Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born September 24, 1896, in St. Paul Minnesota. His mother, Mary McQuillan, made a tiny fortune as wholesale grocers, and his …show more content…
The Great Gatsby is a novel that follows the friendship of Nick Carraway, a midwesterner, and the wealthy, secretive, Jay Gatsby. What makes this novel so unique is that it reflects Fitzgerald’s life, as he illustrated himself through his main characters Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway. Many events from Fitzgerald’s early life appear within the novel. Taking place in the town West Egg on Long Island, the novel ultimately follows Gatsby and his pursuit of a married woman, Daisy. The story concludes with the exposure of Jay Gatsby as a bootlegger and furthermore, his death. With all the lying and adultery that occurred in the upper class at the time, F. Scott Fitzgerald truly captured the lifestyle and how far people would stretch just to experience the American Dream. Following World War I, The Great Gatsby showed how the American economy soared and brought unprecedented levels of prosperity to the nation. Prohibition, the ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution (1919), made millionaires out of bootleggers. For instance, Fitzgerald’s character Jay Gatsby became very rich and powerful being a bootlegger.
“With its beautiful lyricism, pitch-perfect portrayal of the Jazz Age, and searching critiques of materialism, love and the American Dream, The Great Gatsby is considered