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The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby. Background Notes. Francis Scott Fitzgerald . Born 1896, wealthy family Attended Princeton, but didn’t graduate Joined Army, when he met “ Zelda ” After WWI, went to NY Became a writer, and engaged His work spanned between WWI and WWII

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The Great Gatsby

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  1. The Great Gatsby Background Notes

  2. Francis Scott Fitzgerald • Born 1896, wealthy family • Attended Princeton, but didn’t graduate • Joined Army, when he met “Zelda” • After WWI, went to NY • Became a writer, and engaged • His work spanned between WWI and WWII • First success: This Side of Paradise 1920 • Married in 1920; daughter born in 1921

  3. One reason… • Considered today as one of the major prose stylist of the twentieth century, Fitzgerald celebrates the boom of the 1920s and the crash of the 1930s. His themes combine the hollowness of the American worship of riches and the never-ending dream of love, splendor, and glory.

  4. Lifestyle • FSF wrote many short stories in the ’20s and earned a lot of money • F and Z led an “expensive” life • Lived in Europe, 1924-26 • Traveled extensively • Always in debt • Rocky marriage on her part • Schizophrenia 1930 – 1932, re-admitted • Deaths – heart attack 1940; fire, 1948

  5. GG’s History • Began as short story in 1923 • Short story “Absolution” published 1924 • GG published 1925 • Received good critical reviews • Not a commercial success, huge disappointment (storage)

  6. GG Customs & Background • Prohibition • Smoking • Betting Laws • Lack of A/C • Trains vs. Cars • Pre Civil Rights • Wealth • 1919 World Series • WWI

  7. Literary Info • Settings: • East Egg – “fashionable” side of Long Island where the Buchanans and other “old money” people live • West Egg – “less fashionable” side of Long Island where Gatsby and Nick live • The valley of ashes • New York City – a symbol of what America has become in the 1920s: a place where anything goes, where money is made and bootleggers flourish, where corrupt things can happen and be swept under the rug

  8. Literary Info • Issues/Themes • Hope * Immorality • Success * The American Dream • Ignorance * God – the all seeing eye • Judgment • Disillusionment • Morals • Money cannot buy happiness. • You cannot relive the past. • If dreams are too fantastic, and reality cannot keep up with ideals, they are usually not fulfilled.

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