The Freshest Boy
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"The Freshest Boy" is a short story by
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
writer
F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...
. It was first published in the July 28, 1928 issue of ''
The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...
'', and was reprinted in Fitzgerald's 1935 collection, ''
Taps at Reveille ''Taps at Reveille'' (1935) is a collection of 18 short stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was the fourth and final collection of short stories Fitzgerald published in his lifetime. All were timed to appear a few months to a year after each of ...
''.


Plot

The story centers around a boy and his discouragement while attending a preparatory school. The boy, Basil Duke Lee, is characterized as naive and dreamy. He is thus treated as an outcast among his peers as well as by the school's administrators. Lee's naivete is contrasted with the experienced perspective of an upperclassman, Lewis Crum. Crum resents Lee's carefree nature and his lack of commitment to tradition. The two boys develop a competitive relationship, and it becomes clear that Lee is internally adjusted to the environment while outwardly aloof and unhappy. Unlike Lee, however, Crum comes from wealth, which gives him a palpable advantage at the school. Lee is castigated by the school's headmaster over his low grades. As the story progresses, it becomes evident that Lee's family is not wealthy; he is one of the "poorest boys in a rich school." This causes him obvious shame, and the story's focus shifts to his hopes for an off–campus excursion to New York City. Instead he ventures out to a suburb and interacts with a boy who seems to have some type of emotional disability. Escaping the stifling atmosphere of the school, Lee finally goes to New York City, and has lunch at the Manhattan Hotel; while there he reads a letter from his mother. The theme of homesickness is evident throughout the work. The letter informs Lee that he will be going abroad and will thus not be attending the school anymore. Initially, he is elated by the news. The last section of the story takes place within the theater as Lee's thoughts turn to his future. He feels that, like actors following the course of a play, he has a destiny. Although he seeks to escape the turgid atmosphere of the preparatory school, he also believes that he must actualize his fate including college. After the play, the school official who accompanies him becomes intoxicated and falls asleep. When returning to the school, Lee is called a nickname but he is not ashamed, nor mortified by the prospect of being an outcast any longer. He realizes that he is accepted, to the point where it will serve his needs, and falls asleep satisfied.


History

The story was written when Fitzgerald was arguably at the height of his creative powers. It is part of '' The Basil and Josephine Stories'', and was composed during the period when he also was writing his novel ''
Tender is the Night ''Tender Is the Night'' is the fourth and final novel completed by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in French Riviera during the twilight of the Jazz Age, the 1934 novel chronicles the rise and fall of Dick Diver, a promising young ps ...
''. Some of Basil Duke Lee's details resemble Fitzgerald's own including growing up in the Midwest. The story, like many which Fitzgerald wrote at the time, was well received by readers.


Collections

"The Freshest Boy" was reprinted in Fitzgerald's 1935 collection ''
Taps at Reveille ''Taps at Reveille'' (1935) is a collection of 18 short stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was the fourth and final collection of short stories Fitzgerald published in his lifetime. All were timed to appear a few months to a year after each of ...
.'' It was also collected in '' The Basil and Josephine Stories'', as well as Malcolm Cowley's ''The Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald'' and in
Matthew J. Bruccoli Matthew Joseph Bruccoli (August 21, 1931 – June 4, 2008)Lee Higgins,", ''The State'', June 5, 2008. Retrieved on June 5, 2008William Grim"Matthew J. Bruccoli, 76, Scholar, Dies; Academia’s Fitzgerald Record Keeper, New York Times, June 6, 2008. ...
's ''The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald''.


Reception

In ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' review of ''Taps at Reveille'', critic Edith Walton wrote, "Poignant as well as amusing sthe longer sequence of stories which deals with a pre-war boy in his middle teens. Though his method is different from
Booth Tarkington Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and '' Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to win the Pulitze ...
's, Mr. Fitzgerald approaches at times the same startling veracity. Basil Duke Lee is a bright, sensitive, likeable boy, constantly betrayed by a fatal tendency to brag and boss. He knows his failing, especially after the minor hell of his first year at boarding school, but again and again he is impelled to ruin an initial good impression. Two of the Basil stories—'He Thinks He's Wonderful', and 'The Perfect Life'—are small masterpieces of humor and perception, and Mr. Fitzgerald is always miraculously adept at describing adolescent love affairs and adolescent swagger."Edith Walton, "Scott Fitzgerald's Tales," ''The New York Times'', March 31, 1935


References

* ''The stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald: a selection of 28 stories'' FS Fitzgerald, M Cowley - 1951 - Scribner


External links


"The Freshest Boy," A Short Story by F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott Fitzgerald Centenary: Matthew J. Bruccoli Collection at the University of South Carolina
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freshest Boy Short stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald Works originally published in The Saturday Evening Post 1928 short stories 1920s short stories American short stories