|
The Freshest Boy is a short story by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was first published in The Saturday Evening Post 28 July 1928. It was reprinted in Fitzgerald's 1935 collection, ''Taps at Reveille''. ==Plot== The story centers around a boy and his discouragement while attending a preparatory school. The character, Basil Duke Lee, is characterized as naive and dreamy. He is thus treated as an outcast among his peers as well as by the school's administrators. Lee's naivete is contrasted with the experienced perspective of an upperclassman, Lewis Crum. Crum resents Lee's noncommitance to tradition, as well as his carefree nature. The two boys begin to develop a competitive relationship, and it becomes clear Lee is internally adjusted to the environment while outwardly aloof and unhappy. Unlike Lee, however, Crum comes from wealth and this gives him a palpable advantage at the school. Lee is castigated by the school's headmaster over his low grades and we learn his family is not of much money, as a matter of fact he is one of the "poorest boys in a rich school." This causes him obvious shame, and the story's focus shifts to Basil's hopes for an off-campus excursion to New York City. Instead he ventures out to a suburb and interacts with a boy that seems to have an emotional disability of some kind. Escaping the stifling atmosphere of the school, Basil finally ends up going to New York City and has lunch at the Manhattan Hotel. It is there he reads a letter from his mother. The theme of homesickness is evident throughout the work. The letter informs Lee he will be going abroad and will thus not be attending the school anymore. Initially, he is elated by the news. The last section of the story takes place within the theater as Lee's thoughts turn to his future. He feels like actors following the course of a play he has a destiny. Although he seeks to escape the turgid atmosphere of the preparatory school, he also believes he must actualize his fate and this includes college. After the play the school official who accompanies him gets intoxicated and falls asleep at a table. When returning to the school, Lee is called a nickname but he is not ashamed, nor mortified by the prospect of being an outcast any longer. He realizes he is accepted, to the point where it will serve his needs, and falls alseep satisfied. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Freshest Boy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|