In Fitzgerald's “Bernice Bobs Her Hair,” Bernice and Marjorie describe the social status of tradition and modernity. Bernice, a traditional rich girl and main character of the story, does not have a high social status; However, due to certain events in the story, Bernice's personality changes from a shy and obedient girl to a strong and independent woman. Ultimately, Bernice's action of asking Marjorie to teach her how to become popular in the modern world is what began her journey toward realizing her need to be her own person, because the action itself is the reason why important events, crucial to Bernice's development, occur in the story. At the beginning of the story, Bernice is completely content being herself. She doesn't wonder why other girls who aren't as pretty or as rich as her are able to be more popular than her. Although she is happy with herself, she is saddened that she is not very popular among the boys she dances with at the party. Marjorie, for her part, is very popular with the boys. In the key scene with Marjorie, Bernice shows that she wants to form a relationship with her. With this desire to know Marjorie, the audience learns that Bernice is envious of Marjorie and the popularity she possesses. For example, Fitzgerald writes that Marjorie "never laughed, was never frightened, rarely embarrassed, and in fact possessed very few of the qualities that Bernice considered a proper and blessed woman" (Fitzgerald, p. 4). Although she does not understand how Marjorie could have possessed these qualities, she understands that these are the qualities that make her popular; and she is envious of not having these qualities. At the end of the second part of the story, Be...... middle of paper ......e to teach her how to become more popular, Bernice is able to acquire these masculine traits, but she is able to surpass Marjorie because she retains some of her feminine qualities that Marjorie does not have. Marjorie, becoming jealous of Bernice, then tricks her into cutting her hair. By cutting her hair, Bernice is now more masculine than Marjorie. Because bobbed hair was not yet popular, Bernice lost popularity; but may become more popular than Marjorie once the Flapper movement happens. Once Bernice learns that Marjorie cheated on her, she decides to cut her hair. This action shows that Bernice is a very different person than she was at the beginning of the story: she is now an independent woman who has confidence in herself. Therefore, Bernice actually has the last laugh because Marjorie ironically helped her realize her own individuality..