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Abstract：Babylon Revisited is F.Scott Fitzgerald's most renowned and most considered work of short fiction.In the short story “Babylon Revisited，”F.Scott Fitzgerald generally centers on a theme of defining American character.The central figure in Babylon Revisited，Charlie Wales，serves as the lens through which readers observe the events of the story and the life that once thrived in Paris.The controversial questions are also explained in this paper.
Key words：character；guilt；transformation；redemption
I.Introduction to the Story
Babylon Revisited is Fitzgerald's most anthologized short story.First published in 1931 in the Saturday Evening Post，it reappeared with revisions in the 1935 collection Taps at Reveille.Fitzgerald wrote Babylon Revisited during a time of emotional and economic crisis.Its tone is thoughtful and retrospective，and it is sadder than earlier stories he had ever written.
The title，“Babylon Revisited”is an essential tool in building the theme of Fitzgerald's short story because it gives the reader additional insight into the life that once thrived in Paris.The Bible describes Babylon as the city of sins and the great city of power，but the city suddenly came crashing down in the matter of one hour.By using，“Babylon”，Fitzgerald immediately characterizes Paris as a city of wealth，power，and sin，and by revisiting Babylon，Fitzgerald provides the reader with a more in-depth insight into the meaning of Charlie's visit.
II.Charlie's Past and Present Life
1.Change and Transformation
In Babylon Revisited，a father tries to regain custody of his daughter after the death of his wife，financial disaster in the stock market crash of 1929，and his own battle with alcoholism.
Throughout the story Charlie is presented with temptations to return to the“utter irresponsibility”of his previous life，which he must overcome to prove he truly understands that personal character is the“eternally valuable element.”Charlie consciously manipulates his conversations with his in-laws to achieve his goal of winning back his daughter.Rather than simply present himself as the reformed man he claims he is，Charlie sees his meetings with his in-laws as contests or performances in which his behavior must be manipulated to win “points.”By showing Charlie in the bars and nightclubs he has claimed are no longer a part of his life，drinking with people he claims are part of his past，and viewing his conversations with the Peters as contests，Fitzgerald introduces an element of doubt that enables the reader to share Marion Peters' suspicion that Charlie's transformation is incomplete.
2.Guilt and Innocence
Throughout Babylon Revisited，Charlie struggles with his sense of guilt over having caused his wife's death，losing custody of his daughter，and squandering the successes of his early years in alcohol and “dissipation.”In order to win custody of Honoria，Charlie must convince his sister-in-law that he has accepted his guilt and turned over a new leaf.Marion refuses to interpret his remarks as mature，honest expressions of self-knowledge，and uses them instead to confirm her deepest suspicions about Charlie.
Although both Marion and Charlie himself seem to take Charlie's guilt for granted，Fitzgerald leaves the question of Charlie's true guilt open.How guilty was he？When Charlie later reminds Marion that Helen died not from pneumonia caused by the snowstorm，but from heart trouble，she repeats the phrase heart trouble“as if it had another meaning for her.”This “other meaning”suggests that Marion believes Helen died of a “broken heart.”Yet Helen's willingness to kiss another man and embarrass her husband publicly suggests that on that “terrible night”it may have been Charlie rather than Helen who suffered the worst emotional damage.
3.Wealth and Poverty
The ambiguity that surrounds Charlie's sense of guilt in Babylon Revisited is compounded by Fitzgerald's introduction of the theme of money，wealth，and envy.In “Babylon Revisited”money is seen as a “corrosive power，”only Charlie has learned that when it comes to matters of the heart，money has no value.
The heart of Charlie's guilt over money emerges when he tells the Peters that his problems did not begin“until I gave up business and came over here with nothing to do....I worked hard for ten years，you know - until I got lucky in the market，like so many people.”The easy money Charlie won in the boom years of the 1920s was unearned.In his mind，his guilt over Helen's death is linked to his guilt for quitting his job and living off his stock market windfall.In Marion's mind，Charlie's responsibility for Helen's death is inseparable from his financial success：he should feel guilt for both.
III.Conclusion：
Most critics have agreed that Fitzgerald is both an insider and an outsider of the Jazz Age with a double vision of fascination and aloofness.Fitzgerald's Babylon Revisited portrayed the main character Charlie with a strong correlation with himself.His own experience helped him to present a panorama of the Jazz Age with a deep insight，and wrote about dark themes that reflected the disenchantment at the time.
Bibliography
[1]美国文学选读.天津：南开大学出版社，常耀信.1991.
[2]菲茨杰拉德研究.吴建国.上海：上海外语教育出版社，2002.
[3]难圆的好梦——评菲茨杰拉德的《重返巴比伦》孟凡韶，娄继梅.许昌师专学报，1994，（4）.
[4]论菲次杰拉德笔下的再生神话，方杰.河南大学学报（社会科学版），1992，（2）.
[5]Fitzgerald and His Tragic Philosophy of Life，仇如慧.广西大学梧州分校学报，2001，（1）.
[6]郭勇.A Study of the American Dream in F · Scott Fitzgerald's Typical Short Stories .中南林学院学报，2003，（6）.
[7]Probing Into the 1920s of America and F.Scott Fitzgerald 徐平，吉林师范大学学报（人文社会科学版），2006，（5）.
[8]王万兵.An Analysis of the Pattern of the Characterization of F·Scott Fitzgerald's Novel Figures.唐山师范学院学报.
[9]The Seeking and Disillusion of “the American Dream”刘加媚，广西师范学院学报（哲学社会科学版），2000，（2）.
