May Day by F. Scott Fitzgerald
"May Day" by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a short story set against the backdrop of the May Day riots of 1919, illustrating the stark contrasts between different social classes in America. The narrative intertwines two main plots that feature characters from privileged backgrounds and those from a struggling underclass, highlighting the ironies of an ostensibly democratic society. The central character, Philip Dean, embodies wealth and privilege, indulging in a carefree lifestyle, while Gordon Sterrett, a once-successful man now facing despair, grapples with his unfulfilled aspirations and a tumultuous relationship with Jewel Hudson. The story also explores female character Edith Bradin, who navigates her social life and reflects on the dichotomy between her privileged existence and her brother’s radical ideals. The plot further develops as moments of collision occur between the elite and the marginalized, particularly through the experiences of characters like Carrol Key and Gus Rose, who seek out alcohol in a starkly divided social setting. Fitzgerald employs irony throughout the narrative, culminating in a tragic conclusion that underscores the consequences of social disconnection and personal despair. Overall, "May Day" serves as a poignant exploration of societal disparities and the interplay of different life experiences in a tumultuous period of American history.
On this Page
May Day by F. Scott Fitzgerald
First published: 1920
Type of plot: Parody
Time of work: May 1-May 2, 1919
Locale: New York City
Principal Characters:
Gordon Sterrett , a Yale graduatePhillp Dean , a former classmate of SterrettCarrol Key , a draftee, one of the drab setGus Rose , another drab drafteeGeorge Key , Carrol's brother, a waiterEdith Bradin , a date of Yale menPeter Himmel , a Yale studentJewel Hudson , a woman of the drab sortHenry Bradin , Edith's brother, a writer for a Socialist paper
The Story
This story employs the May Day rioting of 1919 as the historical reality that impinges on characters existing at different social levels and about to collide. The double plot brings together the privileged and a drab underclass and reflects the multiple standards of an apparent democracy. Irony in this story is always near the surface, but as action mixes levels, judgments are urged increasingly. Romancelike, the story's plots are interlaced.
The main plot involves a Yale group reunited by an event less important than political unrest, the Gamma Psi dance. Most secured by privilege is Philip Dean, who was graduated immediately before the fight for democracy's sake. Dean radiates physical comfort, spending his first scene in the story polishing his body and the rest enjoying unfettered self-indulgence. He is rich enough to play at will, callous about others' needs, and self-righteous. Near the bottom of this group and slipping fast is Gordon Sterrett. His once expensive suit is shabby now, announcing his need before he does in Dean's room at the Biltmore. Since returning from France, he has lost a job and has become involved with Jewel Hudson, a common woman whom he cannot love. He needs money to study art and to break from Jewel, to whom he is attached by drunken letters. This whining failure would probably gain no sympathy at all if Dean were less insensitive toward him. Even so, his fall is parody.
Edith Bradin is more interesting. As she nears the end of her May days, accompanied by Peter Himmel, the quintessential awkward undergraduate, she is given the chance to rekindle her affection for Gordon as a love from his better-dressed and less-drunk days. The successful floater through social events cuts herself loose from her clumsy escort and, after an attempt to regain the past, from Gordon, too, hoping only to save some pieces of experience for future lovers. If there were no more to this character, she might be dismissed as mindless; she experiences an anxiousness, however, that leads her to admit to her brother, Henry Bradin, that she sees an incongruity between her party life and his radical causes.
Along the way, a subplot pushes members of the lower orders toward encounters with the privileged. Carrol Key and Gus Rose, two "human beings" temporarily released from service, desert an anti-Socialist mob and prowl for alcohol, which it is illegal to sell to servicemen. They find Carrol's brother, George Key, a waiter at Delmonico's, where the Yalies have easily gotten too much alcohol. George, the soldiers' link to booze, brings them inside the club to a broom closet, the only place for them among the dissipated privileged. When Himmel spots them there, the distance separating social levels is painfully clear, as is the irony of Himmel's drunken toast, "We're all Americans! Have another." From this camaraderie, Himmel can escape whenever he tires of slumming.
Minor foils contribute much to plot and theme. Jewel Hudson, appearing briefly at a crucial moment, sees Edith leave the Biltmore and judges accurately the other's freedom to move about unimpeded by protective waiters. When Jewel hauls Gordon down and presses her claim, she shows more feeling for him than have his lofty friends; when the marriage he commits with her drives him to despair, the judgment is more against his weakness than her tenacity.
Another important character appearing only briefly is Henry Bradin. Having had the privilege of education and experience as a teacher, he works at social causes. Though he is realistic about the difficulty of effecting change, he has trouble making positive contact with the masses; rather, it is when anti-Socialist soldiers storm his second-story office that the social orders collide, breaking Henry's leg and forcing soldier Key out the window to his death in the street below.
The chaos moves to Child's, where the shards of the upper-class partygoers meet in early morning. From there, Dean and Himmel rampage through other restaurants, demanding drink and breakfast and finally arriving at a parody of their high place, "heaven," atop the Biltmore. On the way, they pass Edith in the company of the "plain stout man" she has picked up at the dance—her form of slumming—and a "puzzled, spellbound" brute of a soldier. The shifting omniscience that glimpses these passings rests finally on Gordon Sterrett as he awakes to marriage and puts a bullet in his head.
Bibliography
Berman, Ronald. Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and the Twenties. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2001.
Berman, Ronald. "The Great Gatsby" and Fitzgerald's World of Ideas. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1997.
Bloom, Harold, ed. Jay Gatsby. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2004.
Bruccoli, Matthew J., ed. New Essays on "The Great Gatsby." Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
Bruccoli, Matthew J., ed. Some Sort of Epic Grandeur. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1981.
Curnutt, Kirk, ed. A Historical Guide to F. Scott Fitzgerald. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Eble, Kenneth. F. Scott Fitzgerald. Rev. ed. Boston: Twayne, 1977.
Gale, Robert L. An F. Scott Fitzgerald Encyclopedia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998.
Gross, Dalton, and MaryJean Gross. Understanding "The Great Gatsby": A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998.
Kuehl, John. F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Study of the Short Fiction. Boston: Twayne, 1991.
Lee, A. Robert, ed. Scott Fitzgerald: The Promises of Life. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989.
Meyers, Jeffrey. Scott Fitzgerald: A Biography. New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
Miller, James E., Jr. F. Scott Fitzgerald: His Art and His Technique. New York: New York University Press, 1964.
Stanley, Linda C. The Foreign Critical Reputation of F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1980-2000: An Analysis and Annotated Bibliography. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2004.
Tate, Mary Jo. F. Scott Fitzgerald A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Facts On File, 1998.
Taylor, Kendall. Sometimes Madness Is Wisdom: Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald, A Marriage. New York: Ballantine, 2001.