The epigraph of the novel — "The victor belongs to the spoils," which is a paraphrase of Anthony Patch's advice to a friend — sets the tone and thematic thrust of the novel. While a number of themes have been identified in this long novel, there is general agreement that it is a condemnation of American society and, to a degree, life in general. The gloomy atmosphere of the work underscores the severe, almost tragic, vision of the wasted lives of the principal characters: Anthony Patch and his wife, Gloria Gilbert Patch.
A prominent theme, about which some critics disagree, seems to be the revolt of youth against the status quo.
When the text was first published, in serial form, in The Metropolitan Magazine, the subtitle, which Fitzgerald probably either wrote or approved, was.....
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