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Francis Scott Fitzgerald. The Voice of the Jazz Age. The Early Years. Scott Fitzgerald was born September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota His father sold furniture His mother brought a small inheritance to the family. Fitzgerald’s birthplace. The Early Years. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Francis Scott Fitzgerald
The Voice of the
Jazz Age
The Early Years
Scott Fitzgerald was born September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota
His father sold furniture His mother brought a
small inheritance to the family
Fitzgerald’s birthplace
The Early Years
Scott’s father was an unsuccessful businessman The family lived above their means, largely on his
mother’s inherited income Scott was sent to expensive, private boarding schools Scott was aware that his family was not as wealthy as
his classmates’ families Scott was disliked by his peers – he was considered to
be arrogant
Princeton
Scott’s natural talents allowed him to enter Princeton
While there, he neglected his academics
He concentrated only on drama and literature
He withdrew in 1917, short of graduation
The War Years
Scott joined the army air corps
Scott was stationed in Montgomery, Alabama
The War Years
In Montgomery, Scott, along with countless other young officers, fell in love with Zelda Sayre
Zelda was spoiled, adventurous, and flirtatious
The War Years
Scott and Zelda fell in love
Scott, while waiting to go overseas, realized his desire to write
He penned The Romantic Egotist
It was about a young man and his time at Princeton
The War Years
Scott sent his novel to the famous publishing house, Scribner’s
It was rejected, but caught the eye of Maxwell Perkins
Perkins was a well known editor at Scribner’s
Maxwell Perkins
The War Years
Scott proposed to Zelda Although she loved
Scott, she turned him down
She was unwilling to marry a penniless army pilot
At the war’s end, Scott left Zelda and the army
The Emerging Writer
Scott moved to New York City
He continued to submit his writing
He was rejected time after time (over 122)
He was captivated by the vibrancy of New York City
Times Square - 1920
The Emerging Writer
Dejected and rejected, he returned home to St. Paul
He rewrote The Romantic Egotist
His revisions followed Maxwell Perkins advice
He titled his revision This Side of Paradise
The Emerging Writer
Maxwell Perkins and Scribner’s published This Side of Paradise
It captured the mood of young people in post World War I America
It was an instant, huge, national success
Fame and Fortune
The novel was published in April of 1920
In May of 1920 Scott and Zelda were married
In 1919, his yearly earnings were $879
In 1920, his yearly earnings were $20,000
Normal average salary was $750 per year
Fame and Fortune
Scott and Zelda were young, talented, rich, and beautiful
Scott and Zelda were the darlings of the media
Scott and Zelda represented the American Dream
Fame and Fortune
In 1921 they had a daughter and named her Scottie
Scott and Zelda became international stars
They lived in wealth and extravagance
Scott coined the phrase The Jazz Age
Fame and Fortune
Scotty was sent away to boarding schools
Scott and Zelda lived lavishly
Scott felt forced to write to earn money
In 1924 he penned The Great Gatsby
Fame and Fortune
The novel met with a mixed critical and popular reaction
Later, Scott would say that he had “used up” all of his writing talent on the novel
It is now considered one of the great American novels
Fame and Fortune
Scott and Zelda became inseparable from the Jazz Age
They set trends by what they wore, where they stayed, what they ate, etc.
They represented the wild, “party” decade of the 1920’s
A runaway stock market made millionaires out of many who could then imitate Scott and Zelda’s lifestyle
The Roaring Twenties – The Jazz Age
Prohibition Jazz music Bootleggers Flappers Bobbed hair Raccoon coats Radio Talkies $$$$$
The Decline
The stock market crash of 1929 sent America into the Great Depression
Scott and Zelda, imitated before, were now reviled
Scott and his literary works fell out of popularity
No one wanted to be reminded of the fun they no longer had
The Decline
Zelda suffered a series of nervous breakdowns
Zelda was hospitalized at great expense to Scott
His loss of popularity, his loss of talent, his loss of his wife, his loss of the life he knew, drove him further into alcoholism
The Decline
Desperate to make a living, America’s once greatest writer moved to Hollywood to write screenplays
Scotty remained in boarding school
Zelda remained hospitalized
The Decline
Zelda attacked Scott publicly in a series of magazine articles
Hemingway, once Scott’s best friend, criticized Scott in writing
As a screenwriter, Scott regained modest success
The Decline
Scott stopped drinking Scott began working as
a writer again He began The Last
Tycoon He regained much of
his lost confidence Suddenly, in 1940, he
died of a heart attackBoarding house where Scott died
The Decline
Zelda died in a hospital fire in 1948
Scottie is alive today – she lives in California
FRANCIS SCOTT FITZGERALD 1896 - 1940
Additional Notes
Scott Fitzgerald found it difficult to separate himself from the characters in his writing
In fact, much of his writing is semi-autobiographical
His writing appears to glamorize wealth – in fact, it criticizes and condemns it
Famous Fitzgerald Quotations
“Show me a hero and I’ll show you a tragedy.”
“The victor belongs to the spoils.” “I feel like I’m on a rifle range at twilight, with
no ammo, and no target.”
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