In the story "Babylon Revisited", F. Scott Fitzgerald paints a wonderful
picture of Charlie. However as the story develops, we realize Charlie is not what
he appears to be. Earlier in his life, he was a drunken partygoer who took his
responsibilities lightly. As he got older, and experienced some difficulties in his life, he
tried to make amends for his mistakes. But his mistakes were so grave, it was almost
impossible for him to rectify them.
In his early adulthood, Charlie was a hard working man. He worked for
ten years, till one day he struck it rich. He got so wealthy, he decided he didn't have to
work anymore. After Charlie quit working, life became a party. Like so many other rich
Americans, Charlie moved to Paris with his wife and daughter. In Paris he thought he
owned the world. Whatever he wanted he got by throwing his money around. However
life as he knew it started going downhill. Charlie and his wife partied all night, every
night. As a result they became alcoholics. This way of life went on for about two years,
till one night everything busted. While at a bar one night, Helen, Charlie's wife, kissed a
young man in front of him. Livid, he left the bar alone and in his anger locked her out of
the house. She arrived home about and hour later in the midst of a snowstorm, while on
her feet she wore only a pair of slippers. She wandered around an entire night in a
drunken stupor. Her senses were too dull for her to think rationally to find adequate
shelter for the night. Helen escaped pneumonia, but succumbed to heart failure. After
she died, Charlie was put into an asylum due to a breakdown. Because both her parents
were unable to care for her of, Helen's sister Marion, became their daughter Honoria's
Charlie recovered from his breakdown and became sober. He move
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