"Absolution"

Discussion starters:

• Malin says that this story concerns "the attempt to escape from this world, to transform routine experience and to enter other, complete worlds" (209).  In what ways do you see this happening?

• Who is the protagonist in this story?

• Kuehl identifies "adult betrayal" (59) as the main theme of the story.  What other themes might as easily qualify?

• What do you make of Kuehl's argument (61-62) identifying Rudolph Miller as a prototype of Jay Gatsby?

Critical Sources:

Kuehl, John. F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Study of the Short Fiction. Boston: Twayne, 1991.

Malin, Irving. “ ‘Absolution’: Absolving Lies” The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald: New Approaches in Criticism.  Ed. Jackson R. Bryer.  Madison: U of Wisconsin P, 1982. 209-16.