The first novel

Early influences

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 24, 1896. His family belonged to what is generally called the middle class, and through­out his writings he brought the moral values of Midwest, middle-class America— honesty, courage, thrift, and courtesy—into contrast with the easy wealth, greater sophistication, and cynicism of the East.

Fitzgerald always felt that he was an outsider among richer boys, especially during his years at an Eastern prep school and at Princeton University. Feeling keenly the so­cial insecurity of his situation, he tried to make himself popular by overemphasizing his good qualities—intelligence, good looks, and charm—and by carefully planning his actions so that he would always make the best impression. At Princeton he hoped to gain recognition by becoming a football hero and joining the best social clubs. Although failing on the football field, it seemed for a time that he would achieve his social ambition, at least in part. However, neglect of his academic work at last pre­vented him from participating in the social organizations that he had felt so necessary to his success. Perhaps the most valuable education Fitzgerald received during his years at Princeton was from a small group of fellow students who recognized his liter­ary talent and encouraged him in a more serious study of literature and the develop­ment of his own writing style.

The first novel

In 1917, with a feeling of failure, Fitzgerald left Princeton and joined the army. While at an army camp in Alabama, he devoted his spare time to writing and planned his first novel, based on his experiences at Princeton. It was at this time that he met and courted Zelda Sayre, a beautiful and vivacious Southern girl who later became the model for the heroines of many of his stories. Although Zelda recognized Fitzgerald's potential as a writer, she refused to marry him unless he could provide some definite proof that he could become wealthy.

Discharged from the army in 1919, Fitzgerald worked briefly for an advertising company, then returned to St. Paul to rewrite his novel, which had been rejected by publishers. The novel was published in 1920, when Fitzgerald was just twenty-three years old. This literary success seemed to assure the prospect of wealth, and Zelda agreed to marry him.

The novel This Side of Paradise, achieved immediate popularity. Although some critics then, as well as later, found a number of technical faults in the book, they were impressed by its vigor, its convincing dialogue, and its revelation of the attitudes of American college students of that time. It displayed the disillusion and-irreverence of the younger generation and reported in detail the attitudes and activities of the "flapper" (a slang term for the popular young girl of the 1920s). The youth of the au­thor was evident in the exuberance of the writing, the loose structure of the book, and his perfect use of the college slang of the day. What was rare about the novel was its tone of detachment and judgment. It showed the duality that was to characterize all of Fitzgerald's best work: he was at the same time an enthusiastic participant in the life he wrote about and a highly moral observer of its failings.

The wealth that Fitzgerald's writing brought him as a young man gave him the opportunity to indulge in the "heightened sensitivity to the promises of life" that he valued so highly. But at the same time he felt that wealth could spoil the sensi­tivity it was supposed to serve. This conflict was at the heart of much of Fitzgerald's best fiction, and it was also a problem for him personally. The young Fitzgeralds squandered their new wealth in rounds of feverishly gay parties. They seemed unable to break away from this manner of life until they moved to St. Paul in 1921 for the birth of their daughter, Frances Scott Key Fitzgerald. There they lived much more quietly, and Fitzgerald was able to write several stories and to finish a new novel, The Beautiful and Damned, which was published in 1922. This novel was technically better than his first one, but it had weaknesses in the presentation of character and motivation.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-29