08/19/2006 - Notes

These are the notes that would go along with an annotated edition of “May Day”. Some things I haven’t been able to find yet and left blank. Hopefully I’ll be able to fill them in at a later date, or if any one actually reads this and could help me out it would be greatly appreciated.

Explanatory Notes



Title: “May Day”

May Day is most famous for falling on the same day as International Worker’s Day, a holiday with close ties to the Communist party. May Day’s United States origins can be traced back to 1886 on the first of May when over 800,000 workers went on strike throughout the United States in support of the eight hour work day. As one would imagine the United States government didn’t want anything to do with the holiday. Wanting to separate themselves from the Communist associated holiday, the United States gave its workers the first Monday of September as a holiday. The eight hour work day wasn’t officially recognized by the United States until some fifty years later in 1938, when the Fair Labor Standards Act made it a legal work day.

2.8 Biltmore Hotel

The Biltmore (Madison Avenue and 43rd Street), a famous New York City hotel lied between 42nd Street and Vanderbilt Avenue. It was part of an upscale chain of hotels that tried to evoke the Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate. Designed by the architectural firm of Warren and Wetmore, the red granite New York Biltmore was founded by John McEntee Bowman.

3.6 Yale graduates of the year before the war

This coupled with Gordon Sterrett’s recollection, “only three years before he had received a scattering vote in the senior elections at college for being the best-dressed man in his class” (4.2) puts both Phillip Dean and Gordon Sterrett graduating from Yale on June 21st, 1916.

4.16 Gamma Psi

A fictional fraternity made up by Fitzgerald. As far as Fitzgerald himself is concerned he was never a member of any fraternity (Bruccoli). Throughout his college career he was active in the Triangle Club, Tiger, and Lit; all of them literary clubs, however Fitzgerald did join the Cottage Eating Club (Bruccoli, 64) which served “in the absence of fraternities and secret societies” (Bruccoli, 64). The name Gamma Psi, however could come from Psi U, a fraternity at the University of Minnesota“In February, Fitzgerald cooked up a locally famous hoax, with Gus Schurmeier, he attended a Psi U dance at the University of Minnesota dressed as a girl and shocked his dancing partners with a racy line (The joke supposedly ended when Fitzgerald tried to use the men’s room.)” (Bruccoli, 73).

4.17 Delmonico’s

Delmonico’s (5th Avenue and 44th Street) is one of the most historic restaurants in the United States. Opening its doors in 1827, many regard it as the first restaurant to open in the country. The restaurant was quite different than anything that predated it. Delmonico’s was the first to have a separate wine menu and allowed diners to chose from a menu as opposed to being served a pre-made meal (Wikipedia, Delmonico’s). Eventually closing its doors in 1923 due to prohibition, the name Delmonico’s remains to be synonymous with fine dining throughout the United States.

6.7 I got back from France in February

According to articles from the New York Times, Sterrett would have came home on one of seven transports, the first three arriving home from France on February 3rd 1919 (New York Times). Of those three ships, the Agamemnon returned with 2914 troops from the 51st regiment of the Coastal Artillery, 38 officers and 311 men from Base Hospital two, 627 sick and wounded, 43 naval officers, and fifty wounded Marines of the 5th and 6th Regiments. The two other transports returning were Samarinda and Absecon carrying 278 officers and 23 casualties respectively (New York Times). The next group of troops to return home from France probably arrived home on February 19th, 1919, however an exact date isn’t given in the article dated February 20th, 1919 (New York Times). Arriving on the French liner Touraine from Havre, the soldiers were part of the first detachment of the 27th Division. In addition to not giving a date of the troops return, the article never cites exactly how many came home, only saying that in addition to the soldiers there were 19 officers aboard the Touraine (New York Times). The last group of soldiers to return home from France did so on February 22nd on two transports and one U.S. cruiser (New York Times). The U.S. cruiser Pueblo returned 1526 troops statewide most of them coming from the 161st and 162nd Infantry and several more from New York casual companies. Of the transports that sailed from France, the Orizaba brought back 2992, the Henderson 1272, and the Manchuria returned 4447 troops. The Manchuria consisted of 1697 soldiers from the 70th Coast Artillery, 1654 from the 71st Coast Artillery, 89 from the New Jersey Casual Company, and 779 from the St. Nazaire Company (New York Times).

