The Influence of Fitzgerald’s Personal Life on The Great Gatsby
Many authors find inspiration through real life experiences and transform them into works of literature to match how they want to portray them. Fitzgerald is no different, in fact, his personal life is a crucial factor in his writing style. Fitzgerald grew up with increasing numbers of difficulties, but found his way around them and incorporated those experiences into his novels. In order to achieve his goals, he began changing himself to fit social standards. Fitzgerald’s novels are a huge success because he writes realistic situations that readers can relate to and are interesting enough to keep the reader active. The struggles, conflicts, and obstacles that Fitzgerald went through allowed Fitzgerald to express his inner feelings and twist the events to his preference through his writing. Fitzgerald’s personal life was an irreplaceable influence on The Great Gatsby.
Fitzgerald was “a poor boy in a rich town; a poor boy in a rich boy's school; a poor boy in a rich man's club at Princeton … [that has] never been able to forgive the rich for being rich, and it has colored my entire life and works” (sc.edu). Fitzgerald did not accept the fact that he, as well as many others, had to work painstakingly hard in order to make a living; unlike the rich who had everything handed to them on a silver platter since they were born. In a similar case, Gatsby, from Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, was a poor young boy who never believed he was a poor boy. Fitzgerald was able to trace back to his childhood recollection for inspiration for his novels. When he was still in school, Fitzgerald could only dream about being popular because his egotism repelled others a...
... middle of paper ...
... Inc.
Web. 12 Apr. 2014. < http://www.people.vcu.edu/~bmangum/fitznovels.html>.
Gallo, Rose Adrienne. F. Scott Fitzgerald. New York: F. Ungar, 1978. Print.
Greenfeld, Howard. F. Scott Fitzgerald. New York: Crown, 1974. Print.
Gross, Dalton, and MaryJean Gross. Understanding The Great Gatsby: A Student Casebook to
Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998. Print.
Shmoop Editorial Team. "F. Scott Fitzgerald: Childhood." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University,
Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 3 Apr. 2014. .
Willett, Erika. "The Sensible Thing: Biographies." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2014.
.
University of South Carolina. “F. Scott Fitzgerald Quotes.” SC. SC, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014.
.
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby which reflects the extravagance of the roaring twenties. Fitzgerald grew up facing adversity, but gained success from his publishings. Just as Gatsby’s reign of wealth and fame came to an end, Fitzgerald soon became an alcoholic. Fitzgerald wrote his third novel, The Great Gatsby, based off his own life experiences. Throughout his life he faced many obstacles that are mirrored in the lives of the characters in the novel. Growing up, he was constantly aware of the lack of privilege and wealth surrounding his family. Nick faces the same struggle to fit in socially because he lacks wealth and social status. Similarly, his relationship with Zelda was tainted by his adultery which he acknowledges as acceptable for men, but not for women. The sexism that Tom’s character exudes shows Tom’s underlying morals. The Great Gatsby resembles a reflection of
Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby tells the story of wealthy Jay Gatsby and the love of his life Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby dream was to secure Daisy just as things were before he left to the war. His impression was that Daisy will come to him if he appears to be rich and famous. Gatsby quest was to have fortune just so he could appeal more to Daisy and her social class.But Gatsby's character isn't true to the wealth it is a front because the money isn't real. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the rumors surrounding Jay Gatsby to develop the real character he is. Jay Gatsby was a poor child in his youth but he soon became extremely wealthy after he dropped out of college and became a successful man and create a new life for himself through the organized crime of Meyer
Themes of hope, success, and wealth overpower The Great Gatsby, leaving the reader with a new way to look at the roaring twenties, showing that not everything was good in this era. F. Scott Fitzgerald creates the characters in this book to live and recreate past memories and relationships. This was evident with Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship, Tom and Daisy’s struggling marriage, and Gatsby expecting so much of Daisy and wanting her to be the person she once was. The theme of this novel is to acknowledge the past, but do not recreate and live in the past because then you will not be living in the present, taking advantage of new opportunities.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby provides the reader with a unique outlook on the life of the newly rich. Gatsby is an enigma and a subject of great curiosity, furthermore, he is content with a lot in life until he strives too hard. His obsession with wealth, his lonely life and his delusion allow the reader to sympathize with him.
The Great Gatsby unravels in death and destruction due to one man’s need, for one girl. His admiration and ambition for this girl shows how the American dream can lead to so much havoc. Even though Gatsby has everything he wants, he still has a want for that girl. Fitzgerald does a wonderful job of expressing that through Gatsby and showing how a pursuit of that dream can lead to so much death and destruction. Fitzgerald shows how that American dream demands more than you have and causes harm to Gatsby and people around him. All the events connected well and tied in beautifully with the plot. It affects more than just himself and he was blind to that due to his passion for the American dream.
