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Essay: F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Brief Biography and the Message of His Novel "The Great Gatsby" 

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  • Published: 6 December 2019*
  • Last Modified: 22 July 2024
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  • Words: 1,090 (approx)
  • Number of pages: 5 (approx)
  • Tags: The Great Gatsby essays

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Assignment Draft (WIP)

1. Author’s name:

2. Author’s nationality and family/cultural background:

3. Age author was when the novel was written:

4. Genre of this novel:

5. Other novels this author wrote:

6. What has been said throughout history about their writing?

7. Were they controversial?

After reading:

8. Summarise the plot in 100 – 200 words.

9. Did you enjoy the read? Explain why/why not.

10. Was any of it challenging to read? Explain your answer.

11. What was/were your favourite part/s? Explain why.

12. Who was/were your favourite character/s? Explain why.

13. List and define 10 new words you came across as you read this novel.

14. What themes were present? Explain how they were demonstrated.

15. Explain the message of the novel if you think there is one?

16. Did the novel remind you of any modern fiction you have read? Explain.

Comparison:

17. Who was the director and who played the lead roles?

18. What year was the film made?

19. Which did you prefer – the book or film/tv series? Explain why.

Bibliography:

20. A correctly formatted bibliography using  citethisforme.com  or similar.

WRITTEN EXPRESSION

21. Spelling, grammar, punctuation .

Questions 1-7

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (mostly known as F. Scott Fitzgerald) was a fiction novelist who was popular for his short books and his most famous novel, ‘The Great Gatsby’. He was born in September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota and died in December 21, 1940 in Hollywood, California. Fitzgerald lived in a family of three as an only child, with his provincial mother, Mary (McQuillan) Fitzgerald, and his father, Edward Fitzgerald, an unsuccessful aristocratic whom was Scott’s leading motivation to becoming an author. Fitzgerald often believed that he was meant to take over his father’s traditions, so he promised himself to become an author.

He studied at St. Paul Academy, Newman School, and Princeton. Although his time at the first two schools were mainly spent being alone and staying unrecognised, Princeton came close to his dream of success as he became a prominent figure at the University. He became close lifelong friends with Edmund Wilson and John Peale Bishop, also falling in love with the beautiful Ginevra King. He eventually lost Ginevra and dropped Princeton, but returned to the University again next Autumn. Unfortunately, Fitzgerald had lost all of his roles that he had earned and was unrecognised once again.

In November 1917, he had left the University yet again to join the military. Later in July 1918, he met Zelda Sayre, daughter of a Supreme Court judge. They both fell in love, and when Fitzgerald headed to New York, he planned to marry her and also pursue his dream of success.

After getting an advertisement job, he began writing his first novel, ‘This Side of Paradise’, which had gained success almost immediately. His second novel, The Beautiful and Damned gained just as success as his first, but it wasn’t until his third novel that he became widely recognised. His third novel, The Great Gatsby was written when Fitzgerald was 28 and had moved to France. It was regarded as his finest book and even as America’s best stories of its time, with its dead accurate portrayal of the Jazz Age. However, it actually wasn’t until the 1950s, way after Fitzgerald’s death, that it had achieved this title.

While he was happy with the popularity his novels had gained, by the end of the 1920s he quickly descended into alcoholism when Zelda had a mental breakdown and broke the engagement. His third novel, ‘Tender Is The Night’, was a failure, leading to Fitzgerald moving to Hollywood and becoming a scriptwriter in an attempt to revive his passion for writing. He died of a heart attack at age 44, leaving his last novel, “The Love of the Last Tycoon” unfinished.

Question 8

The Great Gatsby is set in the roaring 20’s which follows the love story of billionaire Jay Gatsby. The book is narrated by Nick Carraway, Gatsby’s next door neighbor.

Question 9

I thoroughly enjoy The Great Gatsby, even with my rough starts with the book. While there is some debate around it being crowned as one of the greatest American classics, I think it really deserves the title because of how beautifully written the story is.

I’ve always been really drawn into Fitzgerald’s writing, which incorporates and combines many different techniques to create an incredibly unique style. The intense emotion Fitzgerald is able to convey into a scene is almost poetic, as he strongly relies on diction and similes to allow him to really add deeper imagery to his writing. The description are unusual yet intricate, adding another layer of flair to his style.

I also really enjoyed the whole roaring 20s aspect of the book. I’ve always been extremely interested in older periods, especially the aesthetic and fashion. Seeing it perfectly represented into the story was absolutely great.

Question 10

Despite my love for The Great Gatsby, it definitely does seem like more of a book that should be studied rather than enjoyed. The characters are extremely unlikeable and the story, while meaningful and gave an important message, was very dense. As typical for most classic novels, it used a lot of older language that a lot of people now would not be familiar with. It’s by no means a page turner, and I actually disliked the book for quite a while until I read it for the second time. I often found it extremely confusing and dragged out way too much to the point of boredom. Fitzgerald’s in-depth descriptions are an absolute wonder, but the book often becomes cluttered with unnecessary words because of it. To someone who's trying to get into the classic novel genre, this book is definitely not one I’d recommend simply.

Question 11

My favourite part by far is definitely Daisy and Gatsby reunion. The strong emotions you feel when they finally see each other again after what seems like forever is perfectly written. Although they start off slow and awkward when they first meet, they quickly warm up with each other. The reunion is at its purest and most revealing, showing sides of both characters we’ve never seen up until this point. The facade that Gatsby puts across falls away. He doesn’t play the role of the Oxford-educated socialite and shows himself to be a love-struck, awkward person. Daisy also is moved to sincerity, completely overwhelmed by tears of joy. It’s a really heartfelt scene that really moved me, and is one of the few happy scenes you get to see before the love turns to hate.

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