6.8 Harrisburg

Sterrett is referring to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The capital of the commonwealth lies about 105 miles west of Philadelphia.


7.4 used to be ‘pure’

Sterrett refers to Jewel as pure in a virginal sense, meaning she was free of sin. The use of the word ‘pure’ to describe someone without sin was first recorded in the mid-fourteenth century (Etymology Dictionary). This slang use of the word as since fallen out of style since Fitzgerald published “May Day” in 1922. The American Heritage Dictionary defines this use of pure as,“Having no faults; sinless”and“Chaste; virgin”.

12.7 Yale Club

The Yale Club (50 Vanderbilt Avenue) of New York City opened the doors of it’s current location on June 15th, 1915. The club functions as an excuse for graduates, faculty, and full-time graduate students to come to New York City. The “largest clubhouse in the world” (Yale Club) is of neoclassical design and located at 50 Vanderbilt Avenue.

14.15 Rivers’ Brothers

Rivers’ Brothers is a refrence to the Brooks’ Brothers (666 Fifth Avenue) store. Located about a block away from the Yale Club, this Brooks’ Brothers location would have exsited when the story took place.

14.20 Welsh Margotson

14.21 Covington

15.3 Harrisburg Country Club

The Country Club of Harrisburg was founded in 1896.

17.14 landed three days before

Key and Rose returned to New York on April 28th, 1919. Unlike Sterrett, there past isn’t a complete mystery and since Fitzgerald gives the specific date of their return they can have only come back on one ship. The ship that returned stateside on the 28th of April was the America. On board was 4,500 hundred enlisted and officers from the 77th division (New York Times).

18.8 the law forbidding the selling of liquor to soldiers

World War One helped strengthen the argument for prohibition in regards to saving the grain used for making alcohol for food for soldiers. The first nationwide prohibition law to go into effect was the law banning the sale of liquor to soldiers (The Drug Library). This is why Key and Rose are unable to drink but the attendees at the Gamma Psi dance are. The prohibition of alcohol in the United States wasn’t as immediate as one may think; in fact prohibition was a gradual change that was eventually nationalized in 1919. The Volstead Act, better known as The National Prohibition Act, was officially enacted in Janruary 1920.

18.15 hash joint

Key is referring to a place where one could purchase Marijuana. The consumption of Marijuana was legal in the United States until 1937.

20.18 God damn Bolsheviki

The mob is using Bolshevik as a derogatory term for a Communist. The word refers to someone that is a member or supporter of a Lenin-Marxist party.

21.20 Tolliver Hall

29.9 O. D. coat

A military over coat. The “O.D.” stands for olive drab, the color of the coat.

33.14 “if a saxophone and me are left alone why then two is com-pan-ee!”

35.11 the Pump and Slipper and the Junior prom

There is no record of any “Pump and Slipper” dance (page 88), however there was a Junior Prom that was held at Yale until February of this year. The Junior Prom, called so because the Junior class was in charge of putting on the dance, a three-day event held once a year. By 1893 the faculty, worried that their students may not be studying enough moved the event from mid-February to within two weeks of the beginning of Spring term.

“Students spent so much money on the Prom that they eventually demanded reform. It was customary for the young Yale man to pay for his date and her chaperone's traveling expenses and hotel fees. The committee worked yearly to reduce students' expenses, at one point passing a resolution that men should send no flowers to their dates” (Hsu, ‘Girls’ on Campus Once a Year).

41.18 special delivery terms

Peter Himmel is referring to his mail status with Edith Bradin. Special delivery meant that one could receive mail any time, as opposed to waiting for a regular pick up or delivery. This insinuates that the two perhaps have a close relationship. However, Fitzgerald liked to use this term, especially when it came to girls that were on special delivery terms with many men concurrently.

