Winter Dreams

Winter Dreams Summary | Part 1 Summary

"Winter Dreams" is a short story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a young man from a small town in Minnesota, where the author himself grew up, and the dreams that he has for himself, both that he realizes and never can.

Dexter is unlike most caddies, in that he does not need the job. He only keeps it in order to earn pocket money. His father owns the second best grocery store in town. In the wintertime, Dexter skies over the rolling hills of the golf course. During these ski trips through the winter cold, Dexter lives out his dreams. He imagines himself as a golf champion beating various players and being cheered on by the crowd.

One day after Dexter caddies, Mr. Jones, a wealthy and notable member of the club, tells Dexter that he is the best caddy and that he cannot quit. Dexter, however, is adamant that he feels he is too old to caddy, which confuses Mr. Jones. The young man had promised, that morning, to be his caddy in the State tournament the following week.

The real truth of the matter is that Dexter is not too old to caddy. He is only fourteen years old. Something else happened that morning to cause him to quit his part-time job, something that had to do with Mr. Jones' daughter, Judy Jones. Dexter was standing by the caddy house when he saw a young girl, eleven years old, and her nurse. The young girl, who the nurse identified as Miss Jones, wanted to golf, but Dexter could not leave the caddy house until his boss returned. He was the only caddy on duty. The nurse and Miss Jones walked away from Dexter and started a verbal fight, which ended with Judy throwing a club on the ground and trying to hit her nurse with another. Dexter tried hard not to laugh at the scene he was witnessing but failed. Just then, the caddy master arrived, and Dexter was told to carry Miss Jones's bags for her as she golfed. Instead of doing what he was told, Dexter quit. It was his winter dreams that told him to do so.