Fitzgerald

Alex Holland

Professor Trakas

English 102

2 March 2015

Falling out of Love (Revised)

The short stories “Winter Dreams” and “The Sensible Thing,” written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, present the reader with two similar relationship conflicts. “Winter Dreams” is a story of a relationship between a young girl named Judy Jones and a caddy named Dexter. “The Sensible Thing” displays a similar relationship between an aspiring engineer named George O’Kelly and a woman named Jonquil Cary. The relationships in both short stories have men who constantly battle to recapture a once passionate love. However these men fail because the women in the stories are unable to commit themselves to a serious relationship. This shift in chemistry results in the couples falling out of love and moving on from one another.

In “The Sensible Thing”, George O’Kelly started off with low paying jobs and having to work hard to move up in social class in order to be with the woman he loved. Jonquil and George in the “The Sensible Thing” show conflict from the beginning of the story. It is apparent that they once shared a passionate love, but throughout the story it reflects on their conflict. Jonquil appreciated attention from other men. In this short story George and Jonquil separated for about a year. Before he left Jonquil he said “Ill be back,” (295) and her response was “I know you will” (296). When they reunited a year later “he had risen from poverty into a position of unlimited opportunity” (297). This gave George hope that he would win over Jonquil’s heart and she would finally want to marry him.

Toward the end of the story, Jonquil and George are sitting together discussing their feelings. Jonquil expresses to George that she no longer is in love with him. When George asks Jonquil if she would ever marry him, she states, “I’m never going to marry,” (300). This statement suggested to the reader that she is lying because she is unable to commit herself to a serious relationship. George...