1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

2. The Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald
Born: Sept 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Named after ancestor (Francis Scott Key).
Educated at the best schools his family could afford.

3. FAMILY BACKGROUND Came from a family in which his
mother was new money and
his father was old money.
Father failed at his business; therefore,
they were not wealthy. However, he
always on the fringes of the wealthy
society.
Just like Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby, he was
both a part of the wealthy world but also an onlooker.

4. Princeton and Genevra King
Entered Princeton with the hope of
fulfilling his social success.
Did not do well in
school, was too
preoccupied with
activities such as
writing and acting.
Went home on break
and fell in love with
16-year-old Ginevra King.
Ginevra King

5. Impact of Love for Ginevra
Came from family of charm
and social position.
When she went to school became
interested in boys who were wealthy.
Was the inspiration for many of Fitz-
gerald’s characters, such as Isadore
in This Side of Paradise and Judy Jones
In “Winter Dreams,” the forerunner story for The
Great Gatsby.

6. Description of Ginevra as a Character in a Fitzgerald story
She “communicated her excitement to
him, lavishly, deeply, with kisses that
were not a promise but a fulfillment.
They aroused in him not hunger demand-
ing renewal but surfeit that would demand
more surfeit… It did not take him many
hours to decide that he had wanted Judy
Jones ever since he was a proud, desirous
little boy.” ( Short Stories p. 226)

7. Involvement in W. W. I Enlisted for training program which
gave him college credit.
Began writing in training camp.
Sent to Camp Sheridan outside of
Montgomery, Alabama.
In July he met Zelda Sayer at a
dance at the Montgomery Country
Club, but did not fall in love with
her until September, the same month
Ginevra King was married.

8. Zelda Sayer Was an extremely popular
Southern belle with a natural beauty.
Not only attracted to her charms, but
also as the most popular girl in her
group.
She refused to commit to him until he was financially
successful.
This Side of Paradise was published in March 1920,
and they were married on April 3rd.

9. Living in the “Jazz Age” The beautiful couple tried to
keep up with the stories told
about their many antics and live
up to their celebrity in what was
now the “Jazz Age,” a name
coined by Fitzgerald himself.
“ a whole race gone Hedonistic ,
deciding on pleasure.” Echoes of
the Jazz Age”
Their conduct was one of parties,
drinking and dancing until they collapsed.

10. The Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald (cont.)
The two have a daughter – Frances (Scottie)
1925 – The Great Gatsby is published.
Parties and alcoholism continues.
Zelda finally has a breakdown and dies in a fire at the psychiatric hospital.

11. THOUGHTS ON WRITING AND THE GREAT GATSBY
“An author ought to write for the youth of his generation, the critics of the next, and the schoolmasters of ever afterward.”
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. This is my immediate duty—without this I am nothing.”

12. Great Gatsby Information
Time period – 1920’s
Setting – East Egg, West Egg, NYC
List of Main Characters
Nick Carraway (narrator)
Tom Buchanan
Daisy Fay Buchanan
Jordan Baker
Jay Gatsby
George Wilson
Myrtle Wilson

13. The Jazz Age Prohibition Speakeasies Bootlegging Organized Crime
Dancing
Flappers
Women’s rights

14. 1920 # of radios in homes – 2,000 First radio broadcast aired
More people in the city than in the country
# of radios in homes – 2,000
First radio broadcast aired
League of Nations established
19th Amendment – women granted the right to vote in the US

15. 1921
Warren G. Harding is inaugurated as President of the United States of America
Knee length skirts become fashionable
The first Miss America pageant
First drive-in food place

16. 1922 Flapper dress makes its debut Speakeasies in NYC = 5,000
First radio commercial broadcast

17. 1923 Hollywood sign goes up Americans see on avg. 1 movie/week
President Harding dies
Vice President Coolidge becomes President
15 million cars registered in the US
Charleston dance becomes popular

18. 1924 # of radios in US homes – 2.5 million
1st Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Coolidge is reelected

19. 1925 Fitzgerald publishes The Great Gatsby Hitler publishes Mein Kampf
The first woman Governor of a U.S. state (Wyoming) is elected.
The Scopes Trial
Evolution in schools debate
First trial broadcast over the radio
Frisbie invented

20. 1926 1 in 6 Americans owns a car 1st supermarket
40 hour work week (used to be 84 hour)
1 in 6 Americans owns a car
1st supermarket
Mae West – arrested for moving navel during play
US woman swims the English Channel
Deaths due to bad booze in NYC = 750

21. 1927 Charles Lindbergh flies solo across the Atlantic Ocean
First talking movie (The Jazz Singer)
Telephone service is opened between New York City and London (AT&T)
Speakeasies in NYC = 30,000
Deaths due to bad booze in 1 hospital in NYC on New Year’s Eve = 41

22. 1927 (continued) Al “Scarface” Capone earnings
$100 million – alcohol sales
$30 million – protection business
$25 million – gambling
$10 million – vice and sundry rackets

23. 1928 U.S. signs Briand-Kellogg Pact - outlawing war
Amelia Earhart flies across the Atlantic
Women compete for the first time in Olympic field events
Penicillin discovered
1st televisions are sold - $75
Mickey Mouse in first cartoon
Divorce rate – 1 in 6 marriages

24. 1929 Empire State Building construction begins
Speakeasies in NYC = 32,000 – 100,000
Speakeasies in Chicago = 10,000
Valentine’s Day Massacre
“Bugs” Moran gang killed by Al Capone’s men
Car radio invented
Stock Market crash
October 29
“Black Tuesday”
$9 billion lost on that one day

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36. DEATH OF FITZGERALD
Burdened by the financial responsibilities of Zelda’s care, plus the expense of educating his daughter, he turned out a stream of short stories.
In desperation, Fitzgerald accepted a job writing Hollywood scripts—which he considered humiliating work.
After declining health, he suffered a series of heart attacks and died in California in 1940.

37. Since Fitzgerald writes of this “Lost Generation” of people and changing time in America’s history, on his gravestone, Fitzgerald leaves this message from his novel, The Great Gatsby.
“So we beat on, boats against the current
borne back ceaselessly into the past.”