May Day And USA
May Day And USAIn "Mary French," Dos Passos draws a definitive line between his feelings on capitalism and socialism, as well as the rich and the poor. The parallel lives of Eveline Johnson and Mary French reveal Dos Passos's distinct attitudes in regards to the upper and lower classes of society.
As a member of high society, Eveline Johnson exemplifies Dos Passos's attitudes of the rich. These attitudes begin to take shape as Mary French enters the party, "Eveline Johnson was ushering them through some sliding doors into a high-ceilinged room dusky from shaded lights and cigarettesmoke where they were swallowed up in a jam of welldressed people talking and making faces and tossing their heads over cocktail glasses" (1527). This description tends to lean toward the superficial and a distaste of an extravagant lifestyle. Dos Passos discretely depicts various other guests as "Kings," "Captains," and "Screenstars." Mary French becomes increasingly aware of just how phony and self-centered these guests really are as she watches the party unfold, "Mary was looking at it all through a humming haze like seeing a play from way up in a smoky balcony" (1529).
Simultaneously, Eveline acknowledges that her life, a reflection of self-centered capitalism, is in fact a waste. Eveline admits, "You know it does seem too silly to spend your life filling up rooms with illassorted people who really hate each other" (1530). This moment is of significance; throughout the story Eveline and Mary have had almost identical experiences. Both women have lost the loves of their lives, but it is Mary, the determined socialist, who puts the needs of others before her own. Mary is able to continue on with what is important to her rather than escaping the harsh realities of life by means of suicide. Dos Passos has constructed a shallow illusion of what the rich are like.
The socialist attitudes of Dos Passos solidify as the events in the story unravel. Socialist attitudes are present when Mary and her parents meet for lunch. Mary French, the socialist worker, is raising money for the less fortunate mine workers. Her parents on the other hand, " Had both made big killings on the stockexchange on the same day and they felt they owed themselves a little rest and relaxation" (1521). This is typical of self-centered capitalists. Mary is the moral center of this story. She has the will to pick herself up and continue with the unselfish intentions of the socialist party. It is clear that Mary will struggle against the forces of a capitalistic society: corruption and the use of employment to keep the workforce under control.
On the contrary, Fitzgerald draws more of a Venn diagram then a concise line concerning his attitudes towards the rich and poor, as well as capitalists and socialists. Fitzgerald incorporates two sets of characters that are on opposite sides of the economic...
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