F. Scott Fitzgerald

Many authors in American have worked to shape the history that is America through their portrayal of their age. F. Scott Fitzgerald used his writing to shape America during the post-Great War America and into the Great Depression. Through his influential works, Fitzgerald defined the turbulent 1920s as the “Jazz Age,” reflecting his life into those works that are still today seen as defining pieces of American history.

Fitzgerald’s life was reflected in his work, making his name synonymous with the characters of his stories. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota as the third child to Edward and Mary McQuinlan Fitzgerald. His lineage can be traced back to pre-Revolutionary War to Francis Scott Key, composer of the “Star Spangled Banner.” He admired his father, seeing him as having the “gentility and manners of a Southern gentleman” (Verde 1). Fitzgerald attended the St. Paul Academy, where his first story “The Mystery of Raymond Mortgage,” appeared in the school magazine in 1909; it was here young Fitzgerald “exhibited a genuine love for reading and writing” (Verde 1). Two years later, Fitzgerald attended the Newman School, were his met Father Sigourney Fay, a man who encouraged his ambitions for personal achievement and distinction (Tate 1). He attended Princeton for two years, and in that time, contributed pieces to two different campus magazines before withdrawing in 1916. Fitzgerald left for the army in 1917 and was sent to a training camp in Kansas before being transferred to Montgomery, Alabama in April 1918 (Verde 2). At Camp Sheridan, Fitzgerald met Zelda Sayre, whom he fell in love with; they became engaged before wars end. After his discharge in 1919 and seeing no action, he traveled to New York City to seek fortune before he could marry Zelda; however, she broke off the engagement because she was unwilling to live on his small salary (Tate 1). After publishing This Side of Paradise, Fitzgerald and...