The American Dream in The Great Gatsby and This Side of...

Frances Scott Fitzgerald was born on September 24th, 1896 in St. Paul Minnesota and died of a heart attack in an apartment in Hollywood on December 21st, 1940. Throughout his career, Fitzgerald wrote many works, traveled the world, and served in the United States Army. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote mostly short stories but became famous because of his novel This Side of Paradise and became even more famous because of The Great Gatsby which was released in 1925. The time period in which Fitzgerald lived played an extensive role in his work. Fitzgerald is one of the all time greatest American authors solely of the fact that his works displayed â€Å"The American Dream.† This brings up an excellent question: What was or what is â€Å"The American Dream†?†¦show more content†¦His father was an English poet and writer who grew up in Norfolk, England. His mother, Mollie McQuillan was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota. The two were married in February 1890 and later had four children, Frances Key being one of them. When the young Fitzgerald was just twelve years of age, he attended St. Paul Academy, a nonsectarian school (Reuben). While he was there, he began to fall in love with literature; he even became a literacy apprentice. â€Å"During his time as an apprentice Scott published his very first book titled: The Mystery of the Raymond Mortgage† (Reuben). He was accepted into Princeton University in 1913. While at Princeton he joined extra curricular organizations such as the newspaper and theatre club. In 1917 Fitzgerald was put on academic probation because he wasn’t meeting the academic standards. He discontinued his time at Princeton and enlisted in the United States army as a second lieutenant at Fort Leavenworth and began to write his novel The Romantic Egotist later (Shmoop Editorial Team) to be published as This Side of Paradise. During his time at Princeton, Fitzgerald had a passion for literature and was constantly wr iting. He also wrote plays for Princeton. Frances Key Scott Fitzgerald developed a love for literature. In fact, the young boy would write whenever he could. Frances later left St. Paul Academy and enrolled at Newman, a boardingShow MoreRelatedThe Pursuit Of The American Dream By F. Scott Fitzgerald1653 Words   |  7 PagesKristin Liu Research Paper Date due: June 10, 2015 Date turned in: June 15, 2015 Self Demise in the Pursuit of the American Dream The 1920s was a time when parties and prosperity were abundant. This created the view that everything was possible and eventually led to the idea of the American Dream. The American Dream was the thought that if one lives in America, then they are living in a land of opportunity. The perception was that an individual, through hard work, can be successful when in AmericaRead MoreResearch Paper F Scott Fitzgerald2343 Words   |  10 PagesThe Unsatisfied American Dream As Florence King once said, â€Å"People are so busy dreaming the American Dream, fantasizing about what they could be or have a right to be, that theyre all asleep at the switch. This quote symbolizes the simple fact that the American Dream is impossible for someone to ever attain because people are to busy dreaming about what others have, that they fail to recognize what they themselves already have attained. The American author F. Scott Fitzgerald has had an unprecedentedRead MoreF. Scott Fitzgerald Essay1597 Words   |  7 PagesN. Bhaskar Ms. Budacki American Literature 19 December 2013 Author Report on F. Scott Fitzgerald F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the greatest American authors. Many of Fitzgerald’s novels are considered classics and will forever be read. 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Scott Fitzgerald is mostly known for his images of young, rich, immoral individuals pursuing the American Dream of the 1920’s (Mangum). This image is best portrayed in his greatest novel, The Great Gatsby, alongside his principal themes, â€Å"lost hope, the corruption of innocence by money, and the impossibility of recapturing the past† (Witkoski). Fitzgerald was identified as a modern period writer because his themes and topics were inconsistent with traditional writing (Rahn). The modern periodRead MoreSymbolisms in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Essay846 Words   |  4 Pagesas memorable as the green light in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Shining at the end of Daisy’s dock, it is close enough to be seen, but too far away to be reached. Still, Gatsby, an eternal optimist, stares at it at night, as if it showed him that all his far-away dreams were about to come true. The green light in The Great Gatsby is symbolic of hope, a source of inspiration, and a representation of the American Dream to Gatsby and to the novel’s readers. Gatsby’s aspirations reflect theRead MoreThe Great Gatsby : Similarities And Comparisons1382 Words   |  6 PagesHani Abidi Honors American Lit. 12/8/2014 The Great Gatsby Similarities and Comparisons The Great Gatsby is an American Novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1925 and set in the summer of 1922 in the fictional towns of East and West Egg in Long Island, New York. The story is about the young and perplexing millionaire Jay Gatsby, and his obsession to win back the only girl he’d ever loved, a Southern debutante the name of Daisy Buchanan. Some themes in the novel include dedication, destructivenessRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1569 Words   |  7 PagesBrian Barnaik Mrs. Bowers English May 10, 2016 Fantastic Fitzgerald The greatest American writers have their places in history and their stories forever passed down to new generations. Their stories are easily relatable and understandable. One of the most memorable authors is F. Scott. Fitzgerald. His writings during the 1920’s give perspective to the 1920’s atmosphere: most notably in this novel, The Great Gatsby. The environment has influenced his creative mind set and has caused his writing skillsRead MoreAnalysis Of F. Scott Fitzgerald953 Words   |  4 PagesF. Scott Fitzgerald was an American author who was known for his novels that generally take place during the Jazz Age after World War I. His use of similes add deeper imagery and to emphasize certain descriptions that are necessary to understand in his distinctive writing style. Fitzgerald incorporated a lot of his own personal life into his works; his struggles with alcoholism, mental disorders and marital problems are generally thrown into almost all his novels. Many of his stories can be readRead More Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald and His Work Essay735 Words   |  3 PagesWork      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By the time F. Scott Fitzgerald published The Great Gatsby in 1925, he had already amassed an impressive literary resume. From his first commercial publication of the short story, Babes in the Woods at age 23 to The Sensible Thing at age 28, Fitzgerald published fourteen short stories, one play, two collections of short stories, and two novels. His first novel, This Side of Paradise, made Fitzgerald a celebrity. The second, The Beautiful and the