The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

1143 Words3 Pages

Since the beginning of time, man has written himself into history. Whether it was on cave walls, or in scripts, men have wanted to leave behind a legacy. One of the most well known men is author F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald had always wanted to write the greatest American novel- and so he created the Great Gatsby. Although it is not the greatest American novel, it is studied by high schools and has several movie adaptions. However, he had to take a great journey to create this story about Jay Gatsby and his endless hope. Despite his creative mind, the characters and conflicts in this story did not come from his imagination. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, author F. Scott Fitzgerald reflects the dramatic life he shared with his wife though he characters Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan.
Ever since he was a young child, F. Scott Fitzgerald wanted to be a writer. He wanted to leave behind a great legacy, and found that one way to do this was through writing. While he was writing his first novel, Fitzgerald met a woman named Zelda Sayre, and he fell in love with her. Because she had high standards, she wasn't too impressed with Scott. From there, he became determined to publish his book. Before he did this, he proposed to Zelda, but she refused. Since Fitzgerald was so madly in love, he rewrote the novel and called it This Side of Paradise. Once the book was published, then she accepted his proposal. The funny thing was that he had written the two of them straight into the story. The two main characters, who fall in love, were obviously based on them. In the documentary, Sincerely, F. Scott Fitzgerald by Jay McInerney, a man who was interested in creating a movie adaption of the book asked Scott and Zelda to star in it (McInerney).Thi...

... middle of paper ...

...e this book, the only description of Gatsby is his smile. “It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it that you may come across four or five times in life” (Fitzgerald 52). In McInerney's documentary, he said that whenever Fitzgerald looked into the mirror, he saw Gatsby. He was certainly not kidding. Gatsby is Fitzgerald, and Daisy is Zelda. The similarities between these people and characters are hardly a coincidence.

Works Cited

Bruccoli, Matthew J. "A Brief Life of Fitzgerald." A Brief Life of Fitzgerald. University of South Carolina, 4 Dec. 2003. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Collier, 1992. Print.
McInerney, Jay. "Sincerely, F Scott Fitzgerald." The Culture Show. BBC Two. London, Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
Willett, Erika. "F. Scott Fitzgerald and the American Dream." PBS. PBS. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.

Open Document