Interlude: Fitzgerald

Scott Fitzgerald has a unique way of expressing a character. Normally we find the same style with several variations, pockmarked with dialogue, along with inner descriptions of context. What distinguishes Fitzgerald from others is his ability to describe characters in the shortest amount of time without much background.

He relates to people's own experiences to force them to guess what is not there. In his short story "The Homes of the Stars", the main character, Pat Hobby, capitalizes on a mistaken situation. A couple mistakes him for a tour guide, and he decides to go on with the charade to gain some money. Pat's simple request of "Would you be able to pay in advance?" is a simple way to describe his personality. As a general sentence, we can already infer that our protagonist is in financial trouble.

Later in the story, most of the dialogue is filler conversation between Pat and the couple. As they approach a home, which the couple assumes to be Shirley Temple's house, Pat begins to panic: "Not here...I made a mistake." Most of his dialogue can be interpreted as improvisation and worry. Here, we understand the full scope of his fear, and Pat begins to realize what he's gotten himself into.

All in all, Fitzgerald shines in his short stories when he makes characters as vague as possible. He makes them come alive by provoking people's imagination. In the context of the story, a made up background is just as effective as the unwritten one, if not more so.