Society In James Baldwin's The Creative Process

Society James Baldwin’s The Creative Process starts with “Perhaps the primary distinction of the artist is that he must actively cultivate that state which most men, necessarily, must avoid; the state of being alone,” (Baldwin 874). Here Baldwin is alluding to the fact that most men avoid being alone by adapting to and adhering to all of the unspoken rules of society. Baldwin goes on to compare man to an artist saying that an artist must be better; he must be brave, honest, and embrace his state of being alone in order to discover his true self, even if it means being persecuted by society. In contrast to Baldwin’s opinion on artists, the characters of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short stories’ are alone, worried, and troubled by the way society
When Jim’s family is going through a tough financial time, Jim begins working as a grocery boy. Since being a grocery boy is not considered socially acceptable to the higher class, Jim is made fun of by his peers. This leads to him being ignored by society and to live a life of loneliness, drinking, and gambling. Years later, Jim runs into an old friend, Clark. Clark lives a full social life and is regarded as a ladies man, while Jim is still portrayed as someone who is a social misfit. Clark drags Jim into his high-class life and surprisingly Jim enjoys it. After a night out with Clark, Jim decides to change his ways and adapt to the high-class societal standards. Once again, Fitzgerald uses social status and society’s perception of others to show character development. Society’s opinion of Jim causes him to change from a lonely, easy-going guy into a high maintenance ‘gentleman’ by society’s standards. Once society stops playing a prominent role in Jim’s life, he goes back to his old life of loneliness, drinking, and gambling. Fitzgerald uses society’s impact on his characters to show their development throughout each