The Great Gatsby Review

A Review on Fitzgerald By the time you finish your education you will have more than likely heard of F. Scott Fitzgerald the author. He wrote many books, but his most known is The Great Gatsby. His works live on through schools. Many schools around the world read his books and teach about his life. He's a very celebrated writer and piece of American history. Although he has had some dark times there's many reasons why he's considered one of the best writers ever. First of all Fitzgerald is an amazing writer. His writing style is very elegant, descriptive, and has a flow like rhythm to it almost. His works are easy to read and understand. They're not short and choppy like those of his troubled friend Hemingway. Reading a story of Fitzgerald's
is almost like reading a poet. His works are very smooth and poised. He believed all of his work was new and original during his time, which in many ways is true. No other writers during that era had a style quite like Fitzgerald. In fact Fitzgerald was this way in person also. He was approachable, but stood out in a room. His wife Zelda always kept things interesting. In fact Zelda was the wild one and she drew a crowd wherever she went. Fitzgerald was a very social person, but paled in comparison to his wife. She was wild and moved from thing to thing very quickly. She was always on to something else. Fitzgerald seemed to be a stand up and understanding man. He could carry a conversation with people he didn't know. Most modern day celebrities aren't very approachable and are put on some sort of a pedestal above regular people. That wasn't the case with F. Scott. Above all Fitzgerald is a very accomplished writer. Not many others can stack up against him. Like I mentioned his most popular piece of work is The Great Gatsby. The book was published in 1925. His first book The Side of Paradise was published in 1920. This novel solidified him as one of the best young writers in America. Fitzgerald didn't really bring any new mechanics or inventions to writing, but instead became famous for his material. Fitzgerald was a realist writer. He showed many different views of life in his work. For example, he would write stories that depict life in different social classes. He wrote of his life experiences. His writing was often inspired by his wife Zelda and he directly quoted her a lot actually. During his time alive F. Scott wasn't considered a serious literary figure. It wasn't until he passed away that people really started giving him the credit he deserved. This was because of the things he did in his off time such as free spending, drinking, and partying. He had the reputation of a PlayBoy. In his art he often wrote of the pursuit of wealth, success, and true happiness. Another trait that shows up in many of his stories is that his main characters will usually undergo a self assessment. They would judge others or get judged by others. He often depicts his female characters as incompetent and lesser than males. You can tell that the time he lived in heavily influenced his work. The 1920's was the first time that women were starting to gain freedom. They were finally allowed to vote, smoke in public, and were sexually liberated. This was a time period of social and political change. People were moving to cities instead of living on farms. The national wealth doubled during the 20's era. This was the first time Americans had seen a true consumer society. This all reflects on Fitzgerald's stories. There's also a lot of European culture influence behind his work. In 1924 F. Scott and Zelda went to France for a change of scenery to jump start Fitzgerald's creativity. That's where he would make The Great Gatsby. Arguably F.
Scotts personal life wasn't so smooth. He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on September 24th, 1896. Fitzgerald attended St. Paul Academy until he was 15 years old. In 1911 F. Scott's parents sent him to a prestigious Catholic school in New Jersey named Newman School. Newman School was where he met Father Sigourney Fay, who inspired him to pursue writing. After Fitzgerald completed high school, he would attend Princeton University. This is when Fitzgerald fully dedicated himself to perfecting his craft. However this caused him to do poorly in school and he was placed on academic probation. He would end up dropping out in 1917 and joining the U.S. Army. He would meet his future wife, Zelda, after being assigned to Camp Sheridan in Montgomery, Alabama. World War I ended before Fitzgerald was ever deployed. Shortly after he moved to New York to start a career in advertising. Nevertheless Fitzgerald quit after only a few months and moved back to St. Paul to complete his novel. That would be the start of his literary career. He went on to release The Side of Paradise and he became successful enough to marry Zelda. They had a daughter named Frances Scott Fitzgerald in 1921. After F. Scott completed The Great Gatsby, he fell into alcoholism and Zelda started having mental health issues. Fitzgerald started to suffer from writer's block. They spent the late 20's moving back and forth between Delaware and France. In 1937 Fitzgerald went back to Hollywood in an attempt to
resurrect his career as a screenwriter and freelance storywriter. He would spend the next two years in Hollywood making a modest living. During this lapse of time he would complete only half of the novel, The Love of the Last Tycoon. Unfortunately that's the last thing would get to write. It was December 21st, 1940 that he would die of a heart attack at only the age of 40. I believe Fitzgerald is important to writing because he was proof of the American Dream.
He is a representation of an era in American history.
His extravagant lifestyle is a perfect definition of the Roaring 20's. This era was when the modern celebrity was really invented. Secondly his writing style has inspired many other authors such as J.D. Salinger. His writing style of chasing aspirations, finding love, and self assessment is found in a lot of novels today. Lastly Fitzgerald was one of the first examples of people not appreciating something before it's gone. These days people look back on his work and recognize him as a great writer. He's seen in a different light in today's literacy world compared to when he was alive. Now he's mentioned among the best writers in history. All of the recognition, respect, admiration, and value would come too late leading Fitzgerald to pass away thinking of himself as a failure. He never got to see his career turn into the amazing legacy that is today. In conclusion, this is why I believe Fitzgerald is extremely important to the history of literacy and
writing.