F. Scott FItzgerald was a famous author, well known for his novel The Great Gatsby. His books are well known, but the man behind them is not. He helped define an age with his words, although they did not become so well known and credible as they are today until well after his death. He was an example of the American dream, the happiness and tragedy of it. The beginning of Fitzgerald’s life was fairly ordinary for his time. He was named for Francis Scott Key, the writer of the Star-Spangled Banner, who was his second cousin, three times removed. Fitzgerald was born September 24th, 1896 to Edward and Mary Fitzgerald. His father was a failed wicker furniture salesman, and his mother was an Irish immigrant with a large amount of inherited money. …show more content…
His own marriage had inspired the story of Anthony and Gloria Patch’s troubled marriage. He was one of the greatest chroniclers and satirists of the 20’s- later called the Jazz Age. When Zelda had her affair and negatively influenced his writing, Fitzgerald moved to France seeking a new spark of creativity in 1924. He found his words there in France, and wrote his most famous novel, “The Great Gatsby”. It was published in 1925, and although it found fame in that age, it did not become a symbol of the 20’s and one of the best American novels until after Fitzgerald was …show more content…
After “Tender is the Night”, he was lost in debt, depressed, alcoholic and unable to write. He was alienated to his wife and daughter, and had terrible physical and mental health. Nothing was going right for him, and he was on a steady decline. Finally, after two years of depression, he won a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to be a scriptwriter in Hollywood. He fell in love again, this time with a movie columnist. He began writing again, and his life improved greatly. He had financial success again, even if he still lacked critical success. He started another novel, “The Love of the Last Tycoon” in 1939, but tragically suffered a heart attack and died on December 21st, 1940. He had completed half of the novel, but would never be able to finish it. He was only 44, and died a failure in his head. Nothing kills a man faster than his own head, and his alcoholism and bad health caused him to die before he became famous, like he is today. He never knew he had found