Babylon Revisited by F. Scott Fitzgerald
"Babylon Revisited" Context
''Babylon Revisited'' is widely considered to be the apex of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short stories, of which there are more than a hundred. Like many of his works, ''Babylon Revisited'' was loosely based on Fitzgerald’s own life. Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896 in Saint Paul Minnesota. He was named Francis Scott Key, after a distant relative, and the writer of the American national anthem. Fitzgerald spent his childhood years in the United States—Buffalo, New York, Saint Paul, Minnesota, and Hackensack, New Jersey. In 1913, he entered Princeton University, although his performance by all accounts was mediocre. In 1917, he dropped out of school in order to enlist in the United States Army, which had recently entered World War I. While in officer training in Alabama, Fitzgerald wrote his first novel. Soon after, Fitzgerald met Zelda Sayre, a flamboyant flapper and the daughter of an Alabama Supreme Court justice. The two quickly became engaged, but in 1919 Zelda broke their engagement due to concerns about her future husband’s ability to support her financially. This spurred Fitzgerald to advance his writing career and revise the novel he wrote while in the Army, which was accepted for publication and resulted in the resumption of his engagement with Zelda.
The two were married in March of 1920 in New York City soon after the publication of This Side of Paradise, and they quickly emerged as the poster children of the wild, extravagant lifestyle that defines much of the 1920’s. The couple had their first and only child in October, 1921, Frances ''Scottie'' Fitzgerald, a daughter. Parenthood did little to slow the Fitzgerald’s tumultuous lifestyle, or their drinking. Fitzgerald and his family spent much of the 1920’s in Europe, primarily in Paris, during which time Fitzgerald wrote what may be his most acclaimed work, The Great Gatsby as well as dozens of short stories for magazines. Simultaneously, Zelda pursued her
''Babylon Revisited'' is widely considered to be the apex of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short stories, of which there are more than a hundred. Like many of his works, ''Babylon Revisited'' was loosely based on Fitzgerald’s own life. Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896 in Saint Paul Minnesota. He was named Francis Scott Key, after a distant relative, and the writer of the American national anthem. Fitzgerald spent his childhood years in the United States—Buffalo, New York, Saint Paul, Minnesota, and Hackensack, New Jersey. In 1913, he entered Princeton University, although his performance by all accounts was mediocre. In 1917, he dropped out of school in order to enlist in the United States Army, which had recently entered World War I. While in officer training in Alabama, Fitzgerald wrote his first novel. Soon after, Fitzgerald met Zelda Sayre, a flamboyant flapper and the daughter of an Alabama Supreme Court justice. The two quickly became engaged, but in 1919 Zelda broke their engagement due to concerns about her future husband’s ability to support her financially. This spurred Fitzgerald to advance his writing career and revise the novel he wrote while in the Army, which was accepted for publication and resulted in the resumption of his engagement with Zelda.
The two were married in March of 1920 in New York City soon after the publication of This Side of Paradise, and they quickly emerged as the poster children of the wild, extravagant lifestyle that defines much of the 1920’s. The couple had their first and only child in October, 1921, Frances ''Scottie'' Fitzgerald, a daughter. Parenthood did little to slow the Fitzgerald’s tumultuous lifestyle, or their drinking. Fitzgerald and his family spent much of the 1920’s in Europe, primarily in Paris, during which time Fitzgerald wrote what may be his most acclaimed work, The Great Gatsby as well as dozens of short stories for magazines. Simultaneously, Zelda pursued her