46.2 Sheffield Scientific School

Founded in 1851 as Yale Scientific school, Sheffield Scientific School was later renamed for Joseph E. Sheffield. In it’s time; Sheffield was fairly innovative by trying to integrate the applied sciences to the more classic arts that colleges were teaching at the time.

46.11 Kipling says ‘Any lady and Judy O’Grady under the skin.’

Peter Himmel is quoting, incorrectly, from Rudyard Kipling’s “The Ladies”; a poem that describes Kipling’s many relationships with women. Peter Himmel’s quote should be as follows,

“They're like as a row of pins --
For the Colonel's Lady an' Judy O'Grady
Are sisters under their skins!”

54.9 Devineries’

55.5 Over on Sixth Avenue the elevated

Elevated trains, or “Els”, dominated the city for decades before subways were finally introduced in the early twentieth century. There were four main lines that ran above Second, Third, Ninth, and Sixth Avenue. Eventually in 1953 the New York Transit Authority was created after the city took over the subway system from private companies in 1940. The els were then eventually closed, seeing as how the subways preformed the same function, there was no need for them anymore.

55.14 the New York Trumpet

The New York Trumpet is based on a socialist newspaper from New York City named the Call. The riot in “May Day” is based off of a similar event that happened at the offices of the Call on May 1st, 1919. Coming because they heard there was a meeting of Bolshevist sympathizers, roughly 400 soldiers and sailors marched to the new offices of the communist newspaper The Call on Fourth Avenue. The soldiers, lead by a Canadian, told the 700 men, women, and children to take down posters of a “Bolshevik nature”. A partygoer refused their demand and as a result the soldiers, armed with clubs and sticks, forced their way into the celebration and tore the posters from the wall. Driving celebrants into the streets, the soldiers formed a semi-circle around them and beat them with blunt objects.

57.4 “Where do you keep the bombs?”

Edith’s joke is a reference to a rash of bombings, attributed to Communists, occurring throughout the United States during the year. The bombs were sent through the mail to various country leaders opposed to communism.

62.14 Boche-lovers

Boche entered the American Lexicon during World War I. It comes from French and means something close to rascal.

64.13 and of a sudden disappeared helplessly out through the open window

Carrol Key’s death is based on a similar accident that occurred when soldiers rioted at the offices of the Call.

“One of The Call stockholders, who was threatened by soldiers, ran to the rear of the building and jumped from a window twenty-five feet above the ground” (New York Times)

66.7 Childs’

Child’s (300 West 59th Street) was a chain of restaurants, much like a Denny’s, that littered the cityscape. There were actually two locations in Columbus Circle at the time of the story, however only one had a direct view of Central Park. The chain eventually closed it’s doors and today the Time Warner building presides of the former location of this particular Childs’.

73.11 Maxfield Parrish moonlight

Born in 1870, Maxfield Parrish was an American artist known for his particularly individual style of art. Defying any specific school of art Parrish’s style was quite complicated. His method involved significant amounts of transparent oil, interchanging with coats of varnish on stretched paper (Illustration House). The effect of this would result in“a combination of great luminosity and extraordinary detail. In his hands, this method gives the effect of a glimpse through a window....except that the scene viewed is from the fairy tale world” (Illustration House).Maxfield Parrish was well known in his time. He gained a following through his illustrations for books and magazine covers and by the 1920s he began to exclusively devote his artistic endeavors, specifically to painting (Wikipedia, Maxfield Parrish). Scribners, a frequent publisher of Fitzgerald’s, commissioned Parrish to do a frontispiece for them in 1910. The resulting image was for a short story by George T. Marsh, called “The Errant Pan” (Maxfield Parrish Gallery).

76.17 “Some Sheff student.”

