F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender Is The Night

Throughout the Jazz Age many new authors were becoming known and Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was one of them. Once his books became published the critics roared with many criticisms and Fitzgerald tried to ignore them. However, some critics analyzed the style that consistently appeared in his novels. Many realized Fitzgerald’s life was the inspiration towards his own writing which led critics to look into his life a little more. Ultimately, Fitzgerald used his dream of happiness, his wife, and his own experiences of failure in the Jazz Age for the basis of his writing. Growing up, Fitzgerald saw the struggle his father had trying to take the archaic role of being the man of the family. Although with some avail, Edward Fitzgerald was still

Arthur Mizener, author of The Far Side of Paradise, claimed the book to be “profoundly moving” but a “structurally imperfect book” (Mizener). Although Mizener criticizes the structure of the book to be imperfect, he gives Fitzgerald the credit that the central theme wasn’t easy to write. He helps the audience convey that Fitzgerald tried following a central theme that was so difficult that the structure wasn’t perfect, but the commitment to the theme was a masterpiece. Tender is the Night was seen as a failure when it was first published but since then the critics have agreed to see the novel as a “noble failure” or a “flawed masterpiece” (Tomkins). One of the flaws was that the main characters Dick and Nicole Diver were modeled after Gerald and Sara Murphy. Critics say that Fitzgerald changed Dick’s role as Gerald so Dick could reflect himself. Fitzgerald did the same with Nicole; he changed Nicole’s role as Sara so she could reflect Zelda’s mannerisms. Ernest Hemingway, Fitzgerald’s beloved friend and enemy, criticized Fitzgerald’s ability to “[cheat] with his material” (Gent). Hemingway was upset at the fact that his friend only used his life to fuel his writing, whereas he and other authors had to find material of their own. Tender is the Night has made Fitzgerald’s friends and critics reevaluate his life as a friend and his career. Scott Fitzgerald’s life and novels have been considered to be failures but today he is often praised by many. Although critics may not praise Fitzgerald for his novels, they praise the style of his writing. He uses the same reoccurring literary elements in his novels that make them popular. Fitzgerald’s novels wouldn’t be the same without his use of imagery, symbolism, and