[10]Critical reception of a classical writer：A socio-historic perspective on “Fitzgeraldian Phenomenon”吴建国.大连海事大学学报（社会科学版），2006，（4）.
Key words：character；guilt；transformation；redemption
I.Introduction to the Story
Babylon Revisited is Fitzgerald's most anthologized short story.First published in 1931 in the Saturday Evening Post，it reappeared with revisions in the 1935 collection Taps at Reveille.Fitzgerald wrote Babylon Revisited during a time of emotional and economic crisis.Its tone is thoughtful and retrospective，and it is sadder than earlier stories he had ever written.
The title，“Babylon Revisited”is an essential tool in building the theme of Fitzgerald's short story because it gives the reader additional insight into the life that once thrived in Paris.The Bible describes Babylon as the city of sins and the great city of power，but the city suddenly came crashing down in the matter of one hour.By using，“Babylon”，Fitzgerald immediately characterizes Paris as a city of wealth，power，and sin，and by revisiting Babylon，Fitzgerald provides the reader with a more in-depth insight into the meaning of Charlie's visit.
II.Charlie's Past and Present Life
1.Change and Transformation
In Babylon Revisited，a father tries to regain custody of his daughter after the death of his wife，financial disaster in the stock market crash of 1929，and his own battle with alcoholism.
Throughout the story Charlie is presented with temptations to return to the“utter irresponsibility”of his previous life，which he must overcome to prove he truly understands that personal character is the“eternally valuable element.”Charlie consciously manipulates his conversations with his in-laws to achieve his goal of winning back his daughter.Rather than simply present himself as the reformed man he claims he is，Charlie sees his meetings with his in-laws as contests or performances in which his behavior must be manipulated to win “points.”By showing Charlie in the bars and nightclubs he has claimed are no longer a part of his life，drinking with people he claims are part of his past，and viewing his conversations with the Peters as contests，Fitzgerald introduces an element of doubt that enables the reader to share Marion Peters' suspicion that Charlie's transformation is incomplete.
2.Guilt and Innocence
Throughout Babylon Revisited，Charlie struggles with his sense of guilt over having caused his wife's death，losing custody of his daughter，and squandering the successes of his early years in alcohol and “dissipation.”In order to win custody of Honoria，Charlie must convince his sister-in-law that he has accepted his guilt and turned over a new leaf.Marion refuses to interpret his remarks as mature，honest expressions of self-knowledge，and uses them instead to confirm her deepest suspicions about Charlie.
Although both Marion and Charlie himself seem to take Charlie's guilt for granted，Fitzgerald leaves the question of Charlie's true guilt open.How guilty was he？When Charlie later reminds Marion that Helen died not from pneumonia caused by the snowstorm，but from heart trouble，she repeats the phrase heart trouble“as if it had another meaning for her.”This “other meaning”suggests that Marion believes Helen died of a “broken heart.”Yet Helen's willingness to kiss another man and embarrass her husband publicly suggests that on that “terrible night”it may have been Charlie rather than Helen who suffered the worst emotional damage.
3.Wealth and Poverty
The ambiguity that surrounds Charlie's sense of guilt in Babylon Revisited is compounded by Fitzgerald's introduction of the theme of money，wealth，and envy.In “Babylon Revisited”money is seen as a “corrosive power，”only Charlie has learned that when it comes to matters of the heart，money has no value.
The heart of Charlie's guilt over money emerges when he tells the Peters that his problems did not begin“until I gave up business and came over here with nothing to do....I worked hard for ten years，you know - until I got lucky in the market，like so many people.”The easy money Charlie won in the boom years of the 1920s was unearned.In his mind，his guilt over Helen's death is linked to his guilt for quitting his job and living off his stock market windfall.In Marion's mind，Charlie's responsibility for Helen's death is inseparable from his financial success：he should feel guilt for both.
III.Conclusion：
Most critics have agreed that Fitzgerald is both an insider and an outsider of the Jazz Age with a double vision of fascination and aloofness.Fitzgerald's Babylon Revisited portrayed the main character Charlie with a strong correlation with himself.His own experience helped him to present a panorama of the Jazz Age with a deep insight，and wrote about dark themes that reflected the disenchantment at the time.
Bibliography
[1]美国文学选读.天津：南开大学出版社，常耀信.1991.
[2]菲茨杰拉德研究.吴建国.上海：上海外语教育出版社，2002.
[3]难圆的好梦——评菲茨杰拉德的《重返巴比伦》孟凡韶，娄继梅.许昌师专学报，1994，（4）.
[4]论菲次杰拉德笔下的再生神话，方杰.河南大学学报（社会科学版），1992，（2）.
[5]Fitzgerald and His Tragic Philosophy of Life，仇如慧.广西大学梧州分校学报，2001，（1）.
[6]郭勇.A Study of the American Dream in F · Scott Fitzgerald's Typical Short Stories .中南林学院学报，2003，（6）.
[7]Probing Into the 1920s of America and F.Scott Fitzgerald 徐平，吉林师范大学学报（人文社会科学版），2006，（5）.
[8]王万兵.An Analysis of the Pattern of the Characterization of F·Scott Fitzgerald's Novel Figures.唐山师范学院学报.
[9]The Seeking and Disillusion of “the American Dream”刘加媚，广西师范学院学报（哲学社会科学版），2000，（2）.
[10]Critical reception of a classical writer：A socio-historic perspective on “Fitzgeraldian Phenomenon”吴建国.大连海事大学学报（社会科学版），2006，（4）.