«This Side of Paradise» as a Bildungsroman

F. Scott Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise is one of the first American examples of that well established European genre, the Bildungsroman. However, because it has not adequately been viewed as such, the novel's form remains problematic for many critics. This study develops a theory of form for the Bildungsroman and applies it to Fitzgerald's novel by comparing it to other novels in the genre. This new reading of This Side of Paradise clarifies its form while shedding new light on aspects of form in the Bildungsroman genre.