F. Scott Fitzgerald ( ) Presented by 田晗 戴路
Outline Life Major works American Dream/Jazz Age/Lost Generation Comments
Born on Sept. 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Full name : Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald
Age 13- first piece of writing in print Age 15- prep school/ talent in writing was noticed 1913-Princeton University 1917-left Princeton to serve in WWI 1918-met and fell in love with Zelda Sayre
1919- discharged from the army first novel This Side of Paradise published; married Zelda
1930s: The illness of his wife, his own alcoholism, failures of writing, heart attacks Died on Dec. 21, 1940 Illness and death
Major Works This Side of Paradise (revised version of The Romantic Egoist), 1920 The Beautiful and Damned, 1922
Tales of the Jazz Age, 1922 The Great Gatsby, 1925 Tender Is the Night, 1934 The Last Tycoon (unfinished) Major Works
The Great Gatsby Received excellent reviews But commercial disappointment Fitzgerald himself blamed poor sales on the fact that women tended to be the main audience for novels during this time, and Gatsby did not contain an admirable female character.
The Great Gatsby Main characters Nick Carraway (the narrator, Daisy’s cousin, Gatsby’s neighbor) Jay Gatsby Daisy Buchanan (married to Tom, Gatsby’s love interest before war) Myrtle /George /Jordan Baker
Theme "cautionary tale of the decadent downside of the American dream" The story deals with human aspiration to start over again, social politics and its brutality and also betrayal, of one's own ideals and of people. Using elements of irony and tragic ending, it also delves into themes of excesses of the rich, and recklessness of youth.
这是一个新的世界，物质的然而 并不真实，在这里可怜的幽魂。 呼吸着空气般的轻梦，四处飘荡。
“She’s got an indiscreet voice,” I remarked. “It’s full of—” I hesitated. “Her voice is full of money,” he said suddenly. That was it. I’d never understood before. It was full of money—that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it.... high in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl....
"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.“ ---Nick’s description of Tom and Daisy
American dream The American Dream is the idea held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage, and determination one can achieve financial and personal success. These were values held by many early European settlers, and passed down to subsequent generations.
A term coined by F. Scott Fitzgerald The Jazz Age began with the end of WWI, ended with the stock market crash of 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 Roaring 20’s/ The Jazz Age
Comments He was an able writer who recorded the changing manners, morals, and social environment of his time, but mostly about himself and his own problems. Fitzgerald’s themes are very modern. All of his books and short stories display the loneliness and misery of modern life. His books convey the idea that, “Money can’t buy happiness.” One of his distinguishing features is that he lived among his characters yet was able to retain a sufficient degree of detachment to be an observer of the drama in which he acted such a vigorous role.