A practical guide to F. Scott Fitzgerald's works for middle and secondary students
F. Scott Fitzgerald was an American novelist, essayist, and writer best known for his glamourous novels that detailed life in America's Jazz Age - a term which he popularized. Throughout his career, Fitzgerald published four novels, four collections of short stories, and 164 short stories in magazines. His work commonly focused on themes of ambition and loss, money and class, and the promise and disappointment of America and its vaunted dream. In his lifetime, Fitzgerald gained fame for his The Great Gatsby and This Side of Paradise. Today, his works are taught in middle and high school classrooms throughout the United States and worldwide.
Breaking Down Fitzgerald provides readers with an overview of Fitzgerald's life and investigates the composition, characters, themes, symbols, language, and motifs in his work and their relation to contemporary society. Author Helen Turner clarifies some essential facts about F. Scott Fitzgerald's life and addresses important themes found in his novels and short stories. As readers explore the literary and cultural context of Fitzgerald's works, they develop a firm appreciation of Fitzgerald's role in modern literature and why he is considered one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.
Breaking Down Fitzgerald:
- Explains of why Fitzgerald remains one of the great American voices heard around the world
- Showcases the multiple genres in Fitzgerald's world
- Offers a brief thematic tour through Fitzgerald's novels and short stories
- Provides an overview of Fitzgerald's critical reception
- Discusses Fitzgerald in contemporary popular culture
This book is a primer for younger or new Fitzgerald readers and a welcome addition to the toolbox used by educators, parents, and anyone interested in or studying F. Scott Fitzgerald's life and work.
Table of Contents
Breaking Down Fitzgerald: Introduction 1
Chapter 1: Fitzgerald’s Life 5
Childhood and Princeton (189-1917) 6
Meeting Zelda and Early Success (1918-1924) 8
The Great Gatsby and European Travels (1924-1931) 10
Tender Is the Night and “The Crack- Up” (1931-1937) 13
Hollywood and The Last Tycoon (1937-1940) 16
Further Reading 18
Further Viewing 18
Chapter 2: Literary and Cultural Context 19
The First World War and Its Aftermath 19
Modernism and a Changing Literary Landscape 22
The Roaring Twenties 24
The 1930s and the Great Depression 26
The United States versus Europe 28
Changes in Hollywood 32
Further Reading 34
Chapter 3: Early Novels: This Side of Paradise(1920) and The Beautiful and Damned (1922) 35
This Side of Paradise: Composition 37
This Side of Paradise: Synopsis 40
The Beautiful and Damned: Composition 42
The Beautiful and Damned:Synopsis 43
Further Reading 45
Further Viewing 45
Chapter 4: The Great Gatsby (1925) 47
Composition 49
Synopsis 50
Themes 53
Structure 54
Motifs 55
The Green Light 55
West Egg versus East Egg 57
The Valley of Ashes 58
The Automobile 59
Characters 61
Jay Gatsby 61
Daisy Buchanan 64
Tom Buchanan 67
Myrtle Wilson 69
George Wilson 71
Jordan Baker 72
Nick Carraway 73
Further Reading 76
Further Viewing 76
Further Listening 76
Chapter 5: Later Novels: Tender Is the Night (1934) and The Last Tycoon (1941) 77
Tender Is the Night: Composition 78
Tender Is the Night: Synopsis 80
Tender Is the Night: Interpretations 83
The Last Tycoon: Synopsis 84
The Last Tycoon: Reflections on an Unfinished Novel 85
Further Reading 87
Further Viewing 87
Chapter 6: Short Stories and Essays 89
Short Stories 90
“The Ice Palace” (1920) 90
“May Day” (1920) 91
“Winter Dreams” (1922) 91
“Jacob’s Ladder” (1927) 92
“The Last of the Belles” (1929) 93
“Babylon Revisited” (1931) 94
Essays 95
Further Reading 96
Further Viewing 97
Further Listening 97
Conclusion 99
Bibliography 100
Index 103
