Bernice Bobs Her Hair Questions

1. How does F. Scott Fitzgerald portray wealthy people in his work? He portrays wealthy people as carefree people who live with no abandon and no consideration for money and very cultured. For example, going to parties, on drives, and rowing.
2. Discuss how a “modern girl” is described in this story. A modern girl is described as one who goes to parties, dates many boys at once, and does all shocking things. For example, Marjorie did cartwheels at a party and Bernice bobs her hair.
3. What is a flapper? A young risqué woman, who dates casually, bobs her hair, wears short dresses, tight caps, and rejects many social standards for women.
4. Why does Bernice “bob” her hair? She bobs her hair to prove Marjorie wrong and to shock people.
5. Compare and contrast the difficulties faced by youths searching for their social identities in the 1920s as opposed to the struggle faced by young people today. In the 1920s women were just beginning to have rights, so their exploring new feelings and customs were very hard for them, along with men because their fathers before them had been raised in conformity. When new thinking came around it gave them a chance to open their horizons, something that was looked down upon. Today it is hard but in another way, teens today explore things like drugs and violence, something very different from bobbing their hair and wearing short skirts. Yet in the 1920s those who truly searched outside the box for their identities pioneered the way for young people of the future to do that.
6. Was Bernice justified in her final act against Marjorie? No she was not, because Bernice had a choice whether or not to cut her hair and decided to; yes Marjorie egged her on but in no way did she force her to.
7. Explain how Bernice’s character has transformed by the end of the story. Bernice has transformed in to a “modern girl” but has become spiteful.