The Great Gatsby, By F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was the third of four children, though two died before he was born. As the only son, his mother, Mary McQuillian, spoiled him. Fitzgerald came from a prominent Maryland family. Among his relatives were Francis Scott Key, the author of “The Star Spangled Banner,” and Mary E. Surratt, who was hanged for being an accomplice in Lincoln’s murder. He began at Princeton in 1913 but found no success there. He was in danger of being dropped and was ineligible for any extracurricular activities. In the article “Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald” it states, “Like all his failures…this one left a hurt he never forgot” (Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald). After Princeton, he enlisted in the army and through this met Zelda Sayre.

They led an indulgent lifestyle that Fitzgerald had to work hard to pay for. After struggling financially, they moved to Europe. Here, their lives began to unravel. Fitzgerald started drinking heavily, and Zelda had a serious mental breakdown. She recovered momentarily but then had a relapse and never fully recovered. After further writing and financial failures, coupled with the grief of losing Zelda, Fitzgerald decided to give up writing novels. He moved to Hollywood where he found momentary happiness writing movies and once again fell in love. This too, did not work out for him. While writing one last novel, The last Tycoon, Fitzgerald had a heart attack and died on December 21, 1940. An article about Fitzgerald concludes with “Fitzgerald's contribution to literature is his profound and undistorted imaginative penetration of the particular American world he knew” (Francis Scott Key