Premium Essay

Fitzgerald

In:

Submitted By cpotter2012
Words 1475
Pages 6
Lost in the “American Dream”

American novelist Florence King once said, “People are so busy dreaming the American Dream, fantasizing about what they could be or have a right to be, that they're all asleep at the switch. Consequently we are living in the Age of Human Error” (Florence King). This quote brings to light the fact that the American Dream is nigh impossible to achieve. This is simply because people are so caught up in dreaming about what other people have obtained rather than taking the necessary steps to live the dream themselves. American author F. Scott Fitzgerald has an unparalleled impact on the idea of the American Dream. Fitzgerald’s novels This Side of Paradise and The Great Gatsby have consistent themes that feature small aspects of the American Dream that conflicts him. Both the main male characters, Armory Blaine and Jay Gatsby showcase men in 1920s America who have come into wealth, yet their money and shiny trinkets do not bring them happiness, even though that is what both characters legitimately yearned for. Together, Gatsby and Blaine expose a perception of the American Dream that F. Scott Fitzgerald investigated thoroughly throughout his life. The idea that when a society is consumed by materialism and the promises it could bring the real American Dream is lost in the shuffle. Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1869 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The author was named after his second cousin Scott Francis Key, who wrote the lyrics to the “Star-Spangled Banner”. As a young boy he went to two Catholic schools the most prestigious of the two being the Newman school where he graduated high school in 1912 and was admitted to Princeton the following year. During his time at the university he dismissed his studies to focus on his writing. He wrote numerous plays for the Triangle Club and articles for the Princeton Tiger along with Nassau Literary

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Ella Fitzgerald

...Ella Fitzgerald By: Anna Eichinger Ella Jane Fitzgerald was born on April 25th 1997, in Newport News Virginia. Ella Fitzgerald is what I would call a cinderella success story. She was born into a normal family with a mother and father, but just months after she was born, her parents seperated. Ella moved to Yonkers, New York with her mother and her long time boyfriend, eventually she married and had another child. They lived a happy life, but in the year 1932, Ella's mother died from injuries she received in a car accident. Just a few weeks later, her step-father suffered a sever heart attack and also died. This forced Ella to move in with her aunt. Ella had a very hard time adjusting to her new life. She began skipping school and getting into quite a bit of trouble, eventually dropping out of high school, getting into some trouble with the law. Ella was then forced into to a reform school,but in fall of 1934, Ella ran away from the reform school in hopes of becoming a singer or dancer. She lived on the streets for years, until she entered an amateur singing contest in Harlem at the Apollo Theater. That night, she won $25 for first place and the attention of Chick Webb. Mr. Webb was the key to kickstarting Ella's career, her first recording was "Love and Kisses" which was released in 1938. Just three years later, Ella made her first hit, "A-Tisket-A-Tasket". And a few months later, she came out with "I Found My Yellow Basket", This climbed to number three on the charts...

Words: 626 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

The Life of Fitzgerald

...Research Paper: Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald [pic] Lovely Louis and Abigail Saint – Juste English 1 Ms. M. Jeanty November 26, 2007 In the early jazzy years, there was a small restaurant where people were dancing to a new jazz number. They were laughing, eating, chatting, and enjoying themselves. In the mist of all the laughter, there sat a man in a dark corner writing vigorously. His name was Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald. He was an American author of novels and many short stories. He was also recognized as one of the greatest authors in the twentieth century. Fitzgerald’s Early Years Francis Scott K. Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 24, 1896. He was named after his famous distant cousin Francis Scott Key, who was the author of the National Anthem. His father, Edward Fitzgerald, and his mother were both Catholic and of Irish descent. However they both came from different societies. Fitzgerald’s mother came from a background where money was everything, such as: position and stability. And his father came from a background where discipline was the most importance. As a result all the attitudes and manners that were established in Fitzgerald’s character came from his father and all the concerns of stability in the society came from his mother. Between the years of 1898-1901 and 1903- 1908 he lived in Buffalo, New York. And this is when he attended Nardin Academy. However when his father was fired from his job, his family...

