1. F. Scott Fitzgerald
Full Name: Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (Francis Scott Key was a distant cousin to Fitzgerald’s mother)
F. Scott was born in St. Paul in 1896 to an upper middle class Catholic family

2. Family Roots Mother’s side: very tied to respectable
Midwestern traditions
-F. Scott’s mother inherited a good sum of
money when her father died
Father: the family wicker business owned by his father fails
-Proctor and Gamble hires Edward (the dad) as a salesman- the family
moves to Buffalo, then Syracuse, New York
-the family is never very stable as they do not make much money
and they move around a lot

3. Tradition
The family had upper class traditions, but no money to support them
Although F. Scott hung out with the rich kids, he never really felt like he fit in
A lifelong devotion was made to achieve material and social success

4. School, Writing, and Women
By 1910 F. Scott was publishing fiction in the school newspaper-he would continue at prep school and then at Princeton
-Fitzgerald entered Princeton in While there, he continues to
write for the newspaper and for himself. He meets a girl named
Ginerva King, whom he falls for.
-Throughout his time at Princeton, F. Scott fails to give appropriate
effort causing his grades to fail.

5. Continuation of College
In 1915, he temporarily withdrew from school due to illness
At this time, his relationship with Ginerva began to diminish
Ginerva belonged to the rich class of Chicago, thus making her unattainable
In 1916, Fitzgerald returned to college (his Junior year) without the company of Ginerva-his writing shifted to poetry

6. A Romantic Desire for War
In October of 1917, Fitzgerald leaves Princeton to join the U.S. Army
He had a romantic desire for combat-as said by Nick throughout The Great Gatsby
Instead of being stationed in Europe, he was stationed in Alabama (WWI ended in 1917)
This was not his idea of an ideal placement

7. Zelda Sayre
While in Camp Sheridan, near Montgomery, Fitzgerald meets Zelda Sayre at a dance
Zelda is a much sought after girl who is of a wealth family in Alabama
Immediately in LOVE, F.S. wants to marry, but she is unwilling because he cannot afford to support her

8. Pursuit of Love
After his discharge in 1919, F. Scott set out to earn his bride as a writer in NYC- for eight long months he failed
Fitzgerald moved back to St. Paul and reached success quickly.
-Newspapers fought for his short stories.

9. Zelda finally consented to be his wife in Apr. 1921
Success at Last
Zelda finally consented to be his wife in Apr. 1921
Fitzgerald instantly reached fame, a wealthy status and obtained his dream girl
F. Scott and Zelda have a baby, Frances “Scotty” Fitzgerald, on Oct

10. Fitzgerald with Zelda and Daughter, Scotty, in Paris apartment in 1926
After writing several books, the family moved to Paris, apparently for financial reasons
-The Great Gatsby is published
in 1925, but is not a success.
Only of late has it become
popular

11. A Split Relationship Zelda cheats on Fitzgerald with a French aviator
Zelda and F. Scott both turn to alcohol and their lives start to fall apart
Zelda falls ill to schizophrenia- F. Scott reverts to even more alcohol
Fitzgerald tries to cure himself through the writing of essays

12. The End of a ‘Legacy’
F. Scott dies of a heart attack in December of 1940
After dying in a fire in 1948, Zelda is buried beside him

13. F. Scott Fitzgerald
“A man of many dreams”

14. Setting (place) Long Island and New York City
Published: 1925
Point of View: 1st and 3rd
Tense: Past
Setting (time) Summer 1922
Setting (place) Long Island and New York City
Protagonist: Gatsby/and or Nick
*Themes: The American Dream, The Spirit of the 1920’s,
The difference between social classes, The role of the past
in dreams of the future