Bruccoli, Matthew J. A Brief Life of Fitzgerald. University of South Carolina, 1994. Web. 17 Mar.
In The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald analyzes three main characters, Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, and Nick Carraway. The Great Gatsby is a story about finding out who people really are and how far they will go to protect their secrets from spilling to everyone. The Great Gatsby is like a story of our time, we have the rich and the poor towns, we have people who cheat on their spouses, and lastly, we have racism towards different cultures and races (Schreier). Many ironic events take place throughout the book. For example, Gatsby and Nick become friends, Tom and Myrtle being secret lovers, also, Daisy and Gatsby carrying on an affair, and lastly Daisy running over Myrtle in Gatsby’s car (Coleman). Fitzgerald purposely wrote the book to tell about lovers that were not supposed to be together and how they overcame that and fell in love with one another (Shain). He also wrote the book to relate to American society (Tolmatchoff).
During Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, it is apparent to be an absurd time for the wealthy. The shallowness of money, riches, and a place in a higher social class were probably the most important components in most lives at that period of time. This is expressed clearly by Fitzgerald, especially through his characters, which include Myrtle Wilson, Tom and Daisy Buchanan, and of course, Jay Gatsby. This novel was obviously written to criticize and condemn the ethics of the rich.
The desire for sophisticated social class represented in The Great Gatsby can either destroy or build character and potential in a young person. Due to the fact Fitzgerald’s novel is flexible, the realistic and romanticized attributes can be interpreted in different ways. However, Fitzgerald’s technique utilized when building his social structure plays a major role in the novel’s penetration in high school academic literature.
F. Scott Fitzgerald brilliantly wrote many novels as well as short stories. One of his best known works is The Great Gatsby. In the novel, the main character Jay Gatsby tries to obtain his lifetime dreams: wealth and Daisy Buchanan. Throughout the story, he works at achieving his goals while overcoming many obstacles. Fitzgerald’s plot line relies heavily on accidents, carelessness, and misconceptions, which ultimately reveal the basic themes in the story.
In the Great Gatsby, by F Scott Fitzgerald the novel does not reflect an autobiography, but several of Fitzgerald’s personal experiences are reflected in it. Similarities can be drawn between the novel and Scott Fitzgeralds own life. Similarities include Gatsby and Fitzgerald 's want for success through continuous failure, dreams of success, strong feelings towards alcohol, and their love life. Nick’s qualities that relate to Fitzgerald include his honesty as a man in relation to the liars surrounding him. Also his mid western values to not be judgemental makes him a perfect observer, but also makes him the perfect outsider, which is how Fitzgerald always felt in the company of rich people. The relation between Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby
Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s visionary writing style during the early twentieth century revolutionized a new style for other writers. “Theme is most dramatically expressed through character, and Fitzgerald used the people he created to convey his personal vision of the world” (Keshmiri 2). As Keshmiri states, Fitzgerald, unlike many other writers at the time, expresses his stories through the development of the characters. Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and The Beautiful and the Damned illustrate the many flaws of human nature and how these flaws contribute to the downfall of the characters through their obsession with status, their inability to accept reality, and the use of alcohol.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a tragedy filled with love, loss, and betrayal. Fitzgerald paints us a beautiful picture of the events in this tale through complex wording. While his story and word usage may be complex, his character are not as complex as they appear. Their outward appearance may fool a reader because deep down they fit many popular archetypes. From the narcissistic jock type to the outsider, each one of Fitzgerald’s main characters can fit a certain archetype.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book The Great Gatsby was a remarkable book. Fitzgerald Made the characters of the book as real and as personal as possible. Three characteristics stood out in the novel to me. Tom’s Jealousy of Gatsby relationship with his wife, Gatsby’s lies about who he is and his life, and Daisy’s ways to tempt Gatsby to fall in love with her. The novel was inspired by the way he fell in love with his wife Zelda.
In The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald explores the idea of the American Dream as well as the portrayal of social classes. Fitzgerald carefully sets up his novel into distinct social groups but, in the end, each group has its own problems to contend with, leaving a powerful reminder of what a precarious place the world really is. By creating two distinct social classes ‘old money’ and ‘new money’, Fitzgerald sends strong messages about the elitism underlying and moral corruption society. The idea of the American dream is the ideal that opportunity is available to any American, allowing their highest aspirations and goals to be achieved. In the case of The Great Gatsby it centres on the attainment of wealth and status to reach certain positions in life,