Dice, Brassknuckles & Guitar
Jim Powell, a young dandy from Tarleton, Georgia, breaks down outside a New Jersey farmhouse while driving north with his body-servant Hugo, and meets Amanthis Powell, a judge's daughter dozing in a hammock. Amid the roadside repairs — the car's body keeps separating from its chassis and must be nailed back together — the two discover they share a surname and may be kin. Amanthis, bored with country life, tells Jim she longs to be a New York society girl. Jim promises to make it happen and drives on. Weeks later he returns with a scheme: he has founded "Dice, Brassknuckles and Guitar," a Southampton academy where he, styling himself "Jazz Master," teaches wealthy young people jazz dancing, guitar, dice-throwing, self-defense with knuckle-dusters, and even southern accents (with Hugo instructing on dialect). He asks Amanthis to enroll as a pupil, passing her off as coming from prosperous New Jersey people rather than revealing her father is a judge. She agrees, takes a boardinghouse room, and joins the school, quickly becoming popular among Southampton's young set through Genevieve and Ronald Harlan. The Academy thrives financially and socially through the summer, though Jim notices he is never invited to the evening parties his pupils attend — he remains, socially, a servant to them despite running their afternoons. Tension builds with Martin Van Vleck, a snobbish older pupil who gives whiskey to young Ronald Harlan. Jim throws Van Vleck out and physically ejects him down the stairs. Van Vleck retaliates by bringing outraged mothers (Mrs. Clifton Garneau and Mrs. Poindexter Katzby) to the school, who accuse Jim of running a den of vice and pull their daughters out, effectively destroying the Academy. Amanthis stays loyally by Jim's side as the pupils depart. The next day, brokenhearted but not bitter, Jim closes the school, having spent nearly all his profits on rent, equipment, and refunding pupils' fees. That evening he buys orchids and takes Amanthis to dinner in his new dress-suit, then they walk to the Harlan house, drawn by the sound of the season's biggest dance in progress — a party to which neither was invited. Standing in the shadows, Jim recognizes the music as Rastus Muldoon's Band, whom he has always dreamed of leading. Amanthis suddenly leads him toward the door despite his fear of humiliation. Madison Harlan greets them warmly, revealing the dance is being given for Amanthis herself, who turns out to be his cousin, and invites Jim to lead the band for one number. Back at the New Jersey farmhouse, Jim explains he refused Harlan's offer to continue the Academy and repaid his pupils' advanced fees despite Amanthis's protest. Amanthis then reveals her deception: she was always a Harlan cousin staying with them, invited to Southampton independently, who kept the boardinghouse room and pretended ignorance of society solely to watch what Jim would do, arranging for her Southampton acquaintances to pretend not to know her. Jim gives her a bottle of homemade corn liquor as a parting gift and, with Hugo, sets off south for Tarleton, the car's body again needing to be nailed back onto its chassis as they disappear down the road.
By F. Scott Fitzgerald · First published 1925 · Genre: Literary Fiction, Social Commentary, Coming-of-Age · 10,877 words
First lines
Parts of New Jersey, as you know, are under water, and other parts are under continual surveillance by the authorities. But here and there lie patches of garden country dotted with old-fashioned frame mansions, which have wide shady porches and a red swing on the lawn. And perhaps, on the widest and shadiest of the porches there is even a hammock left over from the hammock days, stirring gently in a mid-Victorian wind.
What this Textopian page supports
Dice, Brassknuckles & Guitar is listed on Textopian as a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, dated 1925 CE.
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- Work type: Novel
- Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Date: 1925 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Literary Fiction, Social Commentary, Coming-of-Age, Romance, Comedy
- Length: 10,877 words
- Structure: 1 section, 314 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering Dice, Brassknuckles & Guitar?
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Genres
- Literary Fiction — The work explores complex themes of identity, social class, and the human experience through rich character development and nuanced prose.
- Social Commentary — It critiques societal norms and class distinctions, particularly in the context of early 20th-century America.
- Coming-of-Age — The narrative follows the growth and self-discovery of the protagonist as they navigate societal expectations and personal aspirations.
- Romance — The relationship dynamics between the characters, particularly the romantic tension, are central to the plot.
Tags
Coming-of-Age · Literary Fiction · American Literature · 1920s Setting · Jazz Age · Prohibition Era · Youth Culture · Rebellion · Identity Crisis · Social Commentary · Class Struggle · Romance