Review of Bernice Bobs Her Hair

An Exceptional Work

Shallow and materialistic- these are both words with extremely negative connotations that F. Scott Fitzgerald uses in his works to describe Americans living in the Jazz Age.  Greatly influencing his stories, the Jazz Age was a time in the 1920s where many people could be described as materialistic, cynical, and rebellious.  Fitzgerald commonly shows these qualities in his characters.  Born in Minnesota on September 24, 1896, Fitzgerald later attended Princeton University, but left for the chance to enroll in the army. After publishing a book on the war, Fitzgerald married Zelda Sayre, which also influenced his writing. Popular in the Jazz Age was the chic trend of bobbing ones hair. Fitzgerald recreates this trend in his short story “Bernice Bobs Her Hair.” In this story a world is exposed where social status seems to be all that matters to young women. Marjorie, Bernice’s cousin, draws her into this world, causing her to leave behind her shy and dull roots. As Bernice gains popularity with her famous line involving the bobbing of her hair, tensions build between the relatives, especially when Bernice ends up dating one of the boys who previously courted Marjorie. The jealousy comes to a climax when Marjorie calls Bernice on her bluff to bob her hair, and peer pressure leads Bernice to follow through.  F. Scott Fitzgerald creatively reveals the relatable hardships of being a teenage girl with his unique writing perspective in his short story “Bernice Bobs Her Hair.”

The first characteristic that makes “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” such a great work is that Fitzgerald reveals the hardships of being a teenage girl astutely. A scene that perfectly illustrates the drama young women at the time faced occurs when Marjorie, Bernice’s cousin, is venting about Bernice’s boring personality to her mother. “”Well,” said Marjorie, “no girl can permanently bolster up a lame-duck visitor, because these days it’s every girl for herself…”” This demonstrates not only that girls have to work hard and be a little selfish to gain high status, but also the bluntness that girls use to describe each other.  Marjorie’s vent to her mother perfectly describes of the difficulties girls of the time faced. Bernice was criticized for just for being a shy girl. Marjorie selfishly states that she is tired of helping Bernice look cool. These actions reveal that young women of the time had poor morals and their values were compromised in the quest for popularity. Clearly, young women of the Jazz Age had a lot to deal with.

Another element that makes “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” a good read is Fitzgerald’s unique writing perspective. Most works I have read in my life have had a more optimistic view on humans as a whole, but Fitzgerald has a more pessimistic view on people and their values. This is commonly shown in his works. While describing the scene at the Saturday night dances, Fitzgerald’s perspective is shown. “At these Saturday-night dances it was largely feminine; a great babble of middle-aged ladies with sharp eyes and icy hearts behind lorgnettes and large bosoms.” Depicting women as cruel and with bad intentions, Fitzgerald’s phrasing in this quote clearly shows women of the time in a negative light.  He looks deeper than the outer beauty of the women and sees that on the inside, they are mean-spirited.  Fitzgerald does a good job of exposing his characters’ true colors, usually showing them in a dark light. This way of writing helps to get a more realistic view on things, and is part of what makes Fitzgerald the unmatched voice of the Jazz Age.

Fitzgerald’s distinctive perspective and rare ability to accurately depict teenage girls struggles makes his short story, “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” exceptional.