# Basil Duke Lee — Short Fiction character guide > Basil Duke Lee in Short Fiction by F. Scott Fitzgerald. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Basil D. Lee, Basil, Basil Lee, young Basil, young Lee **First appearance:** 0206-i ## Snapshot A poor boy at a rich boys' school, Basil burns with ambition and shame, desperate to belong among classmates who call him Bossy and never let him forget what he can't afford. ## Who they are Basil moves through prep-school corridors where money is the unspoken currency and his mother's sacrifice is announced to him by a headmaster shuffling papers. He wants New York, a matinee, a seat in the party — and discovers that the arrangements were always complete without him. His ache to be included, and his sensitivity to every slight, make him the raw nerve of Fitzgerald's most autobiographical stories. ## Relationships ### [Imogene Bissel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters/imogene_bissel) _romantic_ Basil is infatuated with the popular Imogene, experiencing the pangs of adolescent romantic pursuit and rejection. ### [Riply Buckner](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters/riply_buckner) _friendship_ Basil and Riply are close friends and companions, navigating the trials of youth and social life together. ### [Hubert Blair](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters/hubert_blair) _rivalry_ Basil views Hubert as a rival for social status and romantic attention, leading to competitive tension between them. ### [Riply Buckner](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters/riply_buckner) _friendship_ Basil and Riply are close friends and companions, navigating the trials of youth and social life together. ### [Imogene Bissel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters/imogene_bissel) _romantic_ Basil is infatuated with the popular Imogene, experiencing the pangs of adolescent romantic pursuit and rejection. ### [Riply Buckner](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters/riply_buckner) _friendship_ Basil and Riply are close friends and companions, navigating the trials of youth and social life together. ### [Hubert Blair](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters/hubert_blair) _rivalry_ Basil views Hubert as a rival for social status and romantic attention, leading to competitive tension between them. ### [Imogene Bissel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters/imogene_bissel) _romantic_ Basil is infatuated with the popular Imogene, experiencing the pangs of adolescent romantic pursuit and rejection. ### [Hubert Blair](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters/hubert_blair) _rivalry_ Basil views Hubert as a rival for social status and romantic attention, leading to competitive tension between them. ## In the story ### [The Scandal Detectives](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/the-scandal-detectives) Leader of the Scandal Detectives, orchestrates investigations and moral judgments. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/i) A fourteen-year-old boy, imaginative and lazy at school, who co-creates the Scandal Book and experiences a romantic awakening toward Imogene Bissel. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/ii) The protagonist, excited about summer and his crush on Imogene, but becomes jealous and dejected when Hubert Blair steals the spotlight. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/iii) Experiences a storm-induced emotional high, then plots against Hubert Blair. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/iv) Leader of the Scandal Detectives; hesitates to attack Hubert after realizing he likes him; later imitates a girl's voice on the phone to lure Hubert. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/v) Basil orchestrates the false party invitations and struggles to contain his laughter at Hubert's story, but is ultimately disheartened by Hubert kissing Imogene. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/vi) Reflects on Hubert's departure, tries to imitate his mannerisms, then abandons them; undergoes a moral shift and loses his romantic feelings for Imogene. ### [A Night at the Fair](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/a-night-at-the-fair) A fifteen-year-old boy still in short trousers, feeling the social gap between himself and his friend Riply, who now wears long pants. He is eager to appear mature but is conflicted between the allure of wild behavior and the comfort of respectable society. ### [The Freshest Boy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/the-freshest-boy) The protagonist, a boarding school student grappling with his social standing and personal identity. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/i) The protagonist, a fifteen-year-old boy traveling to his first year at an Eastern boarding school. He is enthusiastic and imaginative, daydreaming about football heroics. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/ii) Writes a letter home, is called to the headmaster's office, and struggles with his unpopularity at St. Regis School. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/iii) Receives and reacts emotionally to the Harrison Fisher prints, sobbing and fantasizing about revenge; his roommate moves out. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/iv) Basil travels to New York, endures Mr. Rooney's criticism, enjoys a show, and decides to pursue his ambitions rather than go to Europe. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/v) Endures a hard winter term, makes new starts and fails, is snubbed and slighted, but finds hope in a nickname from Brick Wales. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/i) Traveling home after a hard year at school, feeling introspective and at peace. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/ii) The protagonist, newly returned from school, basks in unexpected popularity but oversteps by lecturing Joe Gorman. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/iii) Struggles with social rejection and his own self-perception after being excluded from a party and criticized for his arrogance. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/iv) Falls deeply in love with Minnie Bibble, experiences first romantic initiation, and later uses his grandfather's electric car. ### [The Captured Shadow](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/the-captured-shadow) Central character, likely grappling with the tension between youthful ambition and the inevitable disillusionment of growing up. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/i) The protagonist, a fifteen-year-old boy who writes and plans to produce a play called 'The Captured Shadow.' ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/ii) The playwright and director, struggling to manage the cast and keep the production together. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/iii) The protagonist, acting in the school play as 'Chinaman Rudd,' handling a scene mix-up and feeling a deep emptiness after the performance. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters/basil_duke_lee - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters