Introduction


F. Scott Fitzgerald

Is great art born of great misery? If so, that might help explain the success of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, which is widely regarded as one of the most influential works of the twentieth century. Gatsby tells the story of Fitzgerald’s “Lost Generation” during the “Jazz Age.” Both terms describe those young people of the 1920s who, like Fitzgerald, felt purposeless in a world of excess. But Fitzgerald also wrestled with many personal demons, alcoholism in particular and the problematic relationship with his wife, Zelda Sayre. Zelda was from a markedly higher social ranking than himself, so Fitzgerald constantly struggled with feelings of inadequacy. And despite his many publications, Fitzgerald died believing himself a failure as a writer. History has judged otherwise, and today Fitzgerald is considered one of America’s most celebrated authors.

Essential Facts

  1. Don’t underestimate the influence of Zelda Sayre on Fitzgerald’s work. She was the basis of the characters Judy Jones in “Winter Dreams” and Daisy Fay in The Great Gatsby. Later, Zelda’s mental illness would also influence his novel Tender Is the Night.
  2. Hemingway once ridiculed Fitzgerald’s famous line, “The rich are different than you and I,” by quipping, “Yes, they have more money.”
  3. Despite his successes, Fitzgerald was continually in debt and often had to write for magazines to support his family.
  4. During the last three years of his life, Fitzgerald worked as a scriptwriter in Hollywood.
  5. A famous line from The Great Gatsby embodies Fitzgerald’s lifelong philosophy of trying to reclaim youth: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
 

Recommended Resources

  1. F. Scott Fitzgerald - American Decades: 1920s The Arts
  2. F. Scott Fitzgerald Author Guide
  3. The Great Gatsby Lesson Plans
  4. The Great Gatsby Study Guide (eNotes)
  5. This Side of Paradise eText

All Resources

Display as: Categories, List
  1. Babylon Revisited - Masterplots II: Short Story Series
  2. Babylon Revisited Criticism
  3. Babylon Revisited Study Guide
  4. Crazy Sunday - Masterplots II: Short Story Series
  5. Crazy Sunday Study Guide
  6. Critical Survey of Long Fiction
  7. Critical Survey of Short Fiction
  8. Cyclopedia of World Authors
  9. Dictionary of World Biography: The 20th Century
  10. Dictionary of World Biography: Twentieth Century
  11. F. Scott Fitzgerald - American Decades: 1920s The Arts
  12. F. Scott Fitzgerald - Magill Book Review
  13. F. Scott Fitzgerald - Short Story Criticism
  14. F. Scott Fitzgerald Author Guide
  15. F. Scott Fitzgerald Criticism
  16. F. Scott Fitzgerald in Hollywood (1976)
  17. F. Scott Fitzgerald's Short Fiction quickNotes
  18. Last Call: The Final Chapter of F. Scott Fitzgerald (2002)
  19. Roaring Twenties Biographies
  20. Roaring Twenties Primary Sources
  21. Tender Is the Night (1955)
  22. Tender Is the Night - Book Review
  23. Tender Is the Night - Literary Characters
  24. Tender Is the Night - Literary Places
  25. Tender is the Night Study Guide
  26. The Beautiful and Damned - Literary Characters
  27. The Beautiful and Damned - Masterplots II: American Fiction Series
  28. The Beautiful and Damned quickNotes
  29. The Diamond as Big as the Ritz Study Guide (eNotes)
  30. The Great Gatsby (1949)
  31. The Great Gatsby (1974)
  32. The Great Gatsby (2001)
  33. The Great Gatsby - Book Review
  34. The Great Gatsby - Book Review
  35. The Great Gatsby - Identities and Issues
  36. The Great Gatsby - Literary Characters
  37. The Great Gatsby - Literary Places
  38. The Great Gatsby Criticism
  39. The Great Gatsby Criticism
  40. The Great Gatsby Lesson Plans
  41. The Great Gatsby Study Guide (eNotes)
  42. The Last Tycoon (1976)
  43. The Last Tycoon - Literary Characters
  44. The Last Tycoon - Literary Places
  45. The Last Tycoon quickNotes
  46. The Letters of F. Scott Fitzgerald
  47. The Oxford Companion to English Literature Article on F. Scott Fitzgerald
  48. This Side of Paradise - Literary Characters
  49. This Side of Paradise - Masterplots II: American Fiction
  50. This Side of Paradise eText
  51. This Side of Paradise Study Guide
  52. Winter Dreams Study Guide