The Beautiful and the Damned Literary Elements

Fiction

New York, 1913 onwards, through the end of World War One

The point of view is that of protagonist Anthony Patch, who feels that the world owes him a living.

Extravagant and reckless

Anthony is the protagonist, and his grandfather the antagonist because he wants his grandson to make something of himself, which Anthony does not have it in his character to do.

There is conflict throughout the marriage of Anthony and Gloria, the chief argument being their financial struggles and how they are going to fund their extravagance.

The couple wins the lawsuit against the estate of Anthony's grandfather and find out that they will not have to live in penury again.

Losing the inheritance he believed was his foreshadows the suicide of Shuttleworth, the secretary to whom Anthony's grandfather left all his money.

Anthony feels he does not have enough money which is an understatement because he cannot even buy himself a drink in a bar without pretending to have forgotten his wallet.

Anthony's time in army training camp alludes to the bigger picture in the world at the time, specifically, World War One, for which he was being trained.

The imagery is extremely glitzy and extravagant, and also extremely superficial and fake, because the reader is able to picture a beautiful lifestyle but it is being lived by two people who cannot afford it.

When the couple finally receives good news about the inheritance, Anthony has sunk too far into his alcoholism to appreciate it.

There is a parallel in the characters of Gloria and Anthony who both react to a lack of money by spending more of it to take their minds away from their lack of funds.

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