Bernice Bobs Her Hair

Micah Alonzo

English 2326

Dr. White

April 21, 2011

Literary Response to Bernice Bobs Her Hair

Bernice Bobs Her Hair by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a story in which I am able to relate to the main character very well through personal experience. Bernice (the main character) is a very traditional girl who goes and stays with her Uncle, Aunt, and cousin for the summer. Marjorie, Bernice’s cousin, is the same age as Bernice but is very different from her because of the way she has been raised. Marjorie is a socialite and is very outgoing and popular. She seems to represent the “modern girl.”

She is also very vain, selfish, and overly concerned with getting the attention of every man she meets. Bernice, on the other hand, is traditional, normal, and does things the “old way.”

While visiting her out-of-town relatives, Bernice is heavily pressured by Marjorie to adapt to the modern ways of society. The main reason for this pressure is because

Bernice has become somewhat of an embarrassment to her sophisticated cousin, to whom image is everything and family ties mean nothing. Bernice is very reluctant to change at first, but she eventually gives in to Marjorie. Marjorie gives her a complete makeover from the clothes she wears to what she talks about with the guys she dances with at parties. She slowly gains popularity and after a while all the guys want to dance and talk with her. I can relate to Bernice because I am also living in a time where the youth culture dictates what the majority of youth do, wear, think and say. Like Bernice, I was also raised in a traditional home where I was taught Christian values. I am not one who likes to give in to peer pressure to do things I know are wrong just because everyone else is doing it.

Because I’m fairly conservative, I’ve been pressured by friends to try some things they think every college student should experience. Much like Bernice, I’m very reluctant to turn my back on...