F.

Scott Fitzgerald
Michelle Hernández Freyre
Literatura Contemporanea
501
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American novelist, essayist, screenwriter,

and short-story writer. 
During his lifetime, he published four novels, four collections of short stories, and
164 short stories. Although he temporarily achieved popular success and fortune in
the 1920s, Fitzgerald only received wide critical and popular acclaim after his
death. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th
century.
Early life…
Born on September 24, 1896, into an upper-
middle-class family in St. Paul, Minnesota,
but was primarily raised in New York. He
attended Princeton University, but due to a
failed relationship and a preoccupation with
writing, he dropped out in 1917 to join
the Army.
 Zelda Fitzgerald…

In 1918 at a local country club, Fitzgerald met and fell in love

with rich socialite Zelda Sayre.
They were inseparable, Fitzgerald relied on Zelda for literary
inspiration, going so far as to plagiarize her diary while revising
his first novel.

They got engaged, however, he was unable to convince Zelda that

he would be able to support her, leading her to break off the
engagement.

Although Zelda agreed to marry Fitzgerald after he had published

the commercially successful This Side of Paradise (1920).
1920s…
Fitzgerald frequented Europe, where he was influenced by the modernist writers and
artists of the "Lost Generation" expatriate community, particularly Ernest Hemingway.
His second novel, The Beautiful and Damned (1922), propelled him into the New
York City elite.
To maintain his lifestyle during this time, he also wrote several stories for magazines.
His third novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), was inspired by his rise to fame and
relationship with Zelda. Although it received mixed reviews, The Great Gatsby is now
widely praised, with some even labeling it the "Great American Novel".
Faced with financial difficulties due to
the declining popularity of his works,
Fitzgerald turned to Hollywood, writing
and revising screenplays.
After a long struggle with alcoholism, he
died in 1940 at the age of 44.
Analysis…
This Side of Paradise is a portrait of modern youth. Youth is not subject
to time. Times change, mores, fashion and interests change, but the
maturation of the human personality at all times has been and remains
difficult if you are a direct participant, and fascinating if you are just an
observer. This is an eternal game the relationship between man and
woman.

The final of the novel is only the first step towards the formation of the
personality of Amory Blaine. This is only a release from all these
superficial things that prevent to live happily and harmoniously. It is a
pity that for this small step, which could have happened much earlier,
the main character Amory Blaine had to destroy his whole world, go
through a lot of disappointments and lose almost everything.
Analysis… The Great Gatsby is a story about the impossibility of
recapturing the past and also the difficulty of altering one’s
future.

The climax of the novel comes when the group is driving

back from New York in two cars, and Myrtle, Tom’s lover,
mistakes Gatsby’s car for Tom’s and runs out into the street
and is hit and killed.

In the final falling action the book, Nick must also confront
reality, as he realizes his glamorous, enigmatic neighbor was
the poor son of farmers who got mixed up in criminal
activities and had no true friends besides Nick.