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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 attack Boarding house where Scott died The Decline Scottie is alive today – she lives in California Zelda died in a hospital fire in 1948 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 semiautobiographical 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.”