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Francis Scott Fitzgerald. The Voice of the Jazz Age. The Early Years. Scott Fitzgerald was born September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota His father sold furniture His mother brought a small inheritance to the family. Fitzgerald’s birthplace. The Early Years.
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Francis Scott Fitzgerald The Voice of the Jazz Age
The Early Years • Scott Fitzgerald was born September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota • His father sold furniture • His mother brought a small inheritance to the family Fitzgerald’s birthplace
The Early Years • Scott’s father was an unsuccessful businessman • The family lived above their means, largely on his mother’s inherited income • Scott was sent to expensive, private boarding schools • Scott was aware that his family was not as wealthy as his classmates’ families • Scott was disliked by his peers – he was considered to be arrogant
Princeton • Scott’s natural talents allowed him to enter Princeton • While there, he neglected his academics • He concentrated only on drama and literature • He withdrew in 1917, short of graduation
The War Years • Scott joined the army air corps • Scott was stationed in Montgomery, Alabama
The War Years • In Montgomery, Scott, along with countless other young officers, fell in love with Zelda Sayre • Zelda was spoiled, adventurous, and flirtatious
The War Years • Scott and Zelda fell in love • Scott, while waiting to go overseas, realized his desire to write • He penned The Romantic Egotist • It was about a young man and his time at Princeton
The War Years • Scott sent his novel to the famous publishing house, Scribner’s • It was rejected, but caught the eye of Maxwell Perkins • Perkins was a well known editor at Scribner’s Maxwell Perkins
The War Years • Scott proposed to Zelda • Although she loved Scott, she turned him down • She was unwilling to marry a penniless army pilot • At the war’s end, Scott left Zelda and the army
The Emerging Writer • Scott moved to New York City • He continued to submit his writing • He was rejected time after time (over 122) • He was captivated by the vibrancy of New York City Times Square - 1920
The Emerging Writer • Dejected and rejected, he returned home to St. Paul • He rewrote The Romantic Egotist • His revisions followed Maxwell Perkins advice • He titled his revision This Side of Paradise
The Emerging Writer • Maxwell Perkins and Scribner’s published This Side of Paradise • It captured the mood of young people in post World War I America • It was an instant, huge, national success
Fame and Fortune • The novel was published in April of 1920 • In May of 1920 Scott and Zelda were married • In 1919, his yearly earnings were $879 • In 1920, his yearly earnings were $20,000 • Normal average salary was $750 per year
Fame and Fortune • Scott and Zelda were young, talented, rich, and beautiful • Scott and Zelda were the darlings of the media • Scott and Zelda represented the American Dream
Fame and Fortune • In 1921 they had a daughter and named her Scottie • Scott and Zelda became international stars • They lived in wealth and extravagance • Scott coined the phrase The Jazz Age
Fame and Fortune • Scotty was sent away to boarding schools • Scott and Zelda lived lavishly • Scott felt forced to write to earn money • In 1924 he penned The Great Gatsby
Fame and Fortune • The novel met with a mixed critical and popular reaction • Later, Scott would say that he had “used up” all of his writing talent on the novel • It is now considered one of the great American novels
Fame and Fortune • Scott and Zelda became inseparable from the Jazz Age • They set trends by what they wore, where they stayed, what they ate, etc. • They represented the wild, “party” decade of the 1920’s • A runaway stock market made millionaires out of many who could then imitate Scott and Zelda’s lifestyle
The Roaring Twenties – The Jazz Age • Prohibition • Jazz music • Bootleggers • Flappers • Bobbed hair • Raccoon coats • Radio • Talkies • $$$$$
The Decline • The stock market crash of 1929 sent America into the Great Depression • Scott and Zelda, imitated before, were now reviled • Scott and his literary works fell out of popularity • No one wanted to be reminded of the fun they no longer had
The Decline • Zelda suffered a series of nervous breakdowns • Zelda was hospitalized at great expense to Scott • His loss of popularity, his loss of talent, his loss of his wife, his loss of the life he knew, drove him further into alcoholism
The Decline • Desperate to make a living, America’s once greatest writer moved to Hollywood to write screenplays • Scotty remained in boarding school • Zelda remained hospitalized
The Decline • Zelda attacked Scott publicly in a series of magazine articles • Hemingway, once Scott’s best friend, criticized Scott in writing • As a screenwriter, Scott regained modest success
The Decline • Scott stopped drinking • Scott began working as a writer again • He began The Last Tycoon • He regained much of his lost confidence • Suddenly, in 1940, he died of a heart attack Boarding house where Scott died
The Decline Scottie is alive today – she lives in California Zelda died in a hospital fire in 1948
Additional Notes • Scott Fitzgerald found it difficult to separate himself from the characters in his writing • In fact, much of his writing is semi-autobiographical • His writing appears to glamorize wealth – in fact, it criticizes and condemns it
Famous Fitzgerald Quotations • “Show me a hero and I’ll show you a tragedy.” • “The victor belongs to the spoils.” • “I feel like I’m on a rifle range at twilight, with no ammo, and no target.”
