F. Scott Fitzgerald, a writer of the “Lost Generation,” depicted the jazz age in his works. He attended Princeton, fell in love with Zelda Sayre, and married her after his first novel’s success. His most famous work is The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald struggled with alcoholism and died at 44, leaving behind an unfinished manuscript.
F. Scott Fitzgerald is an American writer who embodied in his works the decadence and tragedy of the so-called jazz age of the 1920s. Born in 1896, Fitzgerald was part of the “Lost Generation” who grew up on the turmoil of World War I, along with other writers such as Ernest Hemingway, who was his friend and rival.
Francis Scott Fitzgerald, commonly known as “Scott,” was born in St. Paul, Minnesota to a relatively affluent Irish Catholic family. He was related to the composer of “Star Spangled Banner,” Francis Scott Key; in fact, Key served as a namesake for Fitzgerald. In his youth, Fitzgerald attended Princeton University for three years, where his grades were mediocre. He retired to join the Army, but World War I ended shortly after his enlistment, so he never served in combat.
While at his military training camp, Camp Sheridan, F. Scott Fitzgerald met a young woman who would have a profound influence on his life and work: Zelda Sayre. Fitzgerald fell instantly in love with Sayre, an Alabama socialite. They soon became engaged, but Sayre broke off the engagement because she didn’t believe she would have the funds to support her lifestyle.
However, when F. Scott Fitzgerald’s first novel, This Side of Paradise, was accepted by Scribner’s publishing company, Zelda agreed to marry Fitzgerald, and they married in 1920. Their only child, a girl named Scottie, was born on next year.
Although F. Scott Fitzgerald did not write as many novels as many of his contemporaries, his works are widely renowned for their graceful and elegant depiction of the jazz age. He also makes frequent allusions to mental illness inspired by his wife, Zelda, who suffered from schizophrenia and was hospitalized in 1932.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s most famous, and arguably best, novel is The Great Gatsby, the story of a self-made man, Jay Gatsby, who pines for a lost love, Daisy Buchanan. Though Gats built his fortune and reinvented himself to impress Daisy, all his efforts are ultimately for naught. The novel is a beautiful tale of hope and disillusionment.
“The Great Gatsby” and many other books by F. Scott Fitzgerald are often taught in schools today and are widely acclaimed as classic works of American literature. Unfortunately, during Fitzgerald’s lifetime, his work was largely ignored and was secondary to his and his wife’s reputations as partygoers and alcoholics.
Scott and Zelda lived extravagantly, and the minor commercial success of his novels could not pay for all their indulgences; during the second half of the 1930s, Fitzgerald supported himself by writing films for MGM Studios, which he thought were inferior to him. By this time, Zelda had been hospitalized and Scott was living with a new partner, journalist Sheila Graham.
F. Scott Fitzgerald died of a heart attack in 1940, at the young age of 44. His death, many believe, was caused by his frequent drinking: Fitzgerald had been an alcoholic since his time at Princeton. He left behind an unfinished manuscript called “The Last Tycoon,” which was published posthumously. Zelda Fitzgerald spent the rest of her life in a mental institution and died in a fire in 1948.
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