Charlie’s Inescapable Past

Charlie’s Inescapable Past

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story “Babylon Revisited” provides much implication in its meaning and representations to the author because of its historical setting. One such implication is Charlie’s inability to escape from his past life of extravagance and partying during the stock market crash of 1929. Despite his efforts to recover from the past, he is still haunted by it—drawing literary parallels between the historical downfall of 1929 and Charlie’s character downfall. The poem, therefore, focusses on the efforts to recover from these dark times. The stock market crash of 1929 had very lasting effects as people were unable to quickly recover from lost jobs and financial stability. Charlie was similarly unable to let go of his past identity of drinking and excessive spending and as a result finds difficulty in building new relationships while rejecting his past lifestyle. Reoccurring characters within the story remind him of his past while other elements within the story constantly make reference to significant historical events at that time. The following essay will address these parallels which have been drawn between Charlie’s inability to escape his past and the stock market crash of 1929.

From the beginning of Fitzgerald’s story, the reader is very aware of its historical context. Charlie is revisiting the Ritz Bar, which was a place he often visited during his partying lifestyle. It is immediately apparent that Charlie is no longer leading his old life as the bartender makes implications about Charlie’s past visits. Additionally, the conversation involves the conditions in America after 1929 as well as the dire consequences of one of Charlie’s friends who lived a similar carefree lifestyle. A depressing or gloomy tone is set early in the story, which is appropriately aligned with the story’s historic perspective. The stock market crash was not a time of happiness or carefree living and Charlie’s readjusted outlook on...