Connecting Babylon Revisited, My Life, and the Life of F. Scott Fitzger

      It is no wonder, that when students read literature, some are confused about the meaning of the story or poem, know little, if anything at all, about the author, and have trouble memorizing important points. This is not only because of the limited time allowed, but because the student fails to associate new knowledge with old knowledge. Making a personal connection is important whether the instructor recommends it or not. Attention should be given to both the technical points of the writing and the author's biography. Take, for example, F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Babylon Revisited." At first glance, the story wasn't that hard to understand, so it was a good opportunity to study a piece of 20th century American literature in a deeper way.      "Babylon Revisited" is often credited for being one of Fitzgerald's greatest short stories. As Professor Jackson Bryer states on a web site interview, "[It combines] Fitzgerald's human themes of loss with a background of the social times in which they take place. ...Paris in the Twenties. ...[These aspects] give them a resonance (the personal story played within a larger picture) which many of Fitzgerald's other stories lack" (1). Bryer also feels that "FSF should be remembered and valued most for the 'how' of his fiction rather than the 'what' of it, namely his style is what makes him exceptional, not his subject matter. ...he does have the ability to capture feeling and emotion brilliantly as well. Gatsby's frustration, Charlie Wale's exasperation, ... these are palpably present to readers."    Composed in 1931 and published in 1935, "Babylon Revisited" is "the s... ... in Minnesota: His Homes and Haunts. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1978.    McMichael, George. Anthology of American Literature / Volume II: Realism to the Present. (6th ed.). New Jersey : Prentice Hall, Inc., 1997.    Miller, Larry. "Pioneer Planet Fitzgerald Tour." 1996. http://www.special.pioneerplanet.com/archive/fitzgerald/tour.htm. 21 May 1998.    Murphy, Gary and William C. Slattery. "The Flawed Text of 'Babylon Revisited': A Challenge to Editors, a Warning to Readers." Studies in Short Fiction 18.3(1981):315-318.    Page, Dave and John Koblas. F. Scott Fitzgerald in Minnesota: Toward the Summit. St. Cloud: North Start Press of St. Cloud, 1996.    Shain, Charles E. "F. Scott Fitzgerald." University of Minnesota pamphlets on American Writers 15, 1961.