Summary Of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Short Story 'The Four Fists'

F. Scott Fitzgerald was an American author known for his depiction of the Jazz Age. His short story “The Four Fists” is a story written in 1920 about a man called Samuel Meredith who is wealthy, privileged young man that undergoes a series of changes. As he grows, receiving each punch to the face leads him to his self-reflection and change. The lessons Samuel learn are to be considerate of others, not to judge others and not to force his own code of behaviour on others.

At the start of the story, Samuel is established as an arrogant, spoiled and wealthy kid. As Samuel is going through these changes, he learns some valuable life lessons. Because Samuel goes through these changes, this makes him a dynamic character. Fitzgerald shows that Samuel’s
feelings have changed for the people that he’s hurt. For example, when he was younger, he used to not like his roommate Gilly, however, after the punch, they became best friends. Samuel goes through this first with his roommate Gilly, then with a man on a bus, after that with Marjorie’s husband, and lastly with a coworker. All of these, except for the second, change his relationships with the people he’s surrounded himself with but all of the punches make him reflect on what he’s done to deserve each punch.

Four times in Samuel Meredith’s life, he finds himself in situations which lead to him getting hit in the face. Fitzgerald seems to be making an argument through Samuel that all people can grow and change. He does this by using a form of violence to incite this change in Samuel which makes him see things from a different perspective and adjust the relationships that he had put at risk. Overall, in Fitzgerald’s short story “The Four Fists”, the punches represent the moments in our lives that lead to self-reflection and eventually our self-improvement.