Ignorance is Bliss

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise leaves little hope for humanity. Although the book is based on the main character, Amory Blaine, “finding himself” and defining his own “self”, Fitzgerald takes from Amory’s happiness every time he attempts to look deeper in to himself. In the beginning of the novel, Amory is born in the lap of wealth and culture, but has little character and no depth of self. He is shallow and lazy, and pursues only the lustful fantasies of women. However, in spite of how the audience hates him, this may have been the pinnacle of happiness for Amory throughout the novel. By the end of the book, Amory understands and acknowledges his shallowness and selfishness, seems at the peak of change, and finally understands and accepts love over lust. However, because his mother leaves her wealth to the church, Amory is left poor. Because he is so poor, he is left without the love of his life, Rosalind, and thus, he is completely miserable. I saw the development of Amory’s character, as well his gradual decline in happiness represented through his relationships with various women throughout the novel.

The first book of the novel is interestingly titled “The Romantic Egotist”, which is applicable because this is the times when Amory gets what he wants out of romantic relations with girls. Myra and Isabelle represent the stage of Amory’s life where he is at his most shallow and most selfish, but he is as happy as Fitzgerald allows him to be. His relationships with the two girls are based on whether or not he can kiss them. There is little to be said about emotions other than lust, and little description about the characters other than physical and social attributes.

Rosalind represents the stage of Amory’s life where he learns that he needs to work for what he wants in life. He truly discovers what it means to love and care about another person. However, this is also the period where Amory loses his wealth and status. He is consequently prevented from marrying Rosalind. This stage of the book is where Amory gains a deeper knowledge of himself. However, this knowledge only provides the painful realization of what he cannot have.

Meeting Eleanor allows Amory to finally reach the point where he understands that he cannot truly love anyone but Rosalind. He realizes that he cannot revert back to ignorance of self and ignorance of love. Fitzgerald uses Eleanor to represent Amory’s opportunity to remain stagnant in his life of shallowness and varying women. However, Amory chooses to reject such a life. This understanding of self should result in happiness and acceptance of self, but instead, Amory sees everything he left behind and can no longer have.

It seems like Fitzgerald is almost telling the audience that the more one looks for in life, the less one is able to find. There was an almost bliss in Amory’s ignorance in the beginning of the book. It is only once he realizes what he does not and cannot have, Amory is truly unhappy.