The Life and Times of Scott Fitzgerald
How did Fitzgerald’s life and the time period influence his writing? The mastermind behind one of America 's best and most revolutionary pieces of literature had a humble beginning. He was born on September 24, 1896 to Mary and Edward Fitzgerald of St. Paul Minnesota. As a child, the family moved back and forth between Buffalo and Syracuse New York, they were dependent on his fathers’ minimum wage jobs. Scott’s first piece of writing, a detective story, was printed in the school newspaper at age thirteen. After he graduated from high school, he choose to attend Princeton University for his higher education. However, during World War Two, to serve his country and prove his patriotism, he dropped out and joined the United States Army.
Fitzgerald became fearful that he would perish during the war and hastily composed a short story. The Romantic Egotist however, was not a success, but the publisher encouraged him to continue to rework the book further. During training for the army, Fitzgerald met Zelda Sayre. He fell in love with her, however she was descended from an upper class family and would not accept a mere poor man’s love. World War Two was ended before he was deployed and Fitzgerald moved to New York to launch an impressive advertising career in order to entice Zelda to marry him. He soon abandoned his job and moved back to St. Paul to rework his failed novel. Eventually he came out with This Side of Paradise. The book turned
F. Scott Fitzgerald is in many ways one of the most notable writers of the twentieth century. His prodigious literary voice and style provides remarkable insight into the lifestyles of the rich and famous, as well as himself. Exploring themes such as disillusionment, coming of age, and the corruption of the American Dream, Fitzgerald based most of his subject matter on his own despicable, tragic life experiences. Although he was thought to be the trumpeter of the Jazz Age, he never directly identified himself with it and was adverse to many of its manifestations.
The couple later got married on April 3, 1920 in St. Patrick Cathedral, located in New York. A little over a year later He and his wife had a child named Frances (Doreski). Fitzgerald lived more by his feelings than his morals (Doreski). He and his wife, Zelda, would throw extravagant parties which put the couple in financial hardship early on. Sometimes these parties would even last 4 days in a row (Shain). Because of all the partying and choice of lifestyle, Zelda developed a mental disorder and had her first mental breakdown in 1930. Fitzgerald wrote short stories to pay for his wife’s treatments. However, he is best known for his works This Side of Paradise, from which he gained his wealth, and The Great Gatsby, arguably Fitzgerald’s most popular work (Coale 190). This Side of Paradise was his first autobiographical novel. The book is based on Fitzgerald’s childhood and portrays him as a young boy who is ready for his exciting life to begin (Shain). After it was published, Fitzgerald became rich quickly. Following Zelda’s hospitalization, he wrote the book Tender is the Night. The book was centered on a wealthy psychiatrist and his unstable wife (Bruccoli). By this
At the age of 21, Fitzgerald submitted his first novel for publication. Charles Scribner’s Sons rejected the novel, but provided Fitzgerald with words of encouragement. Fitzgerald opted to rewrite the novel, then titled The Romantic Egoist, and resubmit it for publication. Schribners rejected the novel a second time, prompting Fitzgerald to turn to advertising as his source of income. Fitzgerald eventually rewrote the novel for a third time, now titled This Side of Paradise, and it was published in 1920. Fitzgerald married Zelda Sayre, an 18-year-old Southern belle from Alabama with whom he had one prior failed engagement, a week after the novel was published (Adams 11-12).
12. In this chapter, Gatsby’s car is described as the “death car.” If his car symbolizes materialism, how does this add meaning to that symbolism? Identify other “deaths” found in Chapter 7.
F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott Fitzgerald is in many ways one of the most important American writers of the twentieth century. In his first novel, This Side of Paradise, Fitzgerald epitomized the mindset of an era with the statement that his generation had, grown up to find all Gods dead, all wars fought, and all faiths in man shaken(Fitzgerald 307). Aside from being a major literary voice of the twenties and thirties, Fitzgerald was also among The Lost Generations harshest and most insightful social critics. In his classic novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald blatantly criticized the immorality, materialism, and hedonism which characterized the lifestyles of Americas bourgeois during the nineteen-twenties. Collectively, Fitzgeralds novels and short stories provide some of the best insight into the lifestyles of the rich during Americas most prosperous era, while simultaneously examining major literary themes such as disillusionment, coming of age, and the corruption of the American Dream. The life of F. Scott Fitzgerald is marked by as much, if not more, romanticism and tragedy than his novels. Throughout Fitzgeralds life, he unsuccessfully battled alcoholism, depression, and himself, in a quest for both personal and literary identity. At the age of twenty-three, Fitzgerald published his first novel, This Side of Paradise, to critical raves and unimaginable economic success. Shortly after the publishing of this novel, Fitzgerald was able to coerce Zelda Sayre into marriage. This
As Florence King once said, “People are so busy dreaming the American Dream, fantasizing about what they could be or have a right to be, that they're all asleep at the switch. This quote symbolizes the simple fact that the American Dream is impossible for someone to ever attain because people are to busy dreaming about what others have, that they fail to recognize what they themselves already have attained. The American author F. Scott Fitzgerald has had an unprecedented impact on America. His novels contain recurring themes that establish the facets of modern American society with which he avidly disagrees. His characters Jay Gatsby and Armory Blaine both portray men in American society who have through
During the roaring twenties, the United States was a blemished nation. Crime and corruption were at an all-time high, the bootlegging business was booming, and throughout all this, people were euphoric. This time period during the nineteenth and twentieth century was captured by numerous artists, writers, musicians, and entertainers in their attempts to break from traditional values in what is known as modernism. A modernist is in simple terms a rebel. One who dislikes normal conventions and hopes to rewrite and renew societal morals. These artists were rebels with a cause and fought to expose themselves to society. Fitzgerald is an iconic figure in modernism because he skews the perception of reality, rejects the stereotypical traditions, and exposes people’s struggles as the American Dream fades away and proves a nightmare.