Words: 1310 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Fitzgerald Wealth

...Explore how Fitzgerald presents wealth and social status in the first chapter of The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald shows wealth and social status to be two defining elements within society in the 1920s however, Nick is the anomaly in this equation as he doesn’t conform to society’s pre-determined and dictated way of life. Fitzgerald shows through the vulgarity of Gatsby`s mansion that wealth was very much defined by how lavish your possessions were. Gatsby, being new money, didn’t care for social pressures and chose to live a life of decadence and extravagance by living in a `colossal` `imitation` of a house. Although it is lavish and `spanking new` there’s an air of tastelessness and begins to show Gatsby`s lack of sophistication. The fact its an `imitation` suggests that its not only the house that’s trying to be a replica it could also be Gatsby himself trying to be big, bold and brash in a desperate attempt to be noticed by Daisy. Gatsby`s mansion is a reflection of himself, the house is `new` much like Gatsby to having an abundance of wealth and they both lack a character and charm that those who were born with money had already acquired. Fitzgerald once again compares Gatsby to his mansion through his use of personification in the phrase `a thin beard of raw ivy` as this suggest that Gatsby has attempted at social climbing but much like the `thin beard` he hasn’t prospered. This has connotations of vulnerability and causes the reader to consider Gatsby as weak and feeble...

Words: 281 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald

...Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald were friends and influential singers of the Swing Era. Each singer possessed a unique musical style that continues to be emulated by today’s jazz singers. Listen to Billie Holiday’s Back in Your Own Back Yard and Ella Fitzgerald’s Flying Home. [Back In Your Own Back Yard (Gridley, Chapter 5, Page 83: Jazz Classics for Concise Guide to Jazz CD 1 track 11; Flying Home: Chapter 5, Page 86: Jazz Classics for Concise Guide to Jazz CD 1 track 12]. Respond to each prompt. Then, offer commentary regarding the similarities and differences between the examples. Back In Your Own Back Yard (Billie Holiday) Flying Home (Ella Fitzgerald) Similarities and Differences Tempo (slow, medium, fast, dance-like?) Medium/slow Medium/Fast (BPM) Back Yard is different as slower tempo, as Flying Home is more faster/up-beat Swing feel (Do you sense a weak, medium, or strong rhythmic pulse? Which song has a stronger pulse?) Medium pulse Strong pulse Flying Home has a stronger pulse Syncopation (Is there evidence of syncopation or tugging and pulling against the musical pulse?) Tugging/Pulling background of Lester Young playing the Sax. Guitar elements give like a dirtier sound. There is disorienting being heard. The syncopation seems to be more apparent with the tone in Flying Home; pure and supple tone compared to Backyard. Lyrics (What story, if any, is told by lyrics each artist sings?) That you left your happiness at home, in the backyard. Hard to say because...

Words: 467 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

F. Scott Fitzgerald

...F. Scott Fitzgerald Though there have been many great authors in history, F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the most admirable for his works. During F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life, many things that were “in the air” influenced him. He lived through the roaring twenties, also known as the Jazz Age, and continued on his career into the Great Depression. On September 24th, 1896, Mary McQuillan gave birth to her child, Francis Scott Fitzgerald. He was born in the apartment that was rented by his parents. The man who fathered Fitzgerald was Edward Fitzgerald. Three months before Fitzgerald was born, his mother had lost her two daughters. F. Scott Fitzgerald began his school career at Miss Goodyear’s School in September of 1902. At Miss Goodyear’s School, Fitzgerald had become a very avid reader. Since F. Scott Fitzgerald’s father transferred jobs a lot, he attended many schools during his childhood. When his father transferred to Buffalo, New York, Fitzgerald went to Miss Narden’s school. During the time while he attended Miss Narden’s School, he got involved with the Catholic Church. The Fitzgeralds moved back to Minnesota after Edward Fitzgerald was fired, and F. Scott Fitzgerald began attending St. Paul’s School. While he was enrolled in St. Paul’s School, Fitzgerald wrote his first short stories. He was expelled from St. Paul’s School due to his grades, though, and soon after the Fitzgeralds got transferred to Hackensack, New Jersey, where F. Scott Fitzgerald was enrolled...

Words: 1791 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

F. Scott Fitzgerald

...F. Scott Fitzgerald * September 24, 1896 St. Paul, Minnesota * He was one of the greatest writers of the 20th century * He perfectly captured America in the 1920’s * Known for one of the greatest novels of all time: The Great Gatsby * "What little I've accomplished has been by the most laborious and uphill work, and I wish now I'd never relaxed or looked back—but said at the end of The Great Gatsby: 'I've found my line—from now on this comes first.'" * F. Scott Fitzgerald (http://www.biography.com/people/f-scott-fitzgerald-9296261?page=1) * Mother: Mary McQuillan was from an Irish-Catholic family that had made a small fortune in Minnesota as wholesale grocers. * Father: Edward Fitzgerald, had opened a wicker furniture business in St. Paul, and, when it failed, he took a job as a salesman for Procter & Gamble that took his family back and forth between Buffalo and Syracuse in upstate New York during the first decade of Fitzgerald's life. However, Edward Fitzgerald lost his job with Procter & Gamble in 1908, when F. Scott Fitzgerald was 12, and the family moved back to St. Paul to live off of his mother's inheritance. * When he was 13 years old, he published his first story and the school news paper on St. Paul Academy * After graduating from the Newman School in 1913, Fitzgerald decided to stay in New Jersey to continue his artistic development at Princeton University. * Then he attended to Princeton he wrote musicals and...

