Amory Blaine: True American

Amory Blaine: True American

Throughout American Literature, the ‘American Spirit’, or ‘American Identity’, has been defined in multiple ways. To many, the ‘American identity’ is akin to the ‘pioneer spirit’, where brave individuals strike out on their own to explore and face new adventures. To others, the ‘American identity’ is one of heroic tales and stories of tremendous bravery in the face of incredible danger. There are others who believe that the American spirit is demonstrated by a ‘can do’ or ‘no quit’ attitude, even against great odds. In This Side of Paradise, the protagonist, Amory Blaine, is neither hero, nor pioneer, though he does possess qualities unique to each. Over the course of the story, Amory has many dreams and ambitions, however, he lacked sufficient motivation to bring them to fruition, but for one exception. While not the stereotypical ‘no quit’ attitude, Amory Blaine’s unrelenting quest for self-discovery, and to learn exactly what his place is in this world, despite many trying experiences, exemplifies true American spirit.

Throughout his early life, Amory Blaine seems to have had a sense of entitlement. Not the kind of entitlement that he was owed something from the government, rather, he assumed he was owed something from the world. The problem with this assumption was that Amory either would not, or could not, commit to the full effort needed to extract that which he felt he was owed. This blasé attitude was fostered, in part, by how Amory’s mother, Beatrice, doted on Amory. A good example of this would be during a trip across the country when Amory was still a child. At a hotel in New Mexico, Beatrice stated to Amory, "Dear, don't think of getting out of bed yet. I've always suspected that early rising in early life makes one nervous. Clothilde is having your breakfast brought up" (Fitzgerald 2). Yet another example would be when Amory’s appendix burst during a trip from American to Italy and Beatrice was successful in convincing...