“During the second half of the nineteenth century Yale College and Sheffield Scientific School, separated by only a few streets, were two separate countries on the same planet” (Wikipedia, Sheffield Scientific School).

A derogatory term to describe a student at the Sheffield Scientific School. Relations between the classical students of Yale’s main campus and the scientific students that went to Sheffield were not exactly cordial. The thought was that the scientific studies were impractical, thus the students at Sheffield were considered inferior because they spent their time something that was deemed worthless.

78.10 the Commodore

Part of the “Terminal City” that surrounded Grand Central Station, the Commodore (Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street) was the largest of the hotels in “Terminal City” housing almost 200 rooms. Today, the Grand Hyatt lies where the Commodore once stood.

08/19/2006 - Essay (Part 3)

This was tough too. I feel like I am sputtering out at the end, barely able to finish what I started. What I tried to do here was connect Fitzgerald’s fears with that of the lost generation. I could probably do a little more research on that now that I think about it and expand the last paragraph somewhat. This has gone on a lot further than I had anticipated and I probably have another four or five pages to go. Woe is me.


May Day: Carrol Key and Gus Rose


“About nine o'clock of the same night two human beings came out of a cheap restaurant in Sixth Avenue. They were ugly, ill-nourished, devoid of all except the very lowest form of intelligence, and without even that animal exuberance that in itself brings color into life; they were lately vermin-ridden, cold, and hungry in a dirty town of a strange land; they were poor, friendless; tossed as driftwood from their births, they would be tossed as driftwood to their deaths. They were dressed in the uniform of the United States Army, and on the shoulder of each was the insignia of a drafted division from New Jersey, landed three days before” (Tales of the Jazz Age, 74).

As Fitzgerald did earlier with Gordon Sterrett, he introduces Key and Rose by simple description. The narration remains truthful. Key and Rose’s past are not shrouded in mystery, unlike their counterpart Sterrett. Returning home from World War I on April 28th, 1919 (Tales of the Jazz Age, 74) aboard the America (New York Times) Key and Rose are far removed from the generation that will follow them.
The soldiers don’t share an obvert connection with Fitzgerald, any connection they may have is much more subtle than Sterrett. While the relationship that Fitzgerald holds with Sterrett is a very emotional one, the one shared with Carrol Key is phobic in nature. Born on September 24th, 1896 F. Scott Fitzgerald holds the distinction of being related to Francis Scott Key, the author of our national anthem however the connection isn’t as close as one would expect. Francis Scott Key was a second cousin, three times removed to Fitzgerald. The two shared a great-great-great-great-grandfather (Bruccoli, 16). Fitzgerald’s name was “a choice that indicates something about his parents’ ambitions for their son” (Bruccoli, 16).

“The taller of the two was named Carrol Key, a name hinting that in his veins, however thinly diluted by generations of degeneration, ran blood of some potentiality” (Tales of the Jazz Age, 74).

A man with no direction, Carrol Key is the manifestation of Fitzgerald’s fears. Carrol Key is Fitzgerald’s fear that he will never live up to the man he was named after. There always seemed to be this weight of insecurity that Fitzgerald carried when it came to his name. Whether it was trying to distance himself from his famous relative by contradicting his own history, “I’m not Irish on my father’s side – that’s where Francis Scott Key comes in” (Bruccoli, 191) or, as ridiculous as it sounds, avoiding a statue of Francis Scott Key, when “driving Fitzgerald past the statue of Francis Scott Key at Eutaw Place, Fitzgerald jumped out of the car and hid in the bushes, calling: ‘Don’t let Frank see me drunk’” (Bruccoli, 449). Carrol Key is Fitzgerald’s fear that he has disappointed his family,

“George was married and had three children. He seemed fairly interested, but not impressed by the news that Carrol had been abroad in the army. This disappointed Carrol” (Tales of the Jazz Age, 80).