Words: 706 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

F Scott Fitzgerald Accomplishments

...The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a definite page-turner due to Fitzgerald’s passion, and emotion that he has captured. The novel was published on April 10, 1925; however, did not sell many copies until his death. Before his death he was believed to be a failure, but is now considered one of the best American writers of the 20th century. The story takes place in New York City and on Long Island. More specifically, the West and East Egg during the roaring 20’s. Fitzgerald reflects on his own life making The Great Gatsby more of a personal narrative. F. Scott Fitzgerald was born Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald on September 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life has influenced his writing on the novel The Great Gatsby....

Words: 620 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

F. Scott Fitzgerald Research Paper

...F. Scott Fitzgerald is in many ways one of the most notable writers of the twentieth century. His prodigious literary voice and style provides remarkable insight into the lifestyles of the rich and famous, as well as himself. Exploring themes such as disillusionment, coming of age, and the corruption of the American Dream, Fitzgerald based most of his subject matter on his own despicable, tragic life experiences. Although he was thought to be the trumpeter of the Jazz Age, he never directly identified himself with it and was adverse to many of its manifestations. The life of F. Scott Fitzgerald was deeply divided, in that his early successes in the 1910’s and 1920’s contrast noticeably with the years full of personal happenings and self doubt. It was divided, among all, between the pursuit of the artistic ideal and the continual lure of easy success. He became a victim of the myth of success and money instead of the perpetrator. Nevertheless, Fitzgerald’s incredible prose style and beautiful talent shined through his tragic, disillusioned life and he was able to successful create a beautiful world for his readers to escape to. In the early 1920’s, Fitzgerald was accepted as a symbol of youthful sophistication. He became intensely aware of the strangeness and mystery behind the rich at a young age, and tried so hard to echo their actions through sheen curiosity and characterization. It was then that he established a rich and enduring symbolic value throughout his...

Words: 1489 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

...The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates static characters that are unable to learn from their pasts and their mistakes. A static character is one who throughout the duration of the novel does not change their morals, personality, or beliefs. While it is apparent that not all the characters undergo change, an argument could be made that throughout the novel some characters change their ways because of the situations they are put through. Gatsby, Tom, Daisy, and Nick are the characters who remain static. These characters do not change because they are unable to see past their wealth, move on from their pasts, nor learn from various mistakes caused by either themselves, or those surrounding them. Responsible for the death of Myrtle, Daisy has an emotional reaction yet continues to remain the same. It would be thought that if a person killed another person that the murderer would have an emotional reaction. However, Daisy does not change after she runs over Myrtle. People generally learn from their mistakes so they do not make the same mistake twice, but as it is seen in The Great Gatsby, many of the characters do not change after they make their mistakes; “so we drove on toward death through the cooling twilight” (Fitzgerald 143). The characters just keep living life without letting their faults interfere. Not only do the characters fail to learn fro m their mistakes, but also fail to live in the present. As a prime example of one who gets caught up in the...

Words: 618 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Analysis of “the Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald

...English Task 9(western australia 2cd) Analysis of “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby is a comment on society in what was supposed to be the greatest period of American history, the 1920's. Its comment is on our perceptions on wealth, and how people go about gaining and receiving said wealth. It is a critique on the class system and the oppression and misrepresentation of the working class. It is a demonstration of the full spectrum of human relationships and the best and worst parts of America. It’s not just about the love story between the novels central characters, Daisy and Gatsby, but more about the social decay of their society. In the Great Gatsby the story is told from a character voice. The novel is read from Nick Carraway perspective. He is a young man we meet at the beginning in the Great Gatsby novel. Nick moves to New York in 1922 to learn about the bond business, he acquires a house on West Egg early in the novel. This is also where he meets his neighbour Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is a mysterious man who is also filthy rich, the method by he acquired his wealth is questionable. Gatsby is represented in the novel as a symbol for new money and the pursuit of the American dream in the roaring twenties. The roaring twenties was a period of great economic prosperity in the US, there where a lot of individuals who gained their massive wealth during this economic period. Jay Gatsby’s primary goal in the novel is to “own” Daisy Buchanan. She is...

