Winter Dreams Themes
The three main themes in “Winter Dreams” are success, hollowness, and failure.
- Success: Dexter is determined to achieve the American dream, and he eventually becomes a successful businessman, attaining wealth and status.
- Hollowness: The hollowness of Dexter’s success is embodied in his relationship with the shallow and destructive Judy Jones, whom Dexter idolizes.
- Failure: Dexter and Judy fail to find happiness together, and Dexter ultimately becomes disillusioned with his youthful “winter dreams.”
Themes: All Themes
Themes: Success
Dexter's vision of success is centered on pursuing the American dream of wealth and prestige. As Fitzgerald narrates Dexter's journey toward this goal, he essentially becomes a chronicler for his generation, capturing the ambitions of the 1920s men and women who saw limitless possibilities in the new century. Even in his teenage years, Dexter fantasizes about success. While working at a local golf course, he imagines himself as a golf champion,...
(Read more)Themes: Hollowness
Dexter soon confronts the harsh reality of the dazzling world he has joined. This truth is embodied by Judy Jones, who represents his dreams of achievement and joy. Despite her allure and liveliness, Judy's superficiality and harmful tendencies soon become apparent.
Judy's primary aim is to satisfy her own desires, with little concern for those she hurts along the way. She quickly becomes bored with one suitor, replacing him with another, while...
(Read more)Themes: Failure
At one point, Judy acknowledges the void in her life when she admits, “I'm more beautiful than anybody else … why can't I be happy?” Her and Dexter's struggle to achieve happiness underscores Fitzgerald's main critique of the American dream. Fundamentally, the dream is a deceptive world of glitz and glamour that ultimately lacks true substance. While Dexter might have found fulfillment in a genuine relationship with Judy, she lacks the inner...
(Read more)Themes: Romance and Disaster
In being heralded as the “laureate of the Jazz Age,” Fitzgerald struck in his very American writing a balance between romance and disaster, glitter and delusion. His characters include the petted and popular and rich, who both dream and live recklessly and who have as their biggest enemy time, the time that ages and changes. The aging process is signified by the word “winter” in the title, but “winter” also signifies a transition that is more...
(Read more)Themes: The American Dream
The reader cares about Dexter at the beginning of the story and wants him to succeed in career and in love. One myth associated with the American Dream is that even the poor, by spunk and luck, have a chance of making it big, and Dexter, whose mother “talked broken English to the end of her days,” has worked hard to raise himself out of the poor immigrant class to which he was born. However, the dream of material success finally proves...
(Read more)Themes: Ambition
In "Winter Dreams," ambition is a central theme that drives the protagonist, Dexter Green. His aspirations are symbolized by the "winter dreams," which represent his desires for wealth, status, and love. These dreams reflect the American Dream, highlighting the fleeting nature of youth and the disillusionment that often accompanies the pursuit of materialistic goals. Dexter's ambitions are never fully realized, remaining dormant like the winter...
(Read more)Expert Q&A
Symbolism and theme in "Winter Dreams"
In "Winter Dreams," symbolism and theme are closely intertwined. The "winter dreams" symbolize the protagonist's aspirations and desires for wealth, status, and love, reflecting the American Dream. The theme centers on the fleeting nature of youth and the disillusionment that often accompanies the pursuit of materialistic goals, highlighting the emptiness of such achievements.
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