How would you feel if the harder you worked to accomplish your most far-fetched goals and to advance in society, the harder you would fall and the worse you would suffer at the end of your life? Many people of that era would have been confused or even surprised by the question when, in reality, that pattern was repeated over and over again during the 1920s. After the first World War concluded in 1919, new inventions and reformations were being made, which gave society newfound optimism. However, due to bad investments made by stockholders, the stock market crashed in 1929, sending America spiraling into a crippling depression for the next decade (“A Changing Society” 96). F. Scott Fitzgerald was the most notable author of the decade, and he was largely self-created. He spent the majority of his life devoted to writing, whether as a pastime, an occupation, or a way to prove his worthiness to the love of his life. His life was ultimately molded by the success-seeking template of the 1920s. The most famous of his works was The Great Gatsby, which brought more success, fame, and riches than he had ever encountered. Toward the end of his hedonistic life, however, Fitzgerald suffered from long spells of depression, smoked frequently, drank even more so, and wrote less and less successfully (Doreski 114). He was a true “embodiment of the age” and a prime example of the decade’s formula for success leading to failure (“The 1920s: How Normal were the 1920s?” 175). Fitzgerald’s life
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.
F Scott Fitzgerald was one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. Although his last finished work was more than 60 years ago, today they are enjoyed with more enthusiasm and acclaim than they were when they were written. His works are cited as an influence for many other authors. Fitzgerald saw his writing as a reflection of his own life. His works are closely based on his experiences at Princeton, in World War 1 and his love life. Although he was not overly popular at the time of his death, today, he is regarded as one of the best authors of the modern era.
The USA in the 1920s is remembered as the ‘Roaring Twenties’, an age of new life, of hedonism and opportunity following the horrors the Great War. The decade is synonymous with wealth, materialism and unprecedented freedom. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby provides an insight into the exciting and prosperous lives of the American people as they embark on the limitless potential of the American Dream and therefore it conveys a picture of 1920s American society. With
“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.… Tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.… And one fine morning—” (Fitzgerald 180). In this quote from The Great Gatsby, Nick attempts to describe the nature of Gatsby’s hope and draws the parallel to all of our hopes and dreams that we have as Americans. F. Scott Fitzgerald, an American novelist and short-story writer, was an amazing author who used his work, just like in the quote above, to write about the Roaring Twenties and the hopes of Americans during that time. His earlier works show an idealistic feeling for the potentials of life at college and in “The East,” he attained the sobriquet of “the spokesman of the Jazz Age.”
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
The 1920s is the important transition in U.S. that American economy began to recover rapidly, as American Dream provided most lower classes the chance to move up social levels, therefore, many people believed in hard work can achieve personal success. F. Scott. Fitzgerald uses George Wilson and Jay Gatsby, who come from the same class level, to explore the different backgrounds result the different achievements.However, comparing their different actions, which showed American Dream actually was a phony process, and how honest you were determined how futile you would become. In the Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald conveys the conflict between the “old wealth”-- the rigid class divisions before WW1 and the newly rich class that emerged in the
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, also known as F. Scott Fitzgerald, was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 24, 1896. His father, Edward, was from Maryland, with a commitment to the Old South’s values. Fitzgerald’s mother, Mary McQuillan, was the daughter of an Irish immigrant who made his wealth as a wholesale grocer in St. Paul. Both of Fitzgerald’s parents were Catholics. Fitzgerald had one sibling, a sister, Annabel, born in 1901. The National Anthem was penned by F. Scott’s second cousin. Fitzgerald was a student at St. Paul Academy as a young boy. While attending St. Paul Academy, Fitzgerald had his first story published in the school newspaper at the young age of 13(Bloom). When F. Scott’s father, Edward Fitzgerald, lost his job
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.
Considered as the defining work of the 1920s, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published in 1925, when America was just coming out of one of the most violent wars in the nation’s history. World War 1 had taken the lives of many young people who fought and sacrificed for our country on another continent. The war left many families without fathers, sons, and husbands. The 1920s is an era filled with rich and dazzling history, where Americans experienced changes in lifestyle from music to rebellion against the United States government. Those that are born into that era grew up in a more carefree, extravagant environment that would affect their interactions with others as well as their attitudes about themselves and societal
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.
The 1920’s was a time of great change to both the country lived in as well as the goals and ambitions that were sought after by the average person. During this time, priorities shifted from family and religion to success and spontaneous living. The American dream, itself, changed into a self centered and ongoing personal goal that was the leading priority in most people’s lives. This new age of carelessness and naivety encompasses much of what this earlier period is remembered for. In addition, this revolution transformed many of the great writers and authors of the time as well as their various works. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, perfectly symbolizes many emergent trends of the 1920’s. More importantly the
How came people did not respect Fitzgerald’s writing in the twentieth century, but why people are respecting and valuing Fitzgerald work in the twenty-first century? Fitzgerald had a hard time to profiting from his writing, but he was not successful after his first novel. There are three major point of this essay are: the background history of Fitzgerald life, the comparisons between Fitzgerald and the Gatsby from his number one book in America The Great Gatsby, and the Fitzgerald got influences of behind the writing and being a writer. From childhood to adulthood, Fitzgerald faced many good and bad experiences that inspired him to achieve his own American dream in a short amount of time.
After World War I, America offered the potential for boundless financial and social opportunities for those willing to work hard—an American Dream. The American Dream is defined as someone starting low on the economic or social level, and working hard towards prosperity and or wealth and fame. Establishing fame, becoming wealthy, having lavish luxuries, and a happy family would come to symbolize this dream. For some, however, striving for and realizing that dream ruined them, as many acquired wealth only to pursue pleasure. Even though the characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby appear to relish the freedom of the 1920s, their lives demonstrate the emptiness that results when wealth and pleasure become ends in themselves. Specifically, the empty lives of three characters from this novel— George Wilson, Jay Gatsby, and Daisy Buchanan—show that chasing hollow dreams results only in misery.
him. So on the third of April of 1920 in St. Patrick's Cathedral New York City
As Bertrand Russell once said, “It is the preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly.” Indeed, in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, set during the Roaring 20s, displays the materialism of the characters through their concern to obtain more belongings. The Roaring 20s is considered as one of America’s most prosperous eras, however, Fitzgerald denounces the loss of moral values, the loss of identity, and the deception about achieving a person’s American Dream in addition to the hierarchy ruled by the rich. Thus, in The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses characterization and symbols to explore the superficial nature of the Roaring 20’s and in doing so exposes the dangers