1. We see all the action of The Great Gatsby from the perspective of one character whose
F. Scott Fitzgerald, ‘’who was not only part of the irresponsible and extravagant life of The Roaring Twenties, but he also helped named this era, The Jazz Age with his novels.’’(Mescal Evler 587) The Roaring Twenties gave people the opportunity to become wealthy. Many people at the time of this era were making a lot of money and partying. Fitzgerald most well-known novel, The Great Gatsby, was based on The Roaring Twenties. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald makes us wonder and speculate whether the pursuit of wealth is a noble aspect of life or does it lead to corruption and shower greed upon an individual.
Charles Scribner III in his introduction to the work remarks that “the title evokes the transient, bittersweet, and ultimately tragic nature of Fitzgerald’s ‘Romance’ (as he had originally subtitled the book)” (Fitzgerald ix). Tender Is the Night parallels Fitzgerald’s own struggles with his mentally ill Zelda, and the characters are carefully constructed from his interactions with the social elite of artists,
F Scott Fitzgerald has been one of the most recognizable authors out there today. Many people admire his work, but he’s hard to catch and follow due to his busy schedule and personal lifestyle being an alcoholic. On the 19th of November 1925 I was given a chance to meet up with F. Scott Fitzgerald, to discuss about the eminent novel written by him “The Great Gatsby” at his house in Los Angeles. The books about a poor turned wealthy man, Gatsby and his attempt on getting his past lover back. What you’re about to read is one of the first few interviews ever with Mr. Fitzgerald in person. Below is the transcript of that interview.
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in a family of a failed business man which caused many moves between Buffalo and Syracuse. (Brucker) After the loss of his father’s job, they were left to move back to St. Paul, Minnesota and live from his mother’s inheritance. (bio.com) F Scott Fitzgerald grew as a very intellectual young boy who published a detective story in his school’s newspaper as a teenager. (bio.com) He was encouraged by his parents, along with educators to continue pursuing a writing career. His dedication of writing soon harmed him when he was put on academic probation as his school work was put aside. He then decided to enroll in the military despite his fears of dying without living his dreams. Upon being commissioned Fitzgerald met a crazed young woman named Zelda, who represents the basis of the desires of the world. Her greed of wealth, fun, and extravagance soon took a toll upon F. Scott. He became lazy with his writing and instead of devoting himself to novels, he quickly put
In the 1920’s prohibition and the Jazz age played a huge influence on the later writings written by Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald or known as F. Scott Fitzgerald. An American Novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald was most famous his personal life and The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota. His mother, Mary McQuillan, was from an Irish-Catholic family who made a small fortune as grocers. His father, Edward Fitzgerald, opened a wicker furniture business, but it started to fail, which allowed him to become a salesman for Proctor and Gamble which resulted in an unwanted move to Buffalo and Syracuse. He began a career in writing novels. His first novel published was “This Side of Paradise” where he got glowing reviews. He wrote The Great Gatsby, but it did not become famous until a few years later. It was not hard for Fitzgerald to write The Great Gatsby due to his personal experiences, including his love life with Zelda, places he lived, and
Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (more commonly known as F. Scott Fitzgerald) became widely known as one of the greatest American authors. Fitzgerald wrote both novels and short stories, mainly set in the Jazz age. Many influences to his writing came from his own personal life and the world he saw around him. His wife, Zelda, was one of the major influences seen within many of his works. Fitzgerald encompasses many of these things in his books The Great Gatsby and Tender is the night. Letting his own life experiences and insight guide his writing, Fitzgerald explores the effect of social hierarchy on society amidst the Roaring Twenties through his use of evocative, colorful imagery and eloquent use of underlying tone.
him. So on the third of April of 1920 in St. Patrick's Cathedral New York City