In our society there are certain individuals who we look up to as heroes. While these heroes may seem to represent admirable qualities on the surface, what they truly represent can often be something far worse. This is relevant in every aspect of our lives from athletes, to celebrities, to even politicians. While people may look up to them as role models or as heroes because of their actions, they may not be aware of what these “heroes” are concealing. In Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald introduces Dick Diver, a wealthy psychologist who’s charismatic personality draws people to him.
While he appears to be the perfect man for others to depend on, Dick Diver has his own personal flaws, which causes him to fail those who need him and reach his own downfall. F. Scott Fitzgerald often uses characters who’s internal struggles are masked by wealth and prosperous lifestyles, hiding their true selves behind a guise of heroism. Through these characters, Fitzgerald illustrates the fact that the heroes we depend on are often an illusion. When he’s first introduced in Tender is the Night, Dick Diver is a rich man who has a way of attracting and pleasing other people.
In addition to his monetary wealth, Dick is a brilliant man who draws people to him with his “expensive simplicity” (Fitzgerald 32). The purpose of Dick’s existence seems to be making the people around him happy. This is a natural gift that he possesses, which “arous[es] a fascinated and uncritical love” from these people (Fitzgerald 41). The fact that this love is “uncritical” plays a key part in Dick Diver’s character. Just like the common heroes in our world, Dick’s positive qualities are amplified, while his negative ones are ignored.
Even Rosemary, girl who Dick falls in love with eventually, after only meeting Dick once, “f[alls] in love” with him(Fitzgerald 19). Dick’s personality and the excessive parties he throws makes others happy, but doesn’t necessarily fulfill Dick’s ambitions. Throughout the novel, Dick struggles with continuing to please the people who depend on him, while also pleasing himself. Although he seems to be great man, Dick Diver has many internal flaws. The main flaw being that Dick is not self-aware enough to focus on the direction his own life needs to go in.
This can be seen through Dick’s choosing Nicole over his work. He happens to be very talented in his field of psychology but his career never truly progresses because he is constantly focusing on others. Dick’s flaws of discipline and lack of “judgement about [him]self,” causes him to focus on garnering the approval of others, rather than his own work(Fitzgerald 172). The sacrifices that Dick is forced to make in order to be with Nicole, a former patient of his who’s sanity depends on their relationship, shows that he is willing to sabotage his own wellbeing just to be loved.
Regardless of his educational and mental advantages, Dick is shown to be a very weak-minded character. Therefore, Dick is unable to be the hero people see him as and need him to be. His wife, Nicole, relies on him to be not only her husband, but her caretaker. Nicole depends on Dick in order to stay sane. This responsibility, along with keeping people happy constantly makes it hard for Dick to live his life. Dick had “the passions of many men inside of him and nothing simple that he could see”(Fitzgerald 156).
As Dick is not even able to fully understand himself, he’s in no position to be helping others do the same. He isn’t nearly strong enough to take on the many roles his life and marriage require. While it seems like a noble cause for Dick to commit himself to Nicole even though it isn’t easy, it doesn’t help her in the long run as Dick can’t be who she needs him to be. Nicole isn’t the only one who seems to rely on Dick. Rosemary needs Dick so that she can gain the “approval” of her mother(Fitzgerald 46), but Dick can’t please both her and
Nicole. This puts Dick in the uncomfortable position that he’s been in for years of having to choose between himself and others. Dick knows that he is incapable of sustaining his relationships with all the people in his life while also maintaining his own well being. In this sense, Dick is not a hero. As Dick goes on living as the husband and doctor of Nicole, he grows increasingly tired of his current lifestyle. He begins to understand how trapped he is from living his life the way he desires to.
In his heart, Dick wants to be with Rosemary, who he is in love with, and do his work, but his responsibility to Nicole is constantly inhibiting him from doing so. He is unable to “let go his hold on [Nicole],” no matter how hard he tries(Fitzgerald 266). This causes Dick’s morale and mental state to weaken, resulting in a deterioration of Dick’s once appealing disposition. As Dick’s commitment to Nicole waivers, she is mentally pushed to the breaking point and almost kills them both by running their car off the road. No longer the charming man he was at the beginning of the novel, Dick turns to alcohol.
Dick’s interactions with people are no longer positive like they used to be. He goes down a self-destructive path and eventually gets beat up and arrested. Upon his realization that he has failed the people who depended on him, Dick refers to himself as the “Black Death,” because he doesn’t “seem to bring people happiness anymore”(Fitzgerald 324). At this point in Dick’s life, there has become a sharp contrast to his prosperous past lifestyle. Rather than bringing joy and exuberance to everyone he came into contact with, Dick now seems to be doing the opposite.
Dick’s father dies along with his friend Abe, which is especially painful for Dick because he feels that he is partly responsible as he didn’t help Abe return from America. The trend of people in Dick’s life getting hurt doesn’t stop here. As the novel continues, Dick’s dark side seems to come out more and more. Dick’s excessive drinking and lack of regard for Nicole shows how much he’s changed. This change of roles by Dick is extreme. He goes from being the person who made people happy and helped care for Nicole, to the main problem.
Even his relationship with Rosemary goes through hard times. These things all make Dick understand that he truly is the “Black Death. ” Dick is a tragic character in Tender is the Night. He had it all: money, a wife, friends, a brilliant mind, and a good opportunity to succeed in his career. In the long run, none of this proved valuable to Dick as he became overwhelmed with his responsibilities and was constrained from following his own dreams. The “hero” that so many people previously saw Dick as, was revealed to be a man who couldn’t even take care of himself.
The theme of heroes not living up to their expectations was not confined to Tender is the Night, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. He introduces the same concept in The Great Gatsby, through the relationship of Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan. While Gatsby’s outward appearance is in many ways the same as Dick Diver’s he differs from him in one crucial way: ambition. Jay Gatsby lives his life following his own desires, but he isn’t necessarily free. Gatsby has his own hero, Daisy, who he is constantly dependent on. Daisy and Gatsby had a strong relationship, but when Gatsby left for war, Daisy resistantly married Tom Buchanan.
Upon his return from the war, Gatsby centered his entire life around getting back together with Daisy. His hope for this to happen is represented by the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock, which “Gatsby believe[s] in”(Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 193). While Daisy is beautiful, she is hardly an extraordinarily girl and doesn’t have any aspirations of her own. Gatsby’s creation of the perfect image of Daisy in his imagination, makes it impossible for her to live up to his expectations. Without Daisy, Gatsby’s life has no purpose, but Daisy is not as great as he thinks she is.
Although they have great times together once they reconnect, Daisy eventually chooses to stay with her current husband Tom, who she doesn’t truly love. This crushes Gatsby and leads him to his own downfall. Through this relationship, Fitzgerald is again emphasizing the fact that an over dependence on our heroes is not a good thing, as they are often unable to fulfill our needs. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s use of characters in his novels who seem like heroes but can’t fulfill the expectations of those who rely on them, shows that these “heroes” are often just as imperfect as those who look up to them.
This isn’t necessarily the fault of these heroes. Fitzgerald is pointing out that those who look up to them should be more understanding and aware of what to expect from that. Dick Diver was never going to be able to be Nicole’s life long caretaker, regardless of how much she needed him. In the case of Gatsby, he should’ve been more practical and not depended on Daisy to abandon her current life just to recreate the past with him.