Carrol Key is Fitzgerald’s fear that his peers will never truly accept him and he will always remain an outsider,

“They followed him out the far door, through a deserted pantry and up a pair of dark winding stairs, emerging finally into a small room chiefly furnished by piles of pails and stacks of scrubbing brushes, and illuminated by a single dim electric light” (Tales of the Jazz Age, 81)

Carrol Key is Fitzgerald’s fear of an average life without purpose, a life where he will eventually die alone,

“A figure flashed by her out of nowhere, tottered, was edged sideways, and of a sudden disappeared helplessly out through the open window with a frightened, fragmentary cry that died staccato on the bosom of the clamor. By the faint light streaming from the building backing on the area Edith had a quick impression that it had been the tall soldier with the weak chin” (Tales of the Jazz Age, 110).

Not to be outdone by Fitzgerald, Carrol Key had fears of his own. As World War I ended, soldiers were returning home to a changed United States. Fitzgerald used war veterans Carrol Key and Gordon Sterrett to address the fears of a changing nation. Russia had recently embraced communism and it looked as if America would soon follow. There was a startling increase in attention paid related to workers rights. Riots broke out when companies refused union demands. Protests were held in support of worker’s rights and strikes were becoming commonplace. Eventually the battle for worker’s rights would be taken advantage of by extremists performing acts of terrorism in the name of communism and the line between activism and terrorism would soon blur. War veterans, in particular, were susceptible to this growing hatred against socialism. Imagine coming home to a country that appeared to be adopting the very thing you were fighting against. Gordon Sterrett voiced America’s fear of job security and inflation. Carrol Key voiced America’s fear of change and communism.
Delmonico’s is one of the most historic restaurants in the United States. Opening its doors in 1827, many regard it as the first restaurant to open in the country. Qualifying such a statement is quite difficult and has been met with some skepticism, however “it is well-established that it was the first “fine dining” restaurant” (Wikipedia, Delmonico’s). Delmonico’s was quite different than the inns that predated it. The first restaurant to have a separate wine menu, Delmonico’s allowed diners to chose from a menu as opposed to being served a pre-made meal (Wikipedia, Delmonico’s). Eventually closing its doors in 1923 due to prohibition, the name Delmonico’s remains to be synonymous with fine dining throughout the United States. It is here, amongst the socialist partygoers, that Fitzgerald plants the seeds of a generation’s death.
Gordon Sterrett’s death comes as a result of his inability to fulfill his dreams of excess. His fear of poverty leads him to obsess over the apparent carelessness of how Howard Dean leads his life. Carrol Key dies in a similar fashion. His death is the culmination of a deep seeded fear of change. Manifesting themselves in the guise of extreme nationalism he attacks innocent civilians. But what leads this “lost generation” to act on their fears? What is the catalyst to its death?
Amongst dirty mops, sponges, buckets and pails Carrol Key waits for his brother’s return, promising alcohol. Below them an extravagant party is being held. The stark difference between these sub-par conditions and the party that rages below is quite telling. Like the Biltmore before, Fitzgerald uses location as a way to illustrate the differences between the two generations. It is here in the storeroom where fear turns into a battle cry. It is here that Peter Himmel provides the catalyst to act on those fears. The fears that these war veterans have are only compounded by the interactions they have with the newer generation.

“We got in a sort of fight for a while,” said Key after a pause, “but it was too far away.”
“A fight? --tha's stuff!” said Peter, seating himself unsteadily. “Fight 'em all! I was in the army.”
"This was with a Bolshevik fella.”
"Tha's stuff!" exclaimed Peter, enthusiastic. "That's what I say! Kill the Bolshevik! Exterminate 'em!"
"We're Americuns," said Rose, implying a sturdy, defiant patriotism. "Sure," said Peter. "Greatest race in the world! We're all Americuns! Have another."
They had another (Tales of the Jazz Age, 97)

