45 pages • 1 hour read
The Last Tycoon
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BetaChapters 1-2Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary
Content Warning: This section of the guide describes and discusses death by suicide.
Cecilia Brady, the 18-year-old daughter of Hollywood producer Pat Brady, opens the novel in first-person voice, recounting her father’s deep involvement in the movie business. Reflecting on her time at Bennington College, she notes the disdain some teachers hold for Hollywood and reflects on Hollywood’s elusive nature, only truly understood by a select few. She often travels coast to coast, thoughts of her deceased sister, Eleanor, accompanying her on the journey.
During a plane ride back to Los Angeles, she observes two passengers—one distinctly Hollywood, the other vaguely familiar. In the dimly lit, swaying plane, the passengers linger aimlessly, prompting the stewardess to question “why she was there” (16). The stewardess stops by to check on Cecilia and they begin to discuss a famous actress, who had flown this route before and had discussed her fears about the political climate during “the very lowest time of the depression” with the stewardess (16). While they talk, the stewardess says Cecilia’s name, prompting the man across the aisle to realize who she is, and introduce himself and his companion as friends of Cecilia’s father. They are Wylie White, a writer, and Mr. Schwartz, a producer. The flight faces potential grounding in Nashville due to an approaching storm. Wylie, astonished by the possibility of staying in his birthplace, expresses his reluctance. As the plane experiences turbulence, passengers settle down, and the plane is landed in Nashville. Wylie White and Cecilia become friendlier on the ground while Schwartz seems lost in his thoughts.
Upon landing, Wylie proposes visiting the Hermitage, the historic home of Andrew Jackson. Cecilia and Schwartz both agree. In a taxi through the dark countryside, Wylie shares comical anecdotes on his impoverished Southern upbringing and proposes marriage to Cecilia in a playful manner. Wylie and Schwartz engage in banter about Hollywood, discussing a past affair and the challenges of fitting into the Hollywood social scene. Upon arriving at the Hermitage, Wylie and Cecilia sit on the steps, enjoying the early morning atmosphere. As dawn breaks, Schwartz joins them, revealing a minor injury. The conversation takes a philosophical turn as Schwartz remarks on the paradoxical nature of writers, who seem to know everything yet appear to know nothing at the same time. Later, Cecilia and Wylie decide to return to the airport, while Schwartz opts to stay. He hands a note to Wylie for a Mr. Smith, and sees them off. It’s only the next day that Cecilia learns about Schwartz’s death by suicide at Hermitage.
Back at the airport, the storm has passed, and passengers prepare for takeoff. Cecilia learns that Mr. Smith is her father’s partner, Monroe Stahr, who was also on the original flight. Stahr briefly joins Cecilia on the plane, presenting her with a monogrammed ring from his finger, before taking Wylie to his private suite to discuss Schwartz’s note. Stahr, after reading Schwartz’s note that advises him to be careful, acknowledges Schwartz’s nervous condition and expresses regret for being short with him. He, however, dismisses the idea of someone helping him. Their discussion shifts to the nature of merchants, with Stahr defending his role as a buyer of intellectual content. Later, Stahr enters the cockpit, expressing a desire to learn to fly someday. As they approach home, Cecilia contemplates her feelings for Stahr, whom she finds handsome and magnetic, entertaining thoughts of marriage. She acknowledges her youthful conceit and dreams of influencing Stahr but realizes the futility of such notions.
Chapter 2 Summary
Cecilia Brady parks her car outside the studio at nine o’clock on a July night. Extras are still in the drugstore across the street as she hurries into the studio. Despite the late hour, the studio is not quiet. Her father’s offices are in the old building, with Stahr and Mr. Marcus nearby. Cecilia’s stomach dips at the thought of Stahr, whom she has seen only once in the month since her return home. She heads to the studio to pick up her father for his birthday celebration. In his office, she discovers him engaged in a heated discussion with business associates about a recent decision made by Stahr. As they talk, an earthquake strikes. The office sustains minimal damage, but a “couple of water mains have burst” (40) at the back lot of the studio. Stahr contacts Robby, a skilled cutter with a background in telephone line repair, known for his mechanical expertise and “totally admirable” demeanor. Stahr and Robby find the entire back lot of the studio submerged. Just then, two girls come gliding down the lot perched on the head of a prop statue. Stahr, along with other men, promptly rescues them. Stahr is rendered speechless by the resemblance of one of the girls to his late wife, Minna Davis. The girl is later revealed to be Kathleen Moore.
