F. Scott Fitzgerald :: essays research papers

F. Scott FitzgeraldFrancis Scott Fitzgeralds aliveness is an illustration of both sides of the American Dream, the joys of young delight in, wealth and success, and the tragedies associated with success and failure. Named for another noteworthy American, a distant cousin who authored the Star Spangled Banner, Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul Minnesota on September 24, 1896. The son of a wickerwork furniture salesman (Edward Fitzgerald) and an Irish immigrant with a lot of money (Mary McQuillan), Fitzgerald grew up in a Catholic and upper middle class environment. Fitzgerald started writing at an early age. His high school newspaper published his detective stories, further him to pursue writing more than academics. He dropped out of Princeton University to join the array and continued to pursue his obsession.At 21 years of age, he submitted his low novel for publication and Charles Scribners Sons rejected it, but with words of encouragement. Beginning a pattern of constant rev ising that would characterize his writing style for the dwell of his career. The U.S. army, stationed him near Montgomery, Alabama in 1918, where he met and fell in love with Zelda Sayre.      Three years into marriage, after the birth of their first and only child, Scottie, Fitzgerald unblemished his best-known work "The Great Gatsby." The extravagant living made realistic by such success, however, took its toll. Constantly living at various quantify in several different cities in Italy, France, Switzerland, and eight of the United States, the Fitzgeralds act hard to escape from or do something about Scotts alcoholism and Zeldas noetic illness. Zelda suffered several breakdowns in both her physical and mental health, and sought interposition in and out of clinics from 1930 until her death. Things were looking up for Fitzgerald near the end of his life - he won a contract in 1937 to write for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Hollywood and fell in love with S heilah Graham, a movie columnist.