Ambiguity Resolved by Diction and Tone in Babylon Revisited Essay

Ambiguity Resolved by Diction and Tone

The final passage of Babylon Revisited by F. Scott Fitzgerald is ambiguous because the diction provokes a tone of hopelessness even while Charlie refuses to have a second drink, a sign that a recovering alcoholic still has dreams for the future. Throughout the passage, the narrator uses specific diction in order to evoke a hapless tone which implies that Charlie has given up on his dreams for the future. Specifically, the tone of the final passage insinuates that Charlie has lost all hope of regaining custody of his daughter Honoria. Nevertheless, Charlie refuses a second drink when he returns to the bar. Because many recovering alcoholics return to alcoholism once their dreams are crushed, Charlie drinking responsibly suggests that he is looking ahead to the future. Yet the diction and the tone show that Charlie truly has given up on his dreams for the future.

Fitzgerald repeatedly uses diction with a negative connotation in order to convey the idea that Charlie has lost all desire to achieve his goals for the future. The narrator describes the impact of a horrific memory of Charlies dark past: Again the memory of those days swept over him like a nightmare (Fitzgerald). A memory is the opposite of a dream. Because Charlie is focused on his memories and past, he is mindless of the future. The narrator portrays Charlies whiskey glass as, empty, and the sole word used to describe the way he feels is, alone. Both of these words have a depressing, negative connotation which implies that Charlie lacks the desire and motivation to keep himself focused on his future. Charlie feels as if his life has come to a halt, and that he has no sense of direction after being denied custody of Honoria: There wasnt much he could do now except send Honoria some things. Without any hope or desire, Charlie feels restricted. A significant phrase is used in the last paragraph of the story: He wasnt young any more, with a lot of nice thoughts and dreams to have by himself. After Charlie loses Honoria for a second time, he convinces himself that he is too old to still have dreams, signifying that he has truly given up on his hopes for the future.

Even though the concluding passage is seemingly ambiguous, the diction and the tone show that Charlie truly has given up on his dreams for the future. Specific diction with a negative connotation is used to evoke a hopeless tone in order to provide a sense of meaning for not only the passage, but for the whole story as well. Our understanding of the concluding passage is deepened by the tone because it can be inferred that Charlie has lost all desire to achieve his goals for the future. Also, this passage is significant to the meaning of the entire story. Because the tone in the concluding passage is one of hopelessness, one can deduce that Charlie has lost all promise of regaining custody of his daughter Honoria.

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