Blog 4- Fitzgerald

Melissa Long
Part 1:
At first I hated “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”. I thought it was pointless and boring. During the second half of the story, however, the tone changed and the events seemed to be picking up pace. I began to form an opinion as to where the story was heading, and each event that occurred backed up my assumption. Once Bernice bobbed her hair, I became angry with Majorie. The ending was completely satisfying, and relieved my feelings of anxiety over Bernice’s situation.
Part 2:
The author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, puts a lot of effort into providing the reader with tidbits of information on each character included in “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”. Originally, the narrator offers us information on the setting in which we will find our actors. Next, the reader is introduced to some characters and given some minor information on them. Originally, the narrator has the reader follow the events of Warren McIntyre. Later, however, the author incorporates Majorie Harvey into the picture. Both of these characters are established and the reader is provided with more background information than with the other characters. Majorie originally is portrayed, through Warren’s eyes, as a polite and sought-after beauty. Through Bernice’s perceptions, however, we are shown a different side of Majorie: a side that is evil and maniacal.
Each character in “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” is originally portrayed in one way, and then with the addition of conflict and drama, is left to be interpreted by the reader in a different way. The character, Warren McIntyre, is first revealed as a quiet loner who does not involve himself directly into the social scene. He is in love with Majorie, whom he perceives as perfect, sweet, thoughtful, and beautiful. Warren is often forced to dance with Majorie’s cousin, Bernice, whom is perceived as weak, “dopeless” and “dull”. He does so to win the affection of his love Majorie. Through a different perspective (that of cousin Bernice), we see that Majorie is not really a sweet girl. Instead, the reader finds out that Majorie puts on a mask so as to win the affection of men, and in reality, she is leading them all on just for the attention. Bernice’s persona changes from quiet and boring to naive and hopelessly looking for affection and popularity in all the wrong places. With the help of Majorie, Bernice is able to fit the mold of a modern socialite woman and accomplish her goal of fitting in. In addition, she acquires the attention of Warren, who can now be seen as shallow for only liking Bernice now that she has better social skills. Warren decides Bernice is not good enough for him, however, when she cuts her hair. Majorie becomes a malicious character by deliberately planning the public embarrassment of her cousin in order to become the most popular again. And finally, Bernice exacts her revenge by placing the same fate on her cousin that she is now left to endure. Bernice leaves the story as a self-assured and strong character.
Apparently, Fitzgerald decided in “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” that identity is not static. The reader’s view of each character is morphed throughout the entire story with the addition of new events and interactions. The major change was that of Bernice with her transformation from reserved and unsure to assertive and confident. Her identity not only changed for us as the readers, but also for her as a character. The identities of the other characters were possibly always the same, but were revealed slowly allowing the reader to formulate opinions about each one. Bernice’s transformation was drastic and was a permanent alteration to her personal identity.