The Freshest Boy by F. Scott Fitzgerald
"The Freshest Boy" by F. Scott Fitzgerald follows the journey of Basil, a fifteen-year-old boy navigating the challenges of life at the prestigious St. Regis school for wealthy boys. Basil arrives at the school with dreams of becoming a football hero, but quickly faces the stark reality of social isolation and academic pressure. He struggles with feelings of inadequacy, particularly regarding his family's financial situation, which contrasts sharply with the wealth of his peers. Throughout the narrative, Basil's attempts to connect with other students often result in humiliation, exacerbating his loneliness.
As Basil grapples with his identity and the harsh social dynamics of St. Regis, he finds brief moments of escape in fantasy. His visit to New York City serves as a pivotal moment, where he confronts the complexities of life and relationships, ultimately realizing that he cannot run away from his struggles. By choosing to embrace responsibility and maturity, Basil gradually earns the respect of his classmates and begins to forge a new path for himself. The story highlights themes of social class, self-discovery, and the challenges of adolescence, offering a poignant reflection on the quest for acceptance and belonging.
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The Freshest Boy by F. Scott Fitzgerald
First published: 1935
Type of plot: Psychological
Time of work: The 1920's
Locale: A train from the Midwest to St. Regis, the St. Regis school for boys in Eastchester, and New York City
Principal Characters:
Basil T. Lee , a middle-class boy in a rich boys' school who begins as a smart aleckDr. Bacon , the not very tactful headmaster of St. RegisLewis Crum , a fellow Midwesterner who attends St. RegisBugs Brown , a slightly insane classmateFat Gaspar , an amiable but easily influenced classmateTreadway , Basil's short-term roommateMr. Rooney , the football coach and Basil's chaperon into New York City
The Story
Basil T. Lee, the fifteen-year-old protagonist of "The Freshest Boy," is first introduced to the reader as the swashbuckling hero in the scenario of his escape into fantasy from the lonely, hostile reality of the prestigious St. Regis school for very rich boys. This scene is contrasted with an account of Basil's train ride from the Midwest to St. Regis and his anticipation of what his life at the school will be like. He has been so steeped in the tradition of attending an Eastern boys' school that "he had a glad feeling of recognition and familiarity. Indeed, it was with some sense of doing the appropriate thing, having the traditional rough-house, that he had thrown Lewis's comb off the train at Milwaukee last night for no reason at all." On this trip, Lewis, a fellow student from the Midwest, reminds Basil that his reputation at his former school was that of being "a little fresh," and Basil resolves to make a new start, fantasizing about being a football hero.
At school, Basil is embarrassed that he is not from a wealthy family and writes his mother, stating, "All the boys have a bigger allowance than me." Basil feels humiliated when Dr. Bacon, the headmaster, confronts him with his poor grades and emphasizes the Lees' financial sacrifice in sending him to St. Regis. These humiliations are made more difficult to bear by the fact that Basil is aware that he is the least popular boy in school. Within the first few weeks he has gained the nickname of "Bossy" and has been involved in several fights. Consequently, it is November before the headmaster agrees to let Basil go into New York City for the weekend, and then only on the condition that he find two other boys to accompany him, which proves an impossible task. Basil sneaks off the grounds to find the only three boys who might even consider going with him. He finds Bugs Brown, who is so strange that he can associate only with "boys younger than himself, who were without the prejudices of their elders." An appointment with his psychiatrist prevents Bugs from accepting. Fat Gaspar, a generally amiable boy, gives in to peer pressure, and rather than tell Basil that he cannot go to New York City, he laughs at him and tells him that he does not want to go. Basil finally locates Treadway, his new roommate, who also rejects Basil's offer: "Like Fat Gaspar, rather than acknowledge himself eligible to such an intimate request, he preferred to cut their friendly relations short." Emphasizing Basil's isolation, Treadway packs up and moves out, leaving Basil utterly alone. In the midst of flagrant hostility, Basil again escapes into fantasy, focusing on the poster girls and identifying with Babette, crying, "Poor little Babette!" His tears are really for himself.
Mr. Rooney, the football coach, finally agrees to take Basil into New York City, not out of the goodness of his heart but because he also wants to get away from the stifling environment of the school. Mr. Rooney chides Basil, saying, "You oughtn't to get so fresh all the time," and continues by accusing him of being a coward while playing football. He lectures Basil mercilessly, but on remembering that he is going to have to trust Basil to keep quiet about his activities in New York City, he relents. When they arrive in New York City, Mr. Rooney goes off and gets drunk while Basil attends a Broadway play. Before the play, Basil discovers a way out of his misery by reading his mother's letter, in which she presents the opportunity for him to go to school abroad. Basil is tempted by this offer of escape and fantasizes about what he will say and how he will act toward his schoolmates, concluding that "he need no longer hate them, for they were impotent shadows in the stationary world that he was sliding away from, sliding past, waving his hand."
The play that Basil attends has a typical plot: Boy and girl meet, fall in love, face a few minor problems, resolve them, and live happily ever after. Basil imagines that life is like that and believes that he, too, has reached a happy ending to his school problem. Reality forces itself on him, however, as after the play he follows the beautiful actress and her lover, the Yale football captain, and overhears their conversation. Her decision to marry her benefactor because he has done so much for her career shatters Basil's belief in easy answers in life; he realizes that "life for everybody was a struggle, sometimes magnificent from a distance, but always difficult and surprisingly simple and a little sad."
Basil finally locates Mr. Rooney, who is very drunk, and manages to get him on the train and back to school. These instances of others' problems and reactions illustrate to Basil that one cannot escape from life. "Suddenly Basil realized that he wasn't going to Europe. He could not forgo the molding of his own destiny just to alleviate a few months of pain." He starts over at St. Regis, continuing to make some errors, but the other boys sense his new attitude, his willingness to accept responsibility for his actions, and with his new maturity he gradually becomes accepted; his new status is confirmed when Brick Wales, a former enemy, assigns him a nickname (Lee-y) during a basketball game.
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