Examining 'Scott Fitzgerald' In A Moveable Feast

Take-Home Exam: Examining “Scott Fitzgerald” in A Moveable Feast: The Restored Edition In the chapter, “Scott Fitzgerald,” Hemingway portrays how a good writer can be destroyed by alcoholism and a jealous wife. Immediately in the epigraph, Hemingway establishes that Scott is a natural writer, “[h]is talent was as natural as the pattern that was made by the dust on the butterfly’s wings” (Hemingway 126). However, his wings are described as “damaged” and Hemingway explains that he met him at a great moment in his career. The “damaged wings” further implicate Scott’s problems with alcohol and his controlling and jealous wife Zelda who holds him back from flying and flourishing into the artist he could be. They are also representative of Fitzgerald

While sitting with Fitzgerald and Dunc Chaplin, Hemingway becomes embarrassed as Scott begins to talk about his writing, “I was embarrassed by what he said — it was all about my writing and how great it was — I kept looking at him closely and noticed instead of listening” (Hemingway 126). As Hemingway observes Fitzgerald, the reader can infer that he is clearly uncomfortable with the praise he is receiving. Plimpton explains that Hemingway prefers not talk about writing, “Hemingway finds it difficult to talk about writing — not because he has few ideas on the subject, but rather because he feels so strongly that such ideas should remain unexpressed…” (Plimpton par. 11). Since Hemingway has just been introduced to Scott he is clearly uneasy when his writing is brought up. However, this is quickly forgotten when Scott gets drunk. Hemingway illustrates a vivid description of his first signs of alcoholism, “[a]s he sat there at the bar holding the glass of champagne the skin seemed to tighten over his face until all the puffiness was gone and then it drew tighter until the face was like a death’s head. The eyes sank and began to look dead and then lips were drawn tight and the color left the face so that it was the color of used candle wax. This was not my imagination, nor have I exaggerated in describing it (Hemingway 128). He immediately becomes worried as

According to Scott, “[t]he top had been damaged in unloading the car in Marseille, or it had been damaged in Marseille in some manner — Scott explained it a little vaguely — and Zelda had ordered it cut away and refused to have it replaced. His wife hated car tops…” (Hemingway 137). This insight into Zelda’s preference serves to indicate to the reader that Zelda is rather particular and demanding. While Scott is unable to entirely explain the situation, we can assume that it was not his choice to remove the car top. This can be seen as an indication of Zelda demanding Scott to do what she wants. The car top is essential and the writers are barely able to get an hour outside of Lyon when they are stopped by the rain, which was the reason the Fitzgerald’s had left the car in the first place. I believe that the iceberg theory is at play here. Although it would be the logical thing to have a car top, they do not have one and are continually stopped on their way back to Paris. The car top can be seen as a representation of Zelda’s and Scott’s relationship, it serves as a distraction, constantly halting Scott from reaching his aesthetic vision as an artist. However, Long reminds the reader that this is just Hemingway’s perception of the couple, “[t]here is some truth in what Hemingway reports about Fitzgerald and Zelda, but he oversimplifies, showing only their weakness and