Strolling in the American Literature Garden [Part 13]

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (1896-1940) was an American writer famous for his novels and short stories in the 1920s.

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (1896-1940) was an American writer famous for his novels and short stories in the 1920s.

Fitzgerald was born into a middle-class Catholic family. He was named after a great-grandfather named Francis Scott Key, who wrote the American national anthem (Star-Spangled Banner, 1814). His mother was the daughter of an Irish merchant, and his father was a furniture store owner in Minnesota.

From a young age, he attended a Catholic school, was intelligent, and had excellent writing skills; he later attended university but did not graduate. At the end of World War I, he served in the army but did not participate in combat, instead dedicating his time to writing.

The first part of his novel *This Side of Paradise * (1920), written during this period, is considered a manifesto for the younger generation after World War I. The book sold over 40,000 copies in its first year.

Also in 1920, he married Zelda, a beautiful girl from a noble family; they began a glorious life like something out of his novels, living in luxurious entertainment venues (Paris, New York...), staying in elegant hotels around the world , until his wife suffered from dementia and he himself declined mentally and physically.

Fitzgerald was a spokesperson for the "Jazz Age." His 1922 collection, *Tales of the Jazz Age*, depicts sharp-witted, brazen, and irresponsible characters who turn life into an endless game. The relaxed, carefree nature of jazz music suited the easygoing, unconventional, joyful, and decadent spirit of the post-World War I American boom. According to him, "the Jazz Age is the age of a new generation, growing up to see that all the gods are dead, all the wars are over, and all human beliefs have been overturned."

Fitzgerald is also known as one of the prominent writers of the "Lost Generation," alongside Hemingway, Ezra Pound, Dos Passos, and Sinclair Lewis, with his masterpiece *The Great Gatsby* (1925). All of his stories are imbued with a desperate sense of wrongdoing; they portray typical Americans who believe that money, power, and knowledge bring happiness, but are ultimately disillusioned.

Fitzgerald often published a collection of short stories after writing a novel. The Great Gatsby, published when he was 29, is considered one of his masterpieces. This was followed by All the Sad Young Men (1926).

By this time, he was facing many emotional and financial difficulties. Because he had to write many stories for newspapers, it was not until eight years later that he published his novel, *Tender is the Night * (1934), which recounts the breakdown of a family and a conscience, alluding to his own family.

He wrote prolifically; during his lifetime, he published four novels, four collections of short stories, and 164 short stories, many of which were adapted into films. Despite achieving temporary success and prosperity in the 1920s, Fitzgerald only received critical acclaim after his death and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. He died at the age of 44, after a life of ups and downs.

This Side of Paradise evokes the hopeless mood of the "Lost Generation" from the author's college years. The novel addresses a familiar theme for him: true love being destroyed by money. He meticulously depicts the early days of the Jazz Age.

The story is about Amory Blaine, a young university student who is only interested in literature, has a "free-spirited" nature, and is promiscuous with several flirtatious girls. But then he truly falls in love with a young woman named Rosaline; she later rejects him to marry a wealthier young man. During World War I, Amory served as an officer in France. Upon his return, he works in advertising. Before turning thirty, he is already experiencing feelings of blatant disillusionment and regret...

In *The Great Gatsby*, the author evokes many personal memories while satirically recounting a topical story about love and money during the chaotic years in America after World War I, the years known as the "Roaring Twenties." He depicts a wealthy, extravagant society with a false facade of splendor, lacking culture and morals.

Gatsby, whose real name was James Gatz, was a romantic, uneducated playboy from a poor Midwestern family. After being discharged from the war in 1917-1918, he amassed a fortune through bootlegging, rising and falling just as quickly. In his New York mansion, he entertained hundreds of wealthy patrons, mostly hardened criminals, exchanging exorbitant sums for a good laugh. Gatsby had an affair with Daisy, but she left him for a ruthless billionaire, Tom Buchanan. Gatsby's wealth and ostentatious displays of his riches were solely for the purpose of winning Daisy back, but he failed. On one occasion, Daisy, driving Gatsby's car, unknowingly ran over and killed Myrtle, Tom's mistress. Myrtle's husband tracked the car tracks and discovered it was Gatsby's. Gatsby, in a heroic act of keeping the truth to protect Daisy, was shot dead by Myrtle's husband. Gatsby's friends and associates abandoned him. Only his father and an old benefactor attended his funeral.

(to be continued)

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