These men are drunk. All three have been drinking for hours. Their sundry discussion of Bolsheviks and America is interesting. It is if these men are having two completely different conversations. Himmel, a junior in college, doesn’t realize what exactly he is saying. His views on the conflict that Key and Rose have returned from are quite humorous. He finds the war funny and continues the conversation as if he just wants to hear himself talk. Obviously he was never in the army and the things he says seem to only aggravate Key and Rose further. For him this conversation is a simple drunken rant from a soapbox. On the other hand, Key and Rose take this conversation literally. Noting that Rose replies with “a sturdy, defiant patriotism” (Tale of the Jazz Age, 97), Fitzgerald implies that these men are taking far more from this tête-à-tête than Himmel. While Himmel takes great enjoyment in Rose’s story about a fight with a “Bolshevik fella” (Tales of the Jazz Age, 97) saying, “kill the Bolshevik” (Tales of the Jazz Age, 97) Rose sees it as a call to arms. Like Sterrett before them, the exchange the two have excessive newest generation provides a platform for death.

“The next five minutes passed in a dream. Edith was conscious that the clamor burst suddenly upon the three of them like a cloud of rain, that there was a thunder of many feet on the stairs, that Henry had seized her arm and drawn her back toward the rear of the office” (Tales of the Jazz Age, 108).

Fitzgerald further compounds the dreamlike state of the riot by slowing down the narration and only showing the physical characteristics of the rioters as seen by Edith. In effect, it is as if Fitzgerald is using slow motion similar to what is done in movies. This technique works extremely well especially on first time readers because the description of Rose and Key, “one of them was short and dark, the other was tall and weak of chin” (Tales of the Jazz Age, 109) is vague yet there is this feeling of deja-vu; just like that of a dream. In one of the strongest and most haunting passages of “May Day” Fitzgerald is able to describe the death of Key without using his name: he “disappeared helplessly out through the open window with a frightened, fragmentary cry that died staccato on the bosom of the clamor” (Tales of the Jazz Age, 110). The cries that Edith heard, as Key fell from the offices of the Trumpet were not his own but the cries of an entire generation consumed by fear, a generation that felt so trapped by its own excesses that it threw itself out of a second-story window.

08/16/2006 - Essay (Part 2)

I had some difficulty writing this. In all honesty, I had great difficulty writing this. It was kind of scary. I felt really good about the introduction and still do but I suspect that had to do with my not writing many opinions, its the history of the story you really can’t argue with it. This, however, can be disagreed with. I don’t know. I never thought this part of the argument would be as long as it is. That said, hopefully the rest turn out this good. I am paying special attention to the structure of the essay, trying my hardest to keep it in threes. For instance, there are three topics relating to Sterrett’s introduction; location, narrative structure, and character introduction. Following the introduction are three arguments outlining his excess. Granted, one of those arguments is fairly thin. But in my defense, I think it is pretty self-explanatory if you’ve taken the time to read the story. I guess I am trying my best to emulate Fitzgerald’s unique structure. I probably shouldn’t be that conscience about my writing. Hopefully the remaining parts won’t take as long to write but I have a feeling they will. Procrastination is one of my best qualities.

May Day: Gordon Sterrett

Bank Of America Plaza is an incredibly banal building. The block that once housed the exquisite Biltmore has turned itself into a forgetable, dull, grey eyesore. But, then again, it is a bank. The Biltmore, a famous New York City hotel that lied between 42nd Street and Vanderbilt Avenue was an upscale chain of hotels that tried to evoke the “Vanderbilt family’s Biltmore Estate” (Wikipedia, Biltmore Hotel) name. Designed by the architectural firm of Warren and Wetmore, the red granite New York Biltmore was founded by John McEntee Bowman (Wikipedia, New York Biltmore Hotel). The extravagant hotel, that begins “May Day”, is the first in a series of closely tied together locations that begin to illustrate the excesses of the newer generation. When Fitzgerald introduces Gordon Sterrett, the dishevled war veteran against the backdrop of the upper echelon that inhabits the Biltmore the stark difference between the two generations becomes obvious.
As Fitzgerald begins to introduce characters in “May Day” he uses a particularly effective narrative device by referring to characters by describing a particular physical characteristic instead of simply calling them by name. For instance, when Fitzgerald first introduces Gordon Sterrett he writes,

“The inquirer was dressed in a well-cut, shabby suit. He was small, slender, and darkly handsome; his eyes were framed above with unusually long eyelashes and below with the blue semicircle of ill health, this latter effect heightened by an unnatural glow which colored his face like a low, incessant fever” (Tales of the Jazz Age, 62).

