The Life and Literature of F Scott Fitzgerald
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The Life and Literature of F. Scott Fitzgerald
By Jillian Thompson
May 16, 2012.
English newspaper, The Guardian, once asked Jonathan Franzen, the Pulitzer Prize nominated author of The Corrections, to contribute what he believed were the greatest rules to abide by for aspiring fiction writers. His response was “Fiction that isn't an author's personal adventure into the frightening or the unknown isn't worth writing for anything but money” (Franzen). The novels of Francis Scott Fitzgerald suggest that he would agree wholeheartedly with Franzen. In his Notebooks, Fitzgerald wrote, “There never was a good biography of a good novelist. There couldn’t be. He’s too many people if he’s any good” (Fitzgerald 61). Fictionalizing emotions and backgrounds are an unparalleled resource to writers, and some of the greatest stories in literature have grown from the personal lives of novelists. Dickens’ David Copperfield, Hemingway’s A Farewell To Arms, and Kerouac’s On the Road are famed illustrations of autofiction techniques, featuring a protagonist that has been modeled after the author, and a central plotline that mirrors the events of their lives. A close examination of the known facts of Scott Fitzgerald’s life is enough to establish that there is a profound relationship between his personal dispositions and the subject matter of his novels. It is also fair to conclude that he was deeply concerned with class, wealth, and their effect on the corruption of “The American Dream.” The novels and short stories of Scott Fitzgerald are documents that illustrate the hazy and glamorous Jazz Age, and had Fitzgerald’s own life been any less hazy and glamorous, some of America’s greatest literature may not have come to pass.
THE LIFE OF SCOTT FITZGERALD
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born September 24th, 1896 in St Paul, Minnesota, the only son to middle class parents, Edward and Mary Fitzgerald. His parents instilled him
The Life and Literature of F. Scott Fitzgerald
By Jillian Thompson
May 16, 2012.
English newspaper, The Guardian, once asked Jonathan Franzen, the Pulitzer Prize nominated author of The Corrections, to contribute what he believed were the greatest rules to abide by for aspiring fiction writers. His response was “Fiction that isn't an author's personal adventure into the frightening or the unknown isn't worth writing for anything but money” (Franzen). The novels of Francis Scott Fitzgerald suggest that he would agree wholeheartedly with Franzen. In his Notebooks, Fitzgerald wrote, “There never was a good biography of a good novelist. There couldn’t be. He’s too many people if he’s any good” (Fitzgerald 61). Fictionalizing emotions and backgrounds are an unparalleled resource to writers, and some of the greatest stories in literature have grown from the personal lives of novelists. Dickens’ David Copperfield, Hemingway’s A Farewell To Arms, and Kerouac’s On the Road are famed illustrations of autofiction techniques, featuring a protagonist that has been modeled after the author, and a central plotline that mirrors the events of their lives. A close examination of the known facts of Scott Fitzgerald’s life is enough to establish that there is a profound relationship between his personal dispositions and the subject matter of his novels. It is also fair to conclude that he was deeply concerned with class, wealth, and their effect on the corruption of “The American Dream.” The novels and short stories of Scott Fitzgerald are documents that illustrate the hazy and glamorous Jazz Age, and had Fitzgerald’s own life been any less hazy and glamorous, some of America’s greatest literature may not have come to pass.
THE LIFE OF SCOTT FITZGERALD
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born September 24th, 1896 in St Paul, Minnesota, the only son to middle class parents, Edward and Mary Fitzgerald. His parents instilled him