Words: 762 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

How Does Fitzgerald Present Money In The Great Gatsby

...relationship. Gatsby would throw over the top parties in the hopes of finding and obtaining Daisy’s affection. However, when she eventually came to one of the parties she did not enjoy it, but instead it “offended her” (107). With this she only enjoyed “the half-hour she’d been alone with Gatsby” (107). This further proves the point that the wealth Gatsby flaunts had no real effect in furthering his relationship with Daisy. Despite Daisy’s apparent carelessness of Gatsby's wealth it is the reason she “retreated back into [her] money” (179) with Tom. In the end, Daisy had no regard for Gatsby’s attempts at rekindling their romance and always knew she would stay with Tom yet continually acted as the victim. ADD QUOTE. Finally in the use of imagery Fitzgerald represents the ineffectiveness of material objects and ideas on one's true happiness. Explicit imagery is commonly used to express the corruption in Gatsby’s ideals and dreams. Gatsby had to wait five years to have Daisy again and through this time “thrown himself into… a creative passion, decking [his dream] out with every bright feather that drifted his way” (96). This shows that Gatsby’s materialistic ideas caused Daisy to “tumble short of his dreams” (95). With this in the end “he had lost that part of it, the freshest and the best, forever” (153) with Daisy. Gatsby had built up an ideal of Daisy in his mind that she simply could not meet, which was catapulted by his gained wealth. This in the end corrupted his relationship with Daisy...

Words: 678 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Does Fitzgerald Present Daisy's Relationship In The Great Gatsby

...In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick Carraway joins Jay Gatsby through a trail of lies, love, and deception. Jay Gatsby lives perfectly across the bay from Daisy Buchanan with the green light at the end of her dock leaving a reminder. In the book, Fitzgerald portrays Jay and Daisy’s relationship to be like Zelda and himselfs relationship. While showing the progression through the 1920s of wealth, it shows the differences in the social classes and how they looked at each other. The Great Gatsby shows symbolic messages throughout the reading such as Fitzgeralds past, the use of colors, and the American dream. Nick views himself as underclass, being surrounded by the rich, but that he will rise in his bond business. He becomes fascinated by his neighbor Mr. Gatsby mysteriousness and how he is so widespread known. At Tom and Daisy’s under their high living is love and despair. Tom likes living high but also having the power to broadcast his public affair. Tom’s lover Myrtle lives in the Valley of Ash, representing a much lower class. He shows Myrtle off in New York city to show how much power and authority...

Words: 941 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

How Does Fitzgerald Present Marriage In The Great Gatsby

...In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald shows many themes and motifs throughout the whole book. One specific theme in the book is Marriage, or a version of marriage that allows cheating. Cheating is also a motif that is expressed through the book and this particular motif matches up with the overall theme. Through the book we can see the theme of marriage shown by the actions of the main characters. Daisy, Tom, Myrtle, and Wilson demonstrate the theme and with an added Gatsby those characters make up the motif of cheating. Within the first few chapters we already see the motif playing through. Myrtle the beautiful, dirt poor lady living with her husband Wilson, who owns a gas station, has been cheating on Wilson with Tom. Although...

Words: 417 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

How Does Fitzgerald Present Hope In The Great Gatsby

...In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald gives a sense of entitlement to the American Dream, with hope being the inspiration for materialism, and it only takes time to define whether someone is living the American Dream or not. It is comprehended simply by the book’s cover that the story ahead will entail a loss or great sadness, as seen through the light blue anomaly directly under the teary eyes, as if supposed to be a tear and not just a stain on a photograph. The American Dream is quite a known part of the United States, so much that even people not from or in the US know what the dream is, which is a main reason many people to immigrate to the United States, a place of hope and opportunity. Although the American Dream is defined by the...

Words: 726 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

F. Scott Fitzgerald Use Deceit In The Great Gatsby

...The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald’s use of Motif In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the motif of cheating to make his theme of lying and deceit become more evident to the reader. Throughout the novel, characters cheat on each other, cheat the laws of society, and cheat their way to wealth. Fitzgerald wanted this theme to be very evident to the reader because Fitzgerald wanted readers to see the consequences the characters had to face because of the choices they made. Fitzgerald utilizes the relationship between Myrtle and Tom in order to demonstrate the consequences of their affair. Tom’s wife, Daisy is extremely hurt that “Tom has some girl in New York” because she knows that as her husband his responsibility is to be...

Words: 710 - Pages: 3