The Pursuit of Love

The bulk of this story follows Anson Hunter’s pursuit of love, and through this journey, Fitzgerald explores various ideas regarding the concept of romance. Some of these include the motives behind the pursuit of love, the reasons why some romances do not survive, and the affect that love has on other aspects of one’s life. Fitzgerald uses Anson’s character development, as well as the narrative choices and plot events to explore this theme.

Anson and Paula’s relationship is the most prominent one in the story, and Fitzgerald uses it to show that the incorrect motives for starting a relationship cause problems for the relationship in future. During one of the peaks in their relationship, Paula and Anson both feel that the time is right to get engaged. However, Anson hesitates, thinking that he could “hold her so, biding his...