Name _________________
United States Literature
Winter Dreams by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Pages 728-753
Directions: Answer all parts of the question with textual evidence to support your responses. Each answer
should be approximately 3 strong sentences to 1 strong paragraph.
1. At the beginning of Section 2, what does the narrator say Dexter wants? How does Judy embody his
ambitions?
2. What actions does Dexter take as a result of his first two meetings with Judy? Find two examples in the
story that demonstrate the effects of Judy’s casual behavior on Dexter’s live? Why do Dexter’s feelings
for Judy remain unchanged even after he finally loses her?
3. Explain what material success does for Dexter and what it does not do. Based on this story, what
observations can you make about a materialistic culture?
4. Identify two flat characters in “Winter Dreams.” Indicate the most obvious traits of each character.
How does each character help advance the story’s action?
5. What motivates Dexter’s drive for success? What does Judy want in her life? Do their motivations or
desires change over the course of the story? Explain.
6. On the evening of Dexter’s first dinner with Judy, she comes downstairs in “a blue silk afternoon dress,
and he was disappointed at first that she had not put on something more elaborate.” This would be an
example of an author “showing” rather than “telling” what is happening. What can you infer about
Dexter’s disappointment? How does your own knowledge of life help you draw this inference?
7. Demonstrate what you have learned about the characters of Dexter and Judy by drawing inferences
about their last meeting. What do they say and how do they act as their relationship ends?