2. Childhood
n Born Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald on September
24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota
n Mother was Mary and Father was Edward
n In 1898 the Fitzgeralds moved to Buffalo, New
York where Edward obtained a job as salesman
with Proctor and Gamble
n Edward lost his job in 1908 and relocated the
family back to St. Paul
3. Childhood and Schooling
n In 1908, F. Scott joined the St. Paul Academy.
n It was here that his love for theater and for writing
began to show.
n Eventually attended The Newman School in
Hackensack, New Jersey
n In 1913 he was accepted to Princeton University
where his love for writing flourished
4. Life After Princeton
n In 1917, F. Scott let Princeton and joined the
army
n While stationed in Montgomery, Alabama he
met Zelda Sayer
n A year later they were engaged to be married
n Zelda broke it off after a few months
n After being discharged from the army in 1919,
F. Scott moved to New York City where he
began working on his first novel
5. Writing Career
n His first full length novel, The Romantic Egoist,
was initially rejected
n After a number of different revisions it was
published as This Side of Paradise in 1920 to great
success
n The story focused on the trials and tribulations of the
early twentieth century youth
n The popularity of the novel made him successful
nearly overnight
n Soon after he married Zelda Sayre
6. The Great Gatsby
n After a number of successful novels, Fitzgerald
traveled to France in 1924 where he wrote one
of his most influential novels The Great Gatsby
n While there his wife was found to be having an affair
with a French navel aviator
n Despite the incident, Fitzgerald continued to
complete his novel
n Despite being critical praised, sales of the novel were
disappointing
7. Life after Gatsby
n The Fitzgeralds remained in France until the end of
1926
n From that point on, Zelda s behavior became
increasingly eccentric
n After attempting to become a professional ballet
dancer
n Her intense ballet work damages her health and lead to
the couples increasing estrangement
n Zelda suffered her first breakdown in April of 1930
n She was treated in a clinic in Switzerland until 1931
8. Life after Gatsby
n The Fitzgeralds returned to America in the fall
of 1931
n In February of 1932 Zelda suffered a relapse and
spent the rest of her life as a resident or
outpatient of sanitariums
n While at