david seed

This essay examines the visual techniques that Fitzgerald applies in the party-scenes in his fiction. It explores the tension between spectatorship and participation throughout and argues that he draws on the resources of the cinema in his fine control of perspective, close-up, and long shots—as well as montage. Although he acquired the reputation of the chronicler of the new generation, the essay argues that Fitzgerald constantly brought out the ironies of parties, particularly their fleeting and theatrical aspects, especially their dependence on material display. Comparisons are drawn with Zelda Fitzgerald's party scenes and with contemporaries such as Carl Van Vechten in order to bring out Fitzgerald's implicitly critical dramatization of sexual motifs.

Robert Lance Snyder's recent article on Geoffrey Household in Connotations deserves praise on two counts. Firstly, it helps rescue Household from almost total critical neglect; and, secondly, it opens up helpful new avenues for interpreting his fiction. The discussion which follows is intended as a constructive extension of the analysis presented in Snyder's essay together with suggestions of its limitations.One of Snyder's main arguments is that Household revises the generic conventions of the Edwardian thriller by removing characters' national features because he regards the latter as anachronistic. Thus, Household narrows down the action to a battle of wits between the narrator and his antagonist. As this battle develops, it gradually becomes evident that the narrator and opponent are in some way mirror images of each other. This doubling is signalled through exchanges of dress, hints of physical resemblance, and other details which suggest such a close relation b...

... For all this, Boyle's examination of the Sweet case goes little way towards sub-stantiating his ... five chapters following ''The Myth of the West'' investigate Ford's handling of history and his ... of Hollywood movies, and a particularly useful introduction to the western genre and, indeed ...