The Truth about Babe Ruth

In the spring of 1923, the New York Yankees moved into their new digs, the House That Ruth Built, and proceeded to run away with the American League pennant. That summer, F. Scott Fitzgerald began writing the Great American Novel. For a while he wanted to title his book “Trimalchio,” after the character in the Satyricon, to convey in a word the poignancy of Jay Gatsby, that “elegant young roughneck” who joined new money to bad taste because he grew up poor and, in his boyish romantic enthusiasm, didn't know any better. His rival, Tom Buchanan, joined older money to bad taste laced with vinegar because, in his laziness and arrogance, he didn't care. Buchanan is repugnant. For Gatsby, we feel embarrassment. The Germans have a word for it: Fremdscham.