Twainish

There is a scene very early in "The Magnificent Ambersons" reminiscent of one in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."

In "Ambersons," young Georgie Minifer encounters a new boy and challenges him to a fight. Sawyer has a similar encounter, but in Twain's book, it is the new boy who is the dandy, wearing shoes and everything. Minifer is the fancypants in his fight.

Just like in "Tom Sawyer," the encounter progresses through threats, insults and dares to combat. Sawyer's fight, though, is intended to show boys being boys. Tarkington uses Georgie's fight to show us what a nasty little boy he really is. Not only does Minifer beat the new boy mercilessly, he turns his rage on the boy's uncle, too. He tells the man, the town's Methodist minister, to go to hell, an act that only solidifies Georgie's reputation as a really bad boy.

Two passages so far that I love: Lucy Morgan is touched when George apologizes for driving them into the wind so long. "Arrogance turned gentle melts the heart," Tarkington writes.

And earlier, when two old friends meet at a party, they remark on how many things have changed.
"Old times," Lucy's father says, "Not a bit! There aren't any old times. When times are gone they're not old, they're dead. There aren't any times but new times!"

That doesn't bode well for folks like the Ambersons, who don't seem to have much a future.