F Scott Fitzgerald Literature

Few American authors have had the profound influence and deep perspective in writing as F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald captured the spirit of the American Dream in his writing and truly revitalized American literature. Despite F. Scott Fitzgerald’s disappointing upbringing, wild adult life, and tumultuous downfall, he is considered one of the most influential and profound authors of all time and is still celebrated globally to this day. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1896. Fitzgerald lived a relatively comfortable childhood, staying in rented mansions on the outskirts of the wealthy, well-to-do parts of town (“Authors and Artists for Young Adults” 1). However, this resulted in him feeling as though he was …show more content…
The rewards of the year before. The happiest year since I was eighteen.” (“American Decades” 5). At this point in Fitzgerald’s life, he was content and felt he was well on track to achieving his goal of success. He was married to his dream woman, he lived extravagantly, and he was a published novelist. The Fitzgeralds frequently traveled around Europe, spending time in Italy, England, and most importantly, France. France was highly significant to the Fitzgeralds because France was where Fitzgerald sat on the riverbanks and penned The Great Gatsby, his true modern day claim-to-fame briefly. In France, he also had a close friendship with Ernest Hemingway. While overseas, his wife Zelda also had an affair with a French naval officer, betraying Fitzgerald’s trust and driving a wedge between the already dysfunctional couple. The infidelity Zelda committed directly influenced The Great Gatsby. In the novel, affairs are one of the primary symbols and focuses. It is widely speculated that by creating a character out of his wife’s disloyalty, Fitzgerald was attempting to cope with his internal heartbreak (Tate 9). His other tumultuous times with Zelda would be incredibly prominent in his novels, showing how he truly did write about reality of the time. After finishing The Great Gatsby and inevitably finding themselves bored with Europe the Fitzgeralds moved back to the United States and F. Scott …show more content…
Scott Fitzgerald published four full-length novels. His first novel, This Side of Paradise, was published in 1920. The novel is largely autobiographical, taking place at Princeton, and includes “rebellious” characters, an aspect of literature that highly appealed to the readers of the Jazz Age. In its first year, This Side of Paradise sold more than forty-thousand copies. The Beautiful and Damned, Fitzgerald’s next novel, was a transitional novel at the time consisting of creative experimentation as far as plot, content, tone, and characters went (“Authors and Artists for Young Adults” 6). It is seen by far as the most depressing, cynical novel of Fitzgerald’s, including topics of alcoholism, affairs, death, and mental illness (Tate 6). The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald’s modern day claim to fame, was published in 1924. Upon its release, The Great Gatsby was nothing more than an average novel. In its first year, it only sold twenty-four-thousand copies and wouldn’t truly be appreciated until many years later. Fitzgerald faced another flop with his novel fourth novel, Tender is the Night, which was intended to save him and Zelda from giving up their wild lifestyle. His fifth novel, The Last Tycoon, was left unfinished at the time of his death in 1940. Along with his novels, Fitzgerald also published several volumes of short stories and personal essays (“American Decades” 4).

F. Scott Fitzgerald died on December 21st, 1940 from a heart attack. At the time, he