Download
1 / 28
290 likes | 404 Views
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.
E N D
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.”
