The stock market crash in October of 1929 had a historical impact on American society, transforming the roaring twenties into the Great Depression. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism and an untraditional narrative structure to create and enforce his theme, which reveals to the reader an emptiness that resulted from the behavior of wealthy Americans, in Paris, leading up to the stock market crash in 1929 and the economic depression that followed. .
The title, "Babylon Revisited" is an essential tool in building the theme of Fitzgerald's short story because it gives the reader additional insight into the life that once thrived in Paris. By naming the short story, "Babylon Revisited", the author subtly compares the city of Paris, the actual city in which the main character, Charlie, is visiting, to the great city of Babylon. The Bible describes Babylon as the city of sins and the great city of power, but the city suddenly came crashing down in the matter of one hour. By using, "Babylon", Fitzgerald immediately characterizes Paris as a city of wealth, power, and sin, and by revisiting Babylon, Fitzgerald provides the reader with a more in-depth insight into the meaning of Charlie's visit. The title "Babylon Revisited" implies that there will be a journey to witness the aftermath of the falling of a great empire. Fitzgerald's intriguing title choice sets the reader up to realize that this story has further implications than its simple plot of a man visiting Paris to regain custody of his daughter might reveal, thus capturing the reader in a hunt for meaning in the story. .
The theme of this story is to exploit the behavior of wealthy Americans leading up to the stock market crash of 1929 by illustrating the effects of their shallow lives. Ultimately the reader takes away from this short story the emptiness felt by Charlie as a result of his materialistic life style in Paris. "He (Charlie) remembered thousand-franc notes given to an orchestra for playing a single number, hundred-franc notes tossed to a doorman for calling a cab.
