Fitzgerald's Influence On The Great Gatsby

Improved Essays
During the roaring twenties, an author by the name of F. Scott Fitzgerald became widely popular through his writing and works. Fitzgerald 's most known and popular work is The Great Gatsby, which was published in 1925 during the height of the roaring twenties, which is clearly seen in The Great Gatsby. Another event during that time that was a major influence on the book was World War I. Fitzgerald was living in a hostile world because of the tensions of WWI, as well as soldiers that were injured and had come back from war with terrible injuries. After WWI, the United States celebrated the victory of the war, and many of the soldiers that came home did not know how to transition back into society, and alcoholism became rampant. Prohibition …show more content…
His first novel that catapulted his career was This Side of Paradise, originally The Romantic Egoist, which was published in 1920. In this novel there are very clear similarities between Fitzgerald’s personal life and the main characters and scenarios in the book. This Side of Paradise was very successful, and the profit from it led Fitzgerald to convince Zelda Sayre, his love interest, to marry him. Fitzgerald met Zelda while he was in Alabama in the military, and he soon fell in love with her even though the same could not be said about Zelda. When Fitzgerald became wealthy, Zelda finally accepted his marriage proposal, primarily because he was now wealthy. Fitzgerald published The Beautiful and the Damned in 1922, and it was not as successful as his first novel because many people viewed it as a darker style and not as comedic. The public’s reaction to this book discouraged him, but he continued to write. What is known as Fitzgerald’s masterpiece, The Great Gatsby, was published in 1925. In this novel it is clearly apparent of the similarities of Fitzgerald’s personal life and the plot in the novel, such as his turbulent relationship with his wife Zelda compared to Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby in the book. Fitzgerald also published Tender is the Night in 1934 and The Last Tycoon was published after his death in 1941, and …show more content…
During this time period, there were major changes in the lifestyles of Americans. Prohibition was a major factor of the roaring twenties since it prohibited the sale of alcohol; although, it did not prohibit people from consuming alcohol that had already been previously purchased before the prohibition. Fashion was also a major change during the roaring twenties since women began to start wearing less and less layers and clothing. The new style of shorter dresses were the new fashion, and flapper girls became common. The roaring twenties was a time of erratic, immoral behavior that can often be a result of World War 1, since many people of that time were trying to forget the war and that sometimes that led to them performing drastic actions. These drastic actions included lavish parties, excessive drinking, and the culture revolution of affairs and “casual” sex. During the roaring twenties, there was an excessive wealth and economic prosperity. This enabled people to spend more on leisure activities and

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Roaring Twenties was a dramatic time period that will go down in history for the vast trends that it brought about. It came at the conclusion of World War I, when patriotism was at an all-time high, along with the heights of new buildings and economic prosperity. Unfortunately, these were not the only trends that grew to new heights, as sin, also, grew to an unforeseen everyday norm, especially for the wealthy. Author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, fictionalizes these record-setting norms for sin, most notably for the wealthy, in his popular novel, The Great Gatsby. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born September 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota.…

    • 1190 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    He also discovers that working hard may not be all it takes to achieve the American Dream as quickly as he wanted. Despite the fact that she is a married woman, Gatsby sets out to win Daisy back, and he believes he can do so by becoming rich. The pursuit of wealth eventually fully corrupts Gatsby, as he sacrifices his morals more and more in his attempt to achieve his goal. Gatsby meets Meyer Wolfsheim, a shady businessman, who takes him in, believing he could be helpful: “I saw right away he was a fine-appearing young man, and when he told me he was an Oggsford I knew I could use him good.” (171). Wolfsheim offers Gatsby a job doing illegal work as a bootlegger under him, which Gatsby accepts, sacrificing his morals for wealth.…

    • 1194 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is also said to be the best American novel of the 20th century. In “The Great Gatsby” there is a man named Jay Gatsby, who is one of the main characters. Gatsby seeks fortune and a long lost love he use to have, the fortune he seeks is to win her back. This dream girl for Gatsby is Daisy Buchanan, wife to a rich man named Tom Buchanan. Daisy and Gatsby meet long before, though during the war, where they both feel madly in love together.…

    • 1323 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    However, he is unable to because Daisy comes from a wealthy family and is now used to both the money and status she gained by marrying Tom, whereas Gatsby came from hardly anything. When Gatsby left to war, Daisy was waiting for him, but eventually followed the traditions of the old money and married herself off to Tom who also came from a traditionally wealthy family. Often times “love” between two different levels of wealth classes never lasts. For instance, money is a means to an end in this surprisingly tragic story. Gatsby does not become wealthy to be rich, he does so to earn the…

    • 1828 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Glitz and glamour were used to describe the energetic age of the 1920s in American society. By creating a fantasy world where some of the most influential people have an excessive amount of money, The Great Gatsby leads many to think that the Jazz Age was anything but entertaining. In history, the time period was full of financial benefits and new roles for genders. It is remembered by economic prosperity, advances in technology and culture, and changing social roles. Men came home from the war, while women were getting more freedoms outside the home.…

    • 1418 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As F. Scott Fitzgerald said “the parities were bigger, the pace was faster, the buildings were higher, the morals looser.” (“People and Events”). F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby in 1924 which glorified the lives of those who were rich and lived extravagant lifestyles. It fit in perfectly during this time because it was what everyone was wanting to experience; they all wanted to live a life like he had written about. The glorious Jazz Age ended after the crash of the stock market in 1929 (“People and Events”). After the stock market crashed no one was able to afford the lifestyles they were recently…

    • 1740 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the beginning of the 1920s, or the “roaring twenties”, there were many dramatic and political changes. Rather than living on farms, more Americans lived in cities. Between 1920 and 1929, the nation witnessed an economical growth that pushed Americans into an affluent society. Nationwide, everyone bought the same things. On the other hand, while many people sang the same tunes, danced the same dances, and used the same slang, many other people did not like this new “mass culture” and were very uncomfortable.…

    • 1216 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jazmine Jones Gatsby Paper Adv. Eng 11 B6 26 January 2018 The American Dream Characters in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby achieve the American Dream by having the perfect family and love life with their spouse, having a lot of money and material goods, and being wealthy. Towards the end of the novel the main characters become obsessive over this perfect lifestyle. Gatsby’s infatuation for Daisy grows. Nick’s craving for this lavish lifestyle causes him to lose himself.…

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    She, however, was like Daisy from The Great Gatsby. She would not marry him until he achieved financial success. Although he was disappointed, he went to New York and began to write his first novel The Side of Paradise. After working long and hard on it, the novel got accepted and he instantly became famous and Zelda and Scott became married shortly after. Their marriage was not the best in the world.…

    • 929 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    “The Great Gatsby is a fictional novel about the American dream written during the era now dubbed “The Roaring Twenties”. One of the important factors is that is was written in the 1920 when it was alive and well. Through the articulate and flowery writing by Fitzgerald, the writer is allowed to feel and see the world through his eyes, again the story line is fictional but the life and time during that time frame are factual and true to the cultural times of the 1920’s coupled with all the immagry, materialism and the benefits of having wealth during such a time and he meticulously set out to make sure each of the subjexts in “The Great Gatsby” were well defined and placed as to the time and setting. One has to believe that Fitagerald wrote his own life and excitement into this novel as he truly lived firsthand the American…

    • 1388 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays