F.

Scott
Fitzgerald and
the Jazz Age

The Roaring 20s

The 20s are also referred to as The
Jazz Age, a term coined by F. Scott
Fitzgerald
The Jazz Age began with the end of
WWI, at a time when, for the first time,
the U.S. had emerged as a world power.
The Jazz Age ended with the stock
market crash of 1929.
This decade saw changes in lifestyle and
technology that revolutionized
American life in such a way that it has
never been the same since.

The Great Gatsby Era in

America
Model-T became a way of life and people could travel
as never before
Mail order catalogues, such as Sears, came out and
Americans had access to worlds biggest stores
Hollywood was becoming a factory of the worlds
daydreams; Wall Street the worlds money mart
Americans became obsessed
with the frivolous:
alcohol, music, dancing,
and sex

F. Scott Fitzgerald
said to be representative of the
American viewpoint because:
He was one of Americas greatest dreamers.
He reflected Americas exaggerated hopes
and dreams, especially The American
Dream.
He was self-indulgent.
He was passionate and committed and he
died with his boots on.

F. Scott Fitzgerald
Chronology
Born Sept. 24, 1896 in St.
Paul, Minnesota. Full name
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald
His early life is shaped by the
fact that his mothers family
is wealthy but his father is
unsuccessful at business so
money is always an issue. He
is poor but he attends prep.
schools which make him feel
like an outsider.

 Enters Princeton University in 1913. Tries,

unsuccessfully, to play for the football team.
Writes for the Princeton Tiger and begins to
write and act in plays. Impresses peers this
way.
Falls in love with Genevra King, a wealthy
young socialite but is rejected. He is not
wealthy enough.
1915--drops out of Princeton
1916--returns to Princeton

1917is placed on academic probation. Joins the army as

a second lieutenant.
First novel attempt, The Romantic Egoist, is rejected
1918--meets and falls in love with wealthy socialite Zelda
Sayre. They become engaged. Theirs is one of the great love
story of their time!
1919--End of WWI--Fitzgerald is discharged from the army.
Zelda breaks off engagement due to Fitzgeralds lack of
financial success.
1919--Working in advertising,
Fitzgerald is living with his parents
and writing
1919--Writes and submits novel
This Side of Paradise. It is accepted
by Scribners, and it is a huge success.
1920. Fitzgerald and Zelda marry!

 This Side of
Paradise captured
the hopes of
success of
Americans but also
the fears of failure
and poverty.

NOTE:
* A reoccurring theme that runs
throughout Fitzgeralds best works
is that happiness and success are
unattainable.

He could glamorize wealth

and yet stand away from
the people who had it and
look at their values with
utter detachment and
sometimes with horror.

 During the next 5-10 years, Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald are at
the center of Jazz Age culture, and regularly appear in gossip
magazines. They were the talk of the town! What was their life
like?

She was wild! Some would say CRAZY!

He was an alcoholic!
They partied hard!
He worked hard also.
They both had affairs but loved each other deeply!

Works written by F. Scott Fitzgerald during

this period:
1922--The Beautiful and the Damned
1922--Tales of the Jazz Age (short stories)
1923--The Vegetable (a play)
1925--The Great Gatsby the defining novel
of the 20s
1934--Tender is the Night (last finished novel)
is unpopular because it is published after the start of The Great
Depression and it is about people with money.
People didnt want to read about success
and excess when they didnt have enough!
His unfinished novel is The Last Tycoon
about Hollywood

1930--Suffering her first of many emotional breakdowns,

Zelda is hospitalized in Paris. Later diagnosed with
schizophrenia.
1932--As his popularity as a novelist declines, Fitzgerald
begins to work on movie scripts for MGM to work himself
out of debt. He despises Hollywood, and despises himself
for having to write commercially.
1932-1940--As Zeldas mental state
worsens, the Fitzgeralds gradually
separate.
1940--F. Scott Fitzgerald dies
of a heart attack.
1940 - 1948Zelda Fitzgerald spends
next eight years in and out of
institutions and dies in a fire
at Highland Hospital
in Ashland, NC in 1948.

Gatsby believed in
the green light, the
orgiastic future that
year by year
recedes before us.
It eluded us then,
but thats no matter
tomorrow we will
run faster, stretch
out our arms farther
. . . And one fine
morning ------
This quote describing Gatsby at the end of his
novel could just as easily describe Fitzgerald
himself.