Bernice Bobs Her Hair and Other Stories (Signet Classics) [Paperback]

F. Scott Fitzgerald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1996

Collects the author's works as they were originally printed in The Saturday Evening Post and includes the title story in which a country debutante is remade and then betrayed by a sophisticated cousin. Reprint.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Signet Classics (January 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451526112
• ISBN-13: 978-0451526113
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,306,763 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

F. Scott Fitzgerald was one of the major American writers of the twentieth century -- a figure whose life and works embodied powerful myths about our national dreams and aspirations. Fitzgerald was talented and perceptive, gifted with a lyrical style and a pitch-perfect ear for language. He lived his life as a romantic, equally capable of great dedication to his craft and reckless squandering of his artistic capital. He left us one sure masterpiece, The Great Gatsby; a near-masterpiece, Tender Is the Night; and a gathering of stories and essays that together capture the essence of the American experience. His writings are insightful and stylistically brilliant; today he is admired both as a social chronicler and a remarkably gifted artist.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hair Today gone tomorrow, May 3, 2001

By 

fred (mid west) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bernice Bobs Her Hair and Other Stories (Signet Classics) (Paperback)

This wonderful story known as "Bernice Bobbs Her Hair", was an outstanding editon by S. Scott Fizgerald. This story told me alot about how you really can't trust someone who offers to change your social life and apperance. The caracterization used was good and the author made his points very clear as they came across very good. I am very good at picking those kind of things out but he made them very clear to me. I feel that Bernice took this act of kindness very well as she didn't take the public humiliation badly. She just took all of the attention from Marjorie and took it well. It was nice to see the spotlight switch from carachter to character once in a while. It goes to show who you can trust or not trust in life. This is a copy of our society today and it is actually happening.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very imaginative, fantastic collection of short stories from Fitzgerald, July 8, 2011

By 

fra7299 "fra7299" (California, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bernice Bobs Her Hair and Other Stories (Paperback)

I always enjoy The Great Gatsby, but was a little hesitant about picking up Fitzgerald's short story collection after laboring through This Side of Paradise last year. I figured that this short story collection might be the usual glitz and glamour; however, I was so pleased with many of the unique, imaginative tales Fitzgerald puts together. This collection contains some of the Jazz Era glitz, but also fantasy elements that take place outside this era. Still, they explore many similar themes from other novels (money and wealth, greed, dreams, popularity, prejudice, etc), and provide both social commentary and morals about this time period. They also have that definitive poetic flair typical of Fitzgerald.

Here are some of my favorites:

"Bernice Bobs Her Hair" is reminiscent of a modern high school comedy. Bernice is a socially awkward intellectual and a definite party pooper, so thinks her cousin Majorie. Majorie hatches a plan to take plain Bernice and make her into a socially attractive girl who becomes the center of attention. Majorie comes to represent the revolutionary free thinking, modern girl who pushes her ideas of popularity onto Bernice. As we might expect, Bernice soon becomes the talk of the boys, with Majorie a bit taken back and somewhat envious. When Majorie chides Bernice as a "bluffer" about actually going through with her plan to get her hair bobbed, it plants the seeds to a fantastic finish.

"The Ice Palace" has deep symbolism and amazingly poetic descriptions typical of Fitzgerald. Taking place during the Civil War, the story explores differences between the North and the South, and makes a bigger point to illustrate the importance of home and one's values. Sally Carol, a Southerner, has visions of moving up, and moving past the southern way of life and marrying a Northern man, Harry Bellamy. Harry takes Sally to the north to visit for awhile, but while there, Sally has conflicted thoughts and must decide where her true values lie. Fitzgerald captures insightful perspective into Sally's conflicted nature: "To the spirited throb of the violins and the inspiring beat of the kettledrums her own old ghosts were marching by and on into the darkness." Both Northern and Southern ideals are tremendously romanticized, with the South symbolizing warm, familial importance, and the North a cold, progressive way of life.

My favorite story of the bunch is "A Diamond as Big as the Ritz." Who would have thought Fitzgerald had so much humor in him? This is such a laugh out loud, funny story on many levels, as it is a definite satire about money, wealth and good living, and Fitzgerald reaches into his bag of fantasy to make anything and everything a possibility, even owning a diamond as big as a hotel. John Unger attends one of the richest prep schools in the world with classmate, Percy Washington. John, with idealized visions of wealth, is quite impressed when Percy boasts about his father being the richest man in the world, and takes him to a secret mountain range in Montana where his father keeps the world's largest diamond. Percy's father goes to extreme measures to guard this diamond for fear of having its price value diminish, so he has servants guard the entrance, and attempts to shoot down airplanes that fly overhead. Also, those who come to the Washington estate either must be imprisoned or "removed." John soon finds himself interested in not only the amazing lavishness of the Washington home, but Percy's sister, Kismine. John and Kismine decide they will try to escape and elope, but John is now a marked man and has to figure out an escape.

This is a story dripping with satiric qualities. There's a scene where John first gets there and is bathed in the most lavish of fashions, complete with a movie-reel overhead so John can be entertained all the while. Fitzgerald lampoons the ideals of wealth to the infinite degree, and taking shots all the while at the Washington family, especially Braddock, who at one point attempts to bribe God to keep his wealth intact. The story also has enough zaniness to compete with Vonnegut's world.

Also included are the stories "The Jelly Bean", "May Day", and "The Offshore Pirate", about a spoiled girl's notions of love, who meets her match.

Overall, this is a great collection, and maybe a bit more accessible, light read for those wanting to read Fitzgerald, but don't want to take on one of his novels.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars bernice goes bobbing, April 14, 2000

By 

jackie (america) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bernice Bobs Her Hair and Other Stories (Signet Classics) (Paperback)

I thoght it was a lovely book full of good lessons and a great outcome. Bernice was a sweet but strong in her own way. Hidden by her hair, a type of security blanket, and what she had been taught all of her life-- which, was to be a good girl, she is brought into reality. Of course there is always the problem. Her cousin who isn't such a good girl gives her the ultimatium of either staying with her for the rest of the summer or leaving. A nice split in Bernices life, more than just leaving her cousin and going home, it leaves her without what security she once knew for an inevitable change in her life. The characters were very well rounded and full of interesting pops and quirks. I liked Margarie, but found her to be weaker than Bernice in that the world she thought surrounded her turned out to be mearly a fantasy. I saw Bernice as a great role model for the average girl no matter what decade it is, (girls are always delt ultimatiums like this and she hung in there like a early femminist)I'm not sure if she had any idea of who she was until cutting her hair. A very good book indeed, by a very great writer. Three stars from me.