Chapters 1-2 Analysis
F. Scott Fitzgerald employs Cecilia Brady as the first-person narrator to provide an intimate insight into the inner workings of the Hollywood world of celebrity and wealth. Cecilia, as the daughter of a producer, serves as a gateway to this glamorous yet elusive realm. As she grapples with the complexities of Hollywood, her statement, “You can take Hollywood for granted like I did, or you can dismiss it with the contempt we reserve for what we don’t understand” (14), reflects the dichotomy of her relationship with the industry. Additionally, the death by suicide of Mr. Schwartz, a Hollywood producer, exemplifies the darker aspects of Hollywood life and foreshadows the tragic events that unfold in the subsequent chapters. The novel’s pace starts slowly before accelerating with the death by suicide and a studio lot earthquake. These early tragedies establish the novel’s dark tone and signal that it will delve into deeper themes rather than offer a lighthearted tale about the glamorous side of Hollywood.
The first two chapters highlight The Deception Behind Hollywood Glamor, revealing that existential dread suffuses the Hollywood community. The characters’ struggle to find purpose and identity is encapsulated by the plane scene, where Cecilia and the stewardess find themselves in a state of “lingering—and not quite on purpose” (16). The turbulence that ensues also parallels the existential anguish felt by some of the characters working in Hollywood. The redirected plane represents the uncertainty and lack of control that permeate their lives. On the later flight, Cecilia asks Wylie where they are, and he replies, “Up in the air,” (32) both a literal answer and a figurative positioning of the characters as lacking certainty.
On the plane, Cecilia longs to look “more interesting than [she] did” (19). This reflection further deepens the sense of the inadequacy of real life compared with the glamor of Hollywood, a world focused on facades and make-believe, and reveals Cecilia’s dissatisfaction with herself. This dissatisfaction is echoed by the suicide note of Mr. Schwartz, which reads, “I must be no good and am not going to continue the journey” (31). He compares himself with Stahr, the paragon of Hollywood glamor and success. The struggle with identity is further exemplified by Mr. Brady who has “to be a steam-roller” at the studio all the time (26), illustrating the necessity for Individuals in the Hollywood business to adopt different personas and hide their true selves to survive in the industry.
In these chapters, Fitzgerald shows how people in the lower rungs of the business, like writers and actors, also struggle. Schwartz’s criticism of writers reflects their internal struggles, as writers are forced to reconcile multiple personas. Schwartz asserts that a writer “knows everything and at the same time he knows nothing” (24), summarizing the existential dilemma and intellectual burden borne by writers.
The novel explores Societal Decay and Corruption by depicting the profound impact of the Great Depression on Hollywood. The conversation between the stewardess and a Hollywood actress reflects the pervasive uncertainties of the Great Depression. The actress’s contemplation of escaping highlights a desire for retreat and simplicity in the face of economic uncertainties as she is forced to “live simply till it all blows over” (16). The actress’s belief that artists are immune to harm in times of upheaval, though proven to be incorrect by events in the novel, adds a layer of commentary on the perceived resilience of artistic endeavors in challenging times.
Stahr acts as the antithesis to this hopelessness and decay. In the first chapters he emerges as the quintessential hero; he is enigmatic, stoic, and in control. Through the narration of Cecilia, who is romantically infatuated with him, Fitzgerald gives the impression that Stahr is capable of charming anyone and achieving anything he wants. Though “[his] education was founded on nothing more than a night-school course in stenography” (33), Stahr finds success where “very few men were able to follow him” (34). In this way, he represents a type of self-made person with a pre-Great Depression attitude, still intent on achieving the American Dream. On the plane to Los Angeles, Stahr goes up to the cockpit (despite it being a place that is off-limits to passengers) to speak to the pilots. He tells them that he would like to learn to fly planes, revealing that his appetite for ambition and success is not merely limited to his field.
The occurrence of natural disasters in the novel catalyzes plot progression. The storm leads to an emergency landing in Nashville, initiating Cecilia’s acquaintance with Wylie and Schwartz and setting the stage for her eventual connection with Stahr. The earthquake that later shakes the studio and leads to the chance meeting between Stahr and Kathleen similarly drives the plot. These “acts of God” seem to be the only dangers Stahr is not able to exert control over, foreshadowing the plane crash that will eventually kill him at the end of the book.
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By F. Scott Fitzgerald
