This Side of Paradise · Chapter
The Egotist Considers explained
Amory receives a letter from his mother detailing the family's financial decline and her practical advice.
What happens
Amory receives a letter from his mother detailing the family's financial decline and her practical advice. He visits Monsignor Darcy, discussing his disillusionment with college and his uncertain future. Amory and Tom D'Invilliers mentor a younger poet, Tanaduke, who ultimately embraces a Bohemian lifestyle. Amory publishes a satirical poem criticizing academic pretension. After Kerry Holiday leaves for war, Amory experiences a haunting, surreal encounter in New York City, where he believes he sees the ghost of Dick Humbird, leading to a profound psychological crisis.
Themes in this chapter
Disillusionment and Loss of Innocence
Amory's disillusionment with college, his satirical view of academia, and his haunting encounter reflect a loss of youthful idealism.
Wealth and Moral Corruption
The Blaine family's financial decline and Beatrice's focus on investments highlight the precarious nature of wealth and its moral implications.
Education and Intellectual Growth
Amory's critique of professors and his literary pursuits with Tom D'Invilliers explore the tension between formal education and personal intellectual development.
Identity and Self-Definition
Amory's conversations with Monsignor Darcy and his psychological crisis underscore his struggle to define himself amid changing circumstances.
Characters to notice
- Amory Blaine
Struggles with financial news from his mother, disillusionment with college, and a haunting psychological experience in New York.
- Beatrice Blaine
Writes a letter detailing the family's reduced finances and gives Amory practical advice about health and career.
- Monsignor Darcy
Hosts Amory at the Stuart palace, listens to his troubles, and offers counsel about leaving college.
- Tom D'Invilliers
Collaborates with Amory on literary pursuits and helps print Amory's satirical poem in the Nassau Lit.
- Fred Sloane
Accompanies Amory on a night out in New York, but appears unaffected by Amory's later psychological ordeal.
- Axia Marlowe
Joins Amory and Sloane at Bistolary's, part of the evening's revelry.
- Dick Humbird
Appears as a ghostly vision during Amory's nightmarish walk in New York, symbolizing guilt and mortality.
- Kerry Holiday
Leaves college to join the Lafayette Esquadrille, inspiring envy and admiration in Amory.
Key passages
“I am quite sure that if there is one thing we can be positive of, it is that people will not stay in one place. This Ford person has certainly made the most of that idea.”
Beatrice asserts that mobility is a certainty of modern life, citing Henry Ford's success as evidence.
Reflects the era's fascination with technological progress and investment in transportation.
“I've felt like leaving college, Monsignor.”
Amory expresses his desire to drop out of Princeton.
Highlights Amory's disillusionment and search for direction.
“I want someone stupid. Oh, send someone stupid!”
Amory cries out for a simple, uncomplicated person during his nightmarish walk.
Shows his psychological distress and longing for relief from intellectual and emotional turmoil.
