F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Appeal

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F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Appeal

F. Scott Fitzgerald once said “The scope and depth and breadth of my writings lie in the laps of the Gods” (An interview). Little did he know “the gods” or his readers would take his fame to a whole new level. Maybe his modesty about his talent is why he is so well like or it could even be how well he was able to write magnificent stories that were similar to his own life. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s troubling yet extravagant lifestyle influenced his writing and attributed to his fame.

One of Fitzgerald’s biggest achievements that gained him popularity was developing the “Jazz Age” through his writings. He wrote a series of short stories specifically about the Jazz age, but his most famous book The Great Gatsby covers that time period as well. “Gatsby is the essential Jazz Age document—the work most commonly considered an accurate reflection of the ultimately irresponsible optimism of the Roaring Twenties boom years” (Sickels). Fitzgerald was able to captivate his audience since he was writing about this extravagant time period (Sickels). That is why this book is such a great achievement because of his ability to capture the Jazz age. Gatsby essentially has become an archetype for the jazz age, and is used by some as a way of historically looking back at this time period (Sickels). The novel was able to capture so many audiences and still can because of its historical accuracy, similarity to Fitzgerald’s life, and relatedness about the roaring twenties.

In his earlier years Fitzgerald wrote The Side of Paradise which was a widely popular book. This book was said to mirror his life postwar and as a college student at Princeton. “The Side of Paradise chronicles the life of Amory Blaine, a Princeton u...

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...ve been Fitzgerald’s best work if he had lived to finish it” (Fitzgerald, F. Scott). This showing that as his career grew so did his talent and appreciation from others. His autobiographical work reaching out to many because of its historical accurateness to the time and his ability to captivate a reader.

Fitzgerald being one of the most famous writers of all times captivated many with his continuing autobiographical work. This most likely why he was so popular because of his skill at interpreting his real life into extravagant stories. Making those who could relate or not relate want to read his books. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s troubling yet extravagant lifestyle influenced his writing and attributed to his fame. His books continue to captivate readers everywhere many years after his death.

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