The Cut Glass Bowl
- 1. F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Cut-Glass Bowl Published: 1920
- 2. Lesson Objectives By the end of today’s lesson, you should: • Have an understanding of the plot of The CutGlass Bowl. • Have an understanding of the language, form and structure used in The Cut Glass Bowl. (AO2) • Be confident in making links between The Cut Glass Bowl and The Great Gatsby. (AO3)
- 3. ‘The stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald represented in this volume offer abbreviated treatments of his recurrent themes.’ Introduction to The Diamond as Big as the Ritz and Other Stories
- 4. The Plot – The Bowl The story follows the relationship of Mr and Mrs Piper and its development after the receipt of a wedding gift from one of Evelyn’s previous suitors. “I’m going to give a present that’s as hard as you are and as beautiful and as empty and as easy to see through.” p. 24. What do you think this statement expresses about how Carleton Canby feels about Evelyn? Do you think that Canby is praising Evelyn? Is her beauty presented as a good or bad attribute?
- 5. The Plot – Tragic Events Through the story, a number of tragic events are linked to the cut-glass bowl. Such events include: • The discovery of Mr Gedney by Mr Piper. • The injury to Julie’s thumb that results in the amputation of her hand. • The party that ends in a drunken row. • The discovery of Donald’s death. What do you understand from the motif of the bowl? What does it represent?
- 6. Characters • Evelyn Piper • Harold Piper • Carleton Canby • Mrs Fairboalt • Freddy Gedney • The Ahearns
- 7. Language, Form and Structure – Narrative Technique As we have already talked about, the story tracks the marriage of Mr and Mrs Piper. How is the story narrated? Do we see the thoughts and feelings of any of the characters? Is the story told in chronological order? What might we understand from the tense of the narrative? How does this narrative structure differ to that used in The Great Gatsby?
- 8. Fitzgerald and Society Fitzgerald’s stories comment upon the society of his time. How do Fitzgerald’s stories present the society of his time? • Optimistic? Pessimistic? • Sympathetically? Unsympathetically?
- 9. Themes – Love and Marriage ‘Harold arrived and, coming up to her room, threatened in a suspiciously jovial tone to kiss her thirty-five times for her birthday.’ The Cut-Glass Bowl, page 30. Do you think that the Pipers are happily married? What do you think were the motives behind their marriage? How might the affair between Evelyn and Fred Gedney be similar to the affairs presented in the Great Gatsby? Consider our contextual understanding of marriage during Fitzgerald’s era!
- 10. Themes - Materialism ‘…they sat down and wrote thank you notes for all sorts of cut glass presents – punch-bowls, finger-bowls, dinner-glasses, wine-glasses, icecream dishes, decanters, and cases.’ ‘a promenading cat knocked the little bowl off the side board, and the hired girl chipped the middle-sized one with the sugar dish.’ Both from The Cut-Glass Bowl, page 23.
- 11. Key Themes Each table group will be given a piece of flipchart paper and a key theme from the story. In your table groups produce a spider diagram noting how each of the themes is presented in the text and how this might link to The Great Gatsby? After five minutes, all groups will pass the flipchart paper to the table next to them. These links are extremely important to your coursework task!