History
474A
Devine
Spring
2023
Study Questions for F. Scott
Fitzgerald, “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”
- Through the character of
Marjorie, does Fitzgerald paint a flattering picture of the flapper? Is she a misguided, superficial flirt? A
deliberately cruel manipulator? A strong and independent woman who can
hold her own against men? A proto-feminist?
- Who would you prefer to have
as a friend – Marjorie, Bernice, or Warren? What are the most striking
character traits of each person?
- Historians have pointed out
that 1920s youth denounced the older generation for being hypocrites. Are
the young people in the story “frank” and “honest” or are they, too,
hypocrites? Does the answer vary
depending on which character one considers or what kind of a situation the
character is in?
- How does Fitzgerald portray
the men in this story? Vapid
buffoons? Sexist oppressors? Clueless in the face of sophisticated
and manipulative women?
- Drawing on Fitzgerald’s
descriptions, what are the most noticeable characteristics of the youth in
this story? What did these young people value? What were their good and bad qualities?
- Ultimately, in the battle of
the sexes, who has more power over the other in this story – the men or
the women?
- Does Bernice change for the
better or for the worse over the course of the story? Was the
“sophisticated” environment that Bernice enters corrupting or character
building?
- Why did Bernice bob her
hair? Why did she bob Marjorie’s
hair?
- Does this story have a
“happy ending?” Did Marjorie deserve her fate?