F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Published in: F. Scott Fitzgerald, 2/1/2023,History Reference Source

Background

F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the great standouts of American literature—equal parts celebrity,
dreamer and writer. His name is synonymous with the wildness and decadence of the
"Roaring 20s," and he is reportedly responsible for labeling this period "the Jazz Age."
However, he was more interested in being accepted as a serious writer than a celebrity, and
struggled throughout his life with self-doubt, alcoholism, and mental illness.

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born into a wealthy family in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1896. His
mother was well known in St. Paul, as she had inherited her father's business and fortune
when he passed away in 1877. Fitzgerald's father, Edward, came from a Maryland family that
could trace its lineage to Francis Scott Key, author of "The Star Spangled Banner."

Fitzgerald attended school at St. Paul Academy, where he published his first story in the
school newspaper in 1909. He attended boarding school in New Jersey, and enrolled in
Princeton University in 1913. He attended Princeton on and off until 1917, when he left for
good to join the military.

In 1918, Fitzgerald was transferred to Camp Sheridan, near Montgomery, Alabama, where he
met Zelda Sayre, whom he married in 1920. Her lifelong struggles with schizophrenia and
mental illness would strain their relationship to the breaking point, though they never
officially divorced. They were, however, celebrities in their time, and every detail of their
marriage was reported in gossip columns and newspapers. Their relationship was
fictionalized in Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night (1934).

The same year Fitzgerald and Zelda were married, his first novel, This Side of Paradise , was
published. This was the beginning of a consistent publishing career, though due to poor
money management, excessive drinking, and lavish spending, the Fitzgeralds were often in
financial trouble. They moved between New York, St. Paul, France, North Carolina, Los
Angeles, and Delaware. Their daughter, Frances Scott Fitzgerald ("Scottie"), was born in St.
Paul in 1921.

In 1925, Fitzgerald's most acclaimed novel, The Great Gatsby , was published; it was
immediately considered a masterpiece, though it failed to become a major financial success.
That year, the Fitzgeralds went to France, where they met several promising young writers
living in Paris, including James Joyce and Ernest Hemingway. Fitzgerald, however, was already
worried that he would never be able to top Gatsby .

Though he continued to write, Fitzgerald's fear was somewhat justified, as he never met or
surpassed the critical and popular success of Gatsby during his lifetime. The combination of
Zelda's recurring mental breakdowns, Fitzgerald's alcoholism, and his self-doubt were
obstacles that he was never fully able to overcome. In 1937, Zelda was admitted into a mental
hospital in North Carolina, and Fitzgerald headed to Hollywood in an attempt to make money
by writing screenplays. He died of a heart attack in Hollywood in 1940 while working on his
final novel, The Last Tycoon . Zelda would die eight years later in a fire.

The Jazz Age

Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald were the poster children for the Jazz Age, and though the term is
thought to have come from Fitzgerald himself, he considered the label a burden. The 1920s
were a dynamic time in American history, and Fitzgerald's work embodied the cultural and
social changes sweeping the nation.

A rash of new inventions and world-altering events characterized the beginning of the
twentieth century. World War I (1914–8) signaled the beginning of the end of the structured
manners, strict gender roles, and spiritual certainty that had dominated Western societies in
the nineteenth century. Automobiles were becoming more common, more affordable and
more accessible. Radios were found in most American homes, where families gathered
around to listen to classical music and other programs. Airplane travel was no longer limited
to the wealthy or the military.

For the first time in history, there were more people living in cities than on farms or in rural
areas. This was possible because of advances in farm equipment and machinery that made
food more available to everyone, even those who were not farming their own. Because
people were not required to work all day for their own sustenance, they had more time for
art, music, and other leisure activities. The Jazz Age generation was among the first to enjoy
this free time.

During the 1920s, traditional Victorian values were replaced by the less-certain modernist
movement. Victorian beliefs were absolute: there was a god, things were either good or evil,
and manner and decorum were essential. However, after World War I, many people felt that
the certainty of the Victorian era was not applicable in a new, chaotic world. It was replaced
with modern thought, which espoused relativism, and a questioning of religion and
spiritualism.

Like artists and authors of the period, modern musicians left their metronomes and their
music sheets behind in favor of arrhythmic beats, wild sounds and improvisation. Jazz didn't
conform to any rules that had previously governed music, and instead sought new directions
and new ways to express the changing face of the world. Shunned by traditionalists, jazz was
immediately embraced by the younger generation. It became a cultural phenomenon.

