There is no doubt that the Fiction 100 anthology does exactly what it sets out to do: highlight carefully curated short stories that represent every aspect of the craft, from short prose to anecdotes. F. Scott Fitzgerald's work, “Winter Dreams,” fits perfectly into this collection. A master of the short story, Fitzgerald made his mark in publications such as Esquire and The Saturday Evening Post (Bruccoli 1). He regularly returned to the themes that had dominated his early adult years: success, love, reputation and material gain, of which “Winter Dreams” is an excellent example. Taking America's "rags to riches" story and turning it on its head, this masterpiece maintains magic throughout with a strong sense of hope and possibility, rich scenes, a universally recognizable theme, and strong dialogue - a combination that generates and maintains a special luminosity that it has stood the test of time. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The first thing readers experience with “Winter Dreams” is fairly obvious, but it must be said: the title alone suggests its haunting quality. Referring to “dreams”, we instinctively understand that some components can be dramatic, contradictory, fantastic or unfulfilled. The title represents Dexter's desire, and while it demonstrates the power of dreaming and the possibilities that can come from a sense of limitless possibility, it also alludes to disappointments, because dreams don't always come true. This sense of possibility instilled in the first page of this story continues to linger. Indeed, it radiates from every page and is directly responsible for this story's reputation as powerful and luminous. The first element is the possibility of financial success. In “Winter Dreams,” Dexter rises through the ranks, cleverly using his education and shrewd business sense to invest in a laundry business, soon “making more money than any man my age in the Northwest” (Fitzgerald 4 ). Dexter's innate understanding of the finer things in life helps him and shows that, despite the fact that his mother "was a peasant-class bohemian and spoke broken English to the end of her days", he managed to achieve the financial comfort of his peers (4). Fitzgerald then enhances the pervasive sense of possibility with a wry acknowledgment of what it takes to “make it.” Fitzgerald hints that Dexter will soon succeed, not only because of his foresight in leaving his first caddy position, but because of his innate knowledge of his potential and limitations. Fitzgerald offers us the opportunity to reflect on the cruel reality of those born into an inferior status; Dexter knows that "the carelessness was for his children" (4). Confidence pushes him forward and he moves forward seemingly effortlessly. Fitzgerald makes no reference to Dexter's financial difficulties, moments of doubt or pitfalls, and that in itself is like a dream. The sense of possibility that shines through does so because Dexter chooses his future. Thanks to his hard work, he is only one generation away from ultimate success (4). Fitzgerald indicates that Dexter, despite being of peasant stock, is actually better than the counterparts he seeks to emulate. It's stronger; he is forced to work hard, and if he does, he will be successful. This is a recognizable characteristic for many readers then and now, and as Fitzgerald observed “He had seen that, in some ways, he was better than those men. It was newer and stronger” (4). Dexter admits that he could try to replicate their methods through careful study, but at the same time his raw materials are actually of high qualitysuperior. It may be behind in terms of opportunity at first, but it is ahead in terms of drive and ability. As the narrator observes: “All around him the sons of rich men were selling bonds precariously, or investing fortunes precariously, or plodding through the two dozen volumes of the 'George Washington Business Course' (1). Dexter, of course, wasn't: he was making the first of many sensible investments. Fitzgerald paints a picture that, with success, you can get anything you want, from respect, to a love object, to an excellent job. Dexter meets Judy Green because he travels in the same circles; he has the opportunity to woo her because he has money. We learn that he was given this opportunity because of Judy's ex-boyfriend, a good but poor man of whom Judy laments, "My interest in him was not strong enough to survive the shock" (4). Remember that he is a “proud, eager little boy” and we remind ourselves that his determination and will have already gotten him many things in life. The setting adds a special quality to Fitzgerald's work, heightening a sense of greater drama. In the beginning, our main character, Dexter, is driven to make the most of himself, and the dead Midwestern winter is like a blank canvas, ready to serve as the backdrop to his hopes and goals. We feel Dexter's dissatisfaction with his present situation, and feel him eager to change his situation and avoid the dreaded winter: "At such times the countryside gave him a feeling of deep melancholy - it offended him that the connections should lie fallow forced, infested with ragged sparrows for the long season” (Fitzgerald 1). Later, when Dexter received the news that Judy's beauty had faded, “he lay down on his sofa and looked out the window at the New York skyline in which the sun was setting in lovely dull shades of pink and gold" (9). At many points in the story, our main character's actions are highlighted by a broad description of his surroundings, as if the situation were imprinted in his memory (and in ours). These scenes close the story, also appearing in the first paragraph: "It was sad, moreover, that on the tees where the cheerful colors fluttered in summer there were now only desolate sandboxes knee-deep in ice encrusted" ( 1). The theme of hope extends beyond our main character's self-confidence, but also his longing for someone he couldn't have. Judy may have broken off the engagement, but a small part of Dexter remembered the "profound happiness" he had shared with her. Even happily married, he could still maintain the illusion that Judy might give him another chance, lost in her fiancé, his courtship and his pageantry. Even as he changed, he expected her to remain, crystallized and always out of reach. Experts say that not only is Fitzgerald's work powerful in its own right, but it served as the basis for Fitzgerald's iconic bestselling novel, The Great Gatsby. . The themes and issues addressed in this story were so compelling that the author revisited them several times (not only in Winter Dreams, but in All the Sad Young Men and The Beautiful and The Damned). He couldn't free himself from the pull of material wealth and the possible emptiness that still plagued some of America's most gilded couples. “Winter Dreams” was the first exploration of this topic. Being a native of the Midwest, Fitzgerald was intimately familiar with the chill of winter and taps into the unhappy undertones of his protagonist's life, his unrequited loves, and the overall tone of the story. What makes “Winter Dreams” so bright, beyond the style, is the parallel, 2016.