1. F. Scott Fitzgerald

2. Fitzgerald on Writing
“Mostly, we authors repeat ourselves…We have two or three great and moving experiences in our lives…and we tell our two or three stories – each time in a new disguise.”

3. Early years Birthplace – St. Paul, Minnesota
Named for an ancestor – Frances Scott Key, the composer of “The Star-Spangled Banner”
Spoiled as a boy; failed at schoolwork and sports
Began writing stories and plays in his teens

4. Early years Attended Princeton University
Enlisted in officers’ training during World War I but was never sent overseas
Fell in love with Zelda Sayre, a rich socialite from Montgomery, while stationed at Camp Sheridan in Alabama

5. Adult Life Married Zelda in April 1920
Became disillusioned with life in America – became an expatriate in Paris (along with Hemingway and many other writers)
One daughter – Frances, born in St. Paul (nickname -- Scottie)

7. St. Mary’s Catholic Church Rockville, Maryland

8. Problems
1929 – Stock market crashed – with it so did Fitzgerald’s private life and career
1930 – Zelda suffered a mental breakdown and spent the rest of her life in and out of asylums
Fitzgerald had problems with alcohol, failing health, debts, and depression for the rest of his life.

9. First Novel This Side of Paradise Published in 1920
Novel was an instant sensation
Helped name the 1920s “The Jazz Age” (new music, rebellion against social rules, reckless actions and spending)

10. The Great Gatsby Published in 1925
Considered Fitzgerald’s greatest work

11. The 1920s World War I ends in 1918 Life after WWI:
Prosperity – new money
Prohibition – bootleggers
People flocking to large cities
“Manufactured personalities”
Disillusionment with American Dream
Decline of moral values
1929 – Stock Market Crash leads to the Great Depression

12. Characteristics of Modernism (1900-1950)
Rejection of Realism’s view of a firm “reality.”
Emphasis on the “broken” quality of lives after WWI.
Sense of disillusionment and loss of faith in the American Dream
Rejection of the traditional hero in favor of flawed characters
Interest in inner workings of the human mind

13. Major Characters Nick Carraway (narrator) Daisy Buchanan Tom Buchanan
Jay Gatsby (James Gatz)
Myrtle Wilson
George Wilson
Jordan Baker

16. Setting Long Island, New York
East Egg [location of the Buchanan’s mansion]
West Egg [location of Gatsby’s mansion and Nick’s cottage]
Between Long Island and New York City
Valley of Ashes [location of the Wilson’s garage]
New York City
Tom Buchanan’s apartment

17. Long Island, New York

18. Links
The Great Gatsby 2013 – a trailer of the most recent film adaptation of the novel
Jazz age
Dance
Music