Fitzgerald is able to let the reader see through his character’s eyes. The narrator does not interfere with character’s thoughts, thus allowing the narration to be completely truthful. “May Day” does not proceed unless Fitzgerald’s characters allow it to. The technique that Fitzgerald has begun to use, first identifying a character by physical description then giving their name, will play a prominent role in the later chapters of the novella. In effect, this technique will become a camera for the reader to view the actions of “May Day” through the perspective of many different characters.
Fitzgerald’s “memorable men” were those that were roughly the same age as Fitzgerald when he composed them (New Essays on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Neglected Stories, Martine).Gordon Sterrett, perhaps the most tragic character of “May Day”, is characterized as being one of those men. The similarities do not end with age, both returned home from the war at roughly the same time: Fitzgerald on February 21st 1919 (Bruccoli, 110), Sterrett, “got back from France in February” (Tales of the Jazz Age, 65). The two men were struggling artists working unfulfilling jobs: Fitzgerald worked the advertisement angle while trying to moonlight as a writer and Sterrett, unable to fund his dream as an artist, worked in exporting. Both, too, were unable to provide for the women they loved. Fitzgerald struggled to keep his engagement with Zelda Sayre. Ultimately losing her to patience, Fitzgerald returned home to St. Paul and focused whatever energy he had left into writing This Side of Paradise. On the other hand, Sterrett juggles two romantic relationships that are doomed to fail. A loose caricature of Fitzgerald, Sterrett embodies Fitzgerald’s frustrations surrounding the time he spent in New York City. He is Fitzgerald’s meditation on being unable to adapt to the excess of a new generation.

“Gordon collapsed unexpectedly upon the bed; lay there inert and spiritless. His mouth, which habitually dropped a little open when his face was in repose, became suddenly helpless and pathetic.
“What’s the matter?” asked Dean quickly.
“Oh, God!”
“What’s the matter?”
“Every God damn thing in the world,” he said miserably. “I’ve absolutely gone to pieces, Phil. I’m all in.”
“Huh?”
“I’m all in.” His voice was shaking” (Tales of the Jazz Age, 64-65).

Something is wrong with Gordon Sterrett. The stench of emptiness and desperation surrounds him. The man that had “received a scattering vote in the senior elections at college for being the best-dressed man in his class” (Tales of the Jazz Age, 63) is a shell of his former self. Throughout the novella he is absent. His body is present, however the mind is elsewhere.
The trauma of war can have paralyzing and lasting effects on its combatants. World War I introduced a disease that had previously can unrecognized by most of the medical community. Soldiers were reporting a myriad of stress related symptoms. “The most severe might include hysteria, disorientation, delusion, limb paralysis and loss of speech” (Making the Modern World). Other, more common symptoms associated with the ailment were “slowing of the reaction time, difficulty prioritising, difficulty initiating routine tasks, preoccupation with minor issues and familiar tasks, indecision and lack of concentration, loss of initiative with fatigue and exhaustion” (Wikipedia, Combat Stress Reaction). Usually these indicators came after extreme stress suffered on the battlefield. For instance, Henry Farr, a member of the British Expeditionary Force, fought in the trenches of World War I. His position was under constant bombardment from shells eventually causing him to collapse in convulsions. Returning to the frontlines, Farr eventually broke down and said he could simply go on no longer (World Socialist Web Site). Labeled “Shell Shock”, it would eventually become recognized as Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Despite the mystery that surrounds Sterrett’s service in World War I, something changed inside him while in France. Sterrett is the walking dead; preoccupied with his dream of becoming an artist, indecisiveness regarding his true feelings for Edith, and inability recognize his depression, instead focusing all his energy on money. Coupled with the excesses of the newer generation, Sterrett simply cannot go on.
Sterrett is severely depressed. From the very beginning of “May Day” Fitzgerald isn’t exactly subtle when it comes to Sterrett’s emotions. Gordon Sterrett’s “dream” is to become an illustrator for magazines. Feeling his glory days slipping from his grasp, Sterrett reaches out to Phillip Dean, a college friend for a loan to get back on his feet. Obviously envious of Dean’s lifestyle and money, Sterrett has convinced himself that by fulfilling his dream all his problems will magically disappear. But how will becoming an artist solve his problems? How will becoming an artist fix his situation with Jewel Hudson? From the context of Sterrett’s comments,

