F. Scott FitzgeraldBorn in 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota, F. Scott Fitzgerald was an active part of the societal American movement he coined as the "Jazz Age". Being well-endowed with looks, wealth, wits, and popularity, he found instant joy in the cultural renaissance that shook America. The twenties fell between the Victorian age of strictness and the depression of the thirties. It was something of a "teenage" era for the United States. The parties, flappers, and edginess of the era, all of which contrasted with the previous Victorian ideals of being prim and proper, helped America live its "teenage-hood" and opened a way for Fitzgerald to explore his ideas in both life and writing. Fitzgerald attended Princeton University where he was an infamous party boy (he was rumored to have had an orgy in the fountain), but left college in 1917 to join WWI. After making the decision to join the military, he met the beautiful and talented Zelda Saire. He fell in love and married her upon his return from the war. Together they enjoyed the adventurous wild life, which included attending extravagant parties and getting drunk, and had a love for riches. They moved to Europe where they lived with the "Lost Generation" of writers and artists for many years. This relationship was marked by a kind of comic sorrow; while both of them had everything they needed, they also possessed some kind of demeaning trait. Fitzgerald had alcoholic tendencies and Zelda esembled the women of his stories. Fitzgerald continued to live a wild life consumed with partying and alcoholism, while Zelda was in and out of numerous asylums. Eventually Fitzgerald's life was cut short by his alcoholism. In 1925 Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby in 1925 and Tender is the Night in 1934. He looks at the ways in which people rank themselves, and how America's dream is to become wealthy, the self-made man idea -- rags to riches. He looked at American manners, social order, aspirations, the way in which Americans speak, and the American dream. Fitzgerald observed and chronicled this time when skirts were getting shorter, and flappers were becoming popular. It was before the depression when people were in a rebellious mood (during the Victoria era, they had felt repressed): the rise and fall of the United States. Fitzgerald's work is not "politically correct" because it glorifies capitalism, the rich, and high society. He had literary success with his first novel in 1920. He showed the glamorous rich society but also the problems it comes with. Gatsby is like Ben Franklin (a person of humble origins who rises to exalted status) -- hard work gets him places, rose from humble origins and had a burning desire to get money. The romance of capitalism: you can create yourself. Fitzgerald presents themes about money, society's excess, social rituals of the upper class, and desire. He tells of the lessons of money, both its positive and negative consequences, and how there is a burning desire in most to obtain large sums of money. His stories become a symbol of romance for capitalism. Rich society has problems and a dark side to this apparent abundance. Gatsby has a lot of money but not a lot of strong friendships. He gives famous parties at his house his life i snarrated through the perspective of Nick, who recently moved to Long Island from the mid-west. The Midwest signifies home and "grounded" prespectives.Fitzgerald's novels border on modernism: The Great Gatsby is written through flashbacks -- not presented in chronological order: the reader needs to take each story with a "grain of salt." Some of the stories are lies and rumors. Realism is a new style in the 20's, writing about exposing flaws in characters and in life -- i.e. life isn't all it's cracked up to be. The Great Gatsby presents 1920's themes of wealth and parties. Gatsby is socially high however, no one knows his background. The book is presented in Nick's perspective. Gatsby plays host to crazy wild parties, it is a rags-to-riches story. The green light at the end of the dock symbolizes desire, longing, Daisy herself and his desire to be with her. Such a situation exposes the beauty of the dream, or how it drives people to achieve success, but the imperfection of the dreamer, or the inability of a person to get what is truly coveted. It also shows the flaws in living the "dream". Gatsby may have all the wealth that is needed, but he is still not satisfied because he lacks love. The beauty of the dream; the romantic pursuit of the dreamer. Fitzgerald looks at the beauty of the dream and imperfectness of the dreamer. His stories are not chronological. True and false stories are presented and the reader must piece together the truth. Realism of the novel is that it exposes the dreams and the corruption Nick learns how poisoned the high lifestyle is, and chooses to go back West for the virtues and principle that exists there. There is a sense that behind glamour there is money, but there is also dishonesty and carelessness. High-class people use their money to fix problems that have been created; they never take responsibility or say sorry. |
In A New Leaf, handsome, attractive, and wealthy Dick Ragland is exposed as an unsocially acceptable person. There is a difference between his potential and who he actually is; an illusion of character. When Julia from A New Leaf, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, encounters Dick Ragland drunk for the first time, she is confronted by his true nature that is so opposite from his attractive appearance. She is perturbed by it, comparing him to "Jekyll and Hyde". When Dick, however, promises Julia to give up drinking, she realizes, "how much she wanted him. No matter what his past was, no matter what he had done" (p. 371). She decides to overlook his past in order to establish a future with him. Memories of Dick's former actions are, "effaced from Julia's imagination" (p.371), and exist only in a, "far-away un-reality" (p. 371). Phil Hoffman questions Julia: "'What makes you think that people change their courses? Sometimes they dry up or even flow into a parallel channel, but I've never known anybody to change'" (p. 372). And eventually, Julia realizes that Dick never did truly change, and that her desire to give him a second chance is a, "desperate gamble between adequacy and disaster" (p.374). Dick, however, does keep his promise to Julia to not drink, "and broke his heart doing it" (p. 375). A person can never truly change himself because his past shapes his present being, and a person's past can not be altered. While Dick can make and keep promises for Julia, these promises of change leave him, "broke rather than bent...a ruined man, but not a bad man" (p. 375). The Great Gatsby parallels themes in A New Leaf about living in excess and extravagance. Handsome Dick Ragland is presented as an alcoholic partier -- therefore, it is not socially-acceptable for Julia to date him. She is caught up in the illusion of who he may be, rather than who he really is. Nick from The Great Gatsby says his experience with Gatsby is one of corruption and decay. Coming from the Midwest, a place where virtue still exists, Nick embarks on a journey that leaves him feeling disgusted and unhappy. There is a sense that money is not the key to joy or that it can lead to bad happenings. Fitzgerald's A New Leaf exemplifies this theme when wealthy and handsome Dick Ragland proves to be a socially-unacceptable alcoholic. He has a glamour which leads to the illusory perception of his being good. But behind it all is just money, which has little depth. In Fitzgerald's A New Leaf, handsome, attractive, wealthy Dick Ragland is exposed as an alcoholic with a bad reputation: an obvious contrast between his potential and his actual corruption. Also a sense that behind glamour is always money, but what depth or value does it actually have? Theme -- wealthy people are often careless liars who fall back on their money to fix things. Parallel to America itself: excess of the 20's led to the depression -- Does living high inevitably lead to deflation? In A New Leaf, Dick is a handsome and attractive man, yet he is seriously flawed due to his alcoholism. He is ostracized from social events because of his bad behavior, yet Julia still likes him. There is a definite illusion between reality & fiction for Julia...she sees Dick as a good-looking man, but cannot see that his alcoholism and constant partying is ruining him and that he cannot stop. This creates a feeling that behind glamour there is always money, yet also carelessness and that people think money can make everything better. Fitzgerald's novels depict how the excess of wealth and good life during the "roaring 20's" led to the depression of the 30's and that from every high point there must be a coming down from it. |
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