Fitzgeralds Life In The Great Gatsby
Essay by 24 • December 30, 2010 • 578 Words (3 Pages) • 2,027 Views
The Great Gatsby is F. Scott Fitzgerald's most renowned book, and still one of the most read novels in American literature. A book with this much success was obviously was a product of great influence. The Great Gatsby draws many extensive parallels between F. Scott Fitzgerald's life and this novel. These similarities range from basing characters off important people from his personal life to interweaving intricate love relationships he went through into the novel to recreating the American Dream. The book comes as a direct result of many of the events in Fitzgerald's early life.
First off, are the most noticeable parallels, the character he chooses. Fitzgerald parallels himself in two of the main characters in The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby, and Nick Carraway. Nick represents Fitzgerald's passive, or indecisive, and observant characteristics. On the other hand, Gatsby shows Fitzgerald's passionate and active attributes. Another huge character Fitzgerald picks from his life was Zelda, his wife of 27 years, who translated into Daisy. Both of these women were the object of desire for Fitzgerald and Gatsby.
The main love plot of The Great Gatsby was hugely influenced by events that occurred in Fitzgerald's life. In the summer of 1918 was stationed in Alabama at Camp Sheridan. While he was there for military training he fell in love with Zelda Sayre, the love of his life. He was just ready to be sent overseas for war when it ended. During this time Fitzgerald kept hoping for the success of The Romantic Egotist, which he gave up on after submitting it to Charles Scribner's
Sons twice. With this failure he moved to New York to get rich, and Zelda, being impatient, ended their engagement which had only happened a few months earlier. A year later Fitzgerald quit his job to write his next book, This Side of Paradise, which was an instant success, and pretty much made him an overnight celebrity. With his new status, within a week he married his golden girl, Zelda. This whole love situation is almost exactly played out through Jay
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