Bernice Bobs Her Hair

by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A minor recurring character, 16-year-old Otis Ormonde is something of a laughingstock among his peers, being easily the youngest of the crowd attending the dances. His eagerness and immaturity in dating speaks to how the modern teenager is shaped by his social environment, and the older teenagers’ opinions of him show how harsh this social environment can be. Both of these points illustrate the obstacles that Bernice faces in learning how to socialize with her peers.

Otis Ormonde Quotes in Bernice Bobs Her Hair

The Bernice Bobs Her Hair quotes below are all either spoken by Otis Ormonde or refer to Otis Ormonde. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Social Competition Theme Icon
).

Part 1 Quotes

No matter how brilliant or beautiful a girl may be, the reputation of not being frequently cut in on makes her position at a dance unfortunate. Perhaps boys prefer her company to that of the butterflies with whom they dance a dozen times an evening, but youth in this jazz-nourished generation is temperamentally restless, and the idea of foxtrotting more than one full fox trot with the same girl is distasteful, not to say odious.

Related Characters: Bernice, Otis Ormonde
Page Number and Citation: 28
Explanation and Analysis:
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Otis Ormonde Character Timeline in Bernice Bobs Her Hair

The timeline below shows where the character Otis Ormonde appears in Bernice Bobs Her Hair. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1
Social Competition Theme Icon
Youth and Generational Difference Theme Icon
...and makes this very request of him, saying that Bernice has been “stuck with little Otis Ormonde for almost an hour.” Disappointed, Warren nonetheless agrees, feeling that Marjorie’s approval is worth... (full context)
Social Competition Theme Icon
Warren finds Otis waiting for Bernice, making jokes to the crowd at her expense while she fixes her... (full context)