“She's got a letter all written to send to my family. Oh, she's got me, all right. I've got to have some money for her” (Tales of the Jazz Age, 67)

it is very possible that she is pregnant. Jobs don’t make children disappear. How will a job convince Edith Bradin to fall head over heels in love with him? Jobs don’t make decisions. How will a job cure his depression? That’s just it, a job won’t solve any of these problems. They run much deeper than Sterrett cares to admit. He is preoccupying himself with this impossible scenario. Sterrett’s obsession with returning to the fast, excessive life he was once accustomed has consumed him. Sterrett doesn’t realize that this impossible dream is causing him more harm than good. By allowing himself to believe it is possible he is quickly slipping further into depression. Eventually his unfulfilled dream of excess will lead him to suicide.

“With a little ready money I can take a few weeks off and get started” (Tales of the Jazz Age, 68).

As the newest generation falls to new levels of gluttony Sterrett seems desperate to catch up, ignoring any priority that he has. Sterrett’s first priority should be finding employment, not money. His “dream” of being an illustrator is highly suspect. Throughout “May Day” he negates those wishes by saying things that contradict his conversation with Dean. For instance, when Jewel first confronts Sterrett about missing an earlier dinner date Sterrett never mentions his conversation with Dean. In fact, Jewel specifically says,

“I don't care about the money that bad. I didn't start bothering you about it at all until you began neglecting me” (Tales of the Jazz Age, 102).

The money is a non-issue. Sterrett used Jewel and his “dream” as arguments for a handout, never attending to spend money on either of them. The entire conversation, too, negates any statement Sterrett made about Jewel earlier. She is painted as a money hungry whore by Sterrett, however in all actuality she turns about to be an extremely loving person that is obviously worried about her partner. This obsession with money has turned Sterrett into a liar. The money becomes more important than any relationship that he still has.

“I know all about you!” she said fiercely. “Nice friend, you are, I'll say. He told me about you” (Tales of the Jazz Age, 115).

Jewel’s comments about Dean suggest that Sterrett told her some fairly unflattering things. Despite Dean listening to Sterrett and offering some helpful advice, he chooses to berate Dean for not giving him a handout. Just as he had done earlier with Dean when talking about Jewel, Sterrett chooses to ignore his relationships and instead focus on money. In turn, he has made money his number one priority, anything else is simply inconsequential.

“Then he took a taxi to the room where he had been living on East Twenty-seventh Street, and, leaning across the table that held his drawing materials, fired a cartridge into his head just behind the temple” (Tales of the Jazz Age, 125).

Description is an integral part of “May Day”. Fitzgerald describes everything in painstaking detail. One would expect that if these drawing materials had any distinguishing characteristics Fitzgerald would say so, however they are simply drawing materials. Earlier in the novel Sterrett tells Dean, “I haven’t had the money to buy decent drawing materials” (Tales of the Jazz Age, 68), however the decent drawing materials that Sterrett claims he doesn’t own have been sitting in his apartment, unused for the entire duration of the novella. Sterrett is a liar. Throughout the novel his priorities are misplaced. If he had really wanted to become an artist he could have. However his true dream, were his priorities really lied, were in money not illustration.