F. Scott Fitzgerald and

The Great Gatsby

1) Middle class Minnesota family

2) Grandfather self-made man

3) Failed out of Princeton

4) Enlisted in Army• Hoped to fight in WWI• Instead sent to Alabama• Sent overseas after Armistice

5) Falls in love with Zelda Sayre• Exciting, wealthy socialite• “poor boys don’t marry rich girls”

6) Gains success as writer—This Side of Paradise• “The Jazz Age”• Zelda agrees to marry him

Fitzgerald—A Brief Biography

Fitzgerald—A Brief Biography

7) Fitzgerald and Zelda symbolize “Jazz Age”• Hard partiers; Hard drinkers• Mixing with different social classes (Old Money, New Money, Criminals)

8) The Great Gatsby• Published 1925• Good critical reviews, poor sales• Based on Fitzgerald’s observations

9) They live beyond their means• Fitzgerald turns to writing for popular magazines to make money• Can’t complete any new novels

10) End of “Jazz Age”• Stock Market Crash—1929• Zelda has breakdown—1930• Fitzgerald can’t repeat successes• Works as scriptwriter

Fitzgerald—A Brief Biography

11) Fitzgerald dies 1940 of heart attack• Alcoholic and outcast• Relatively unknown

12) Other works• The Beautiful and the Damned • Flappers and Philosophers (short stories)• Tales of the Jazz Age (short stories)• “The Crack Up” (series of essays)• The Last Tycoon (uncompleted)

Great GatsbySetting•New York, 1922•Post-WWI•Prohibition•“Jazz Age”•Pre-Depression

Long IslandEast Egg West Egg Tom and Daisy Nick and Gatsby Old Money New Money or Middle Class

Valley of Ashes ManhattanGeorge and Myrtle Wilson Tom and MyrtlePoor Endless Possibilities

Great GatsbyPoint of View•First Person—Limited•Nick Carraway (Narrator)•Why use 1st-person narration; how is Nick especially effective

Parties•Tom & Daisy’s•Tom & Myrtle’s•Gatsby’s•Nick’s•Plaza Hotel

Main Characters•Nick Carraway•Jay Gatsby•Daisy Fay Buchanan•Tom Buchanan•Jordan Baker•Myrtle Wilson

Great GatsbyMinor Characters•George Wilson•Meyer Wolfshiem•Klipspringer•“Owl Eyes”•T.J. Eckleberg•Michaelis

Motifs•American Dream•Corruption of Morality•Duality

• Appearance-Reality• Idealism-Realism• Old Money-New Money• Rich-Poor

•The Past

Symbols•Colors-White, Yellow, Green, Pink•Cars•Geography-East, West•Names-Gatsby, Daisy Fay•Eyes•Clock/Time