisited

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Study Guide

logo

Bernice Bobs Her Hair

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Bernice Bobs Her Hair

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Plot Summary

logo

Crazy Sunday

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Crazy Sunday

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Plot Summary

logo

May Day

F. Scott Fitzgerald

May Day

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Study Guide

logo

Tender Is the Night

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Tender Is the Night

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Plot Summary

logo

The Beautiful and Damned

F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Beautiful and Damned

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Study Guide

logo

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Plot Summary

logo

The Diamond as Big as the Ritz

F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Diamond as Big as the Ritz

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Study Guide

logo

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Study Guide

logo

The Last Tycoon

F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Last Tycoon

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Study Guide

logo

Winter Dreams

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Winter Dreams

F. Scott Fitzgerald