Jazz often went hand in hand with liquor, which was illegal in the US under Prohibition until
1933. The United States government outlawed the production and sale of liquor in 1920 with
the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, but it was far from impossible to find. Underground
clubs, called "speakeasies," continued to sell liquor, aided by bootleggers. Speakeasies often
featured jazz music as entertainment.

The "flapper" style of the Jazz Age was another rejection of the Victorian expectations of a
woman's feminine appearance. Flapper dresses hung loosely from a woman's body,
minimizing any suggestion of shape. Woman also cut their hair into ear-length bobs, losing
the long and complicated hairstyles of previous generations.

In some areas, particularly large cities, the youth of the 1920s founds themselves in
uncharted territory. The postwar world they inherited was unlike anything anyone had ever
known before, and they attempted to express themselves through their freedom to dress,
dance, drink, think and listen to whatever music they wanted. This was the world in which
Fitzgerald wrote.

The Great Gatsby

Fitzgerald wrote several novels, dozens of short stories and a handful of screenplays
throughout his writing career, many of which were well-received. None, however, compared
with the success and impact of "The Great Gatsby." It is often considered the best novel of
Fitzgerald's generation, a generation that was full of exceptionally talented writers, including
Ernest Hemingway.

The Great Gatsby is the story of mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby's longing for Daisy
Buchanan. It is narrated by Nick Carraway, an outsider from the Midwest who is new to the
wealthy West Egg neighborhood of Long Island, New York. He moves in next door to Gatsby
and becomes reluctantly involved in Gatsby's quest to win Daisy back. The novel's climax
comes as Nick, Daisy, Daisy's husband Tom, and Gatsby are returning from an afternoon in
New York City and there is an accident that kills Myrtle Wilson, Tom's mistress. The accident
sets in motion Gatsby's ultimate demise.

Gatsby is a man who lives in the past, and whose great desire throughout the novel is to
reclaim Daisy, the love of his life. He buys a mansion in West Egg only because he can see the
light at the end of Daisy's dock from across the bay. The green light is a beacon, and a symbol
of everything Gatsby has longed for his entire life. When Nick tells him to give up because he
can't turn back time, Gatsby tells him he is wrong.

In order to win Daisy back after losing her to the uncultured Tom Buchanan, Gatsby attempts
to transform his life. His entire identity is an invention. He changes his name from Gatz to
Gatsby and amasses a fortune through unknown means, becoming the very definition of a
self-made man. As such, his history is the source of gossip and rumors at the grand parties
he throws at this mansion, all in the hope that Daisy will one day attend.

It is because Gatsby was able to transform himself into an entirely new person that he is
considered a quintessential American character. Set in the early 1920s, he is a member of the
young, postwar generation. He is the embodiment of the American dream, but he is also the
corruption of it, as his determination to win Daisy back leads to single-mindedness. As it
turns out, no amount of reinvention will be enough to make the dream a reality.

Gatsby's American dream leads to his death. His insistence on owning Daisy's undivided love
leads to their collision with Myrtle Wilson and her death. No one knows it was Daisy who was
driving Gatsby's car at the time. When Myrtle's husband seeks revenge, it is Gatsby who pays
with his life, making a final sacrifice for Daisy, who by then has left the state with Tom. She
does not show up to Gatsby's funeral.

The Great Gatsby exemplifies a time of great possibility and freedom. But as Gatsby discovers,
romantic visions of the past seldom contain any real truth. Although the novel ends with a
passage about the nostalgic nature of humanity, Gatsby's obsession with the past serves as a
cautionary tale. Due to its reputation, the novel has stood the test of time and remained a
critically acclaimed bestseller long after its publication. Numerous film adaptations, including
a 2013 film entitled The Great Gatsby , which was directed by Australian filmmaker Baz
Luhrmann and starred American actor Leonardo DiCaprio as the titular character, have been
produced.

Bibliography
1 Corrigan, Maureen. "How 'Gatsby' Went From A Moldering Flop To A Great American Novel." NPR,
22 May 2015, www.npr.org/2015/05/22/406748019/how-gatsby-went-from-a-moldering-flop-to-a-
great-american-novel . Accessed 16 Dec. 2022.

2 West, James L. W. III. "Why The Great Gatsby is F. Scott Fitzgerald's Finest Hour—And Why an
Authoritative Text Matters." Interview by John Kulka. Library of America, 29 Mar. 2022,
www.loa.org/news-and-views/1936-why-emthe-great-gatsbyem-is-f-scott-fitzgeralds-finest-hour-
and-why-an-authoritative-text-matters . Accessed 16 Dec. 2022.

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By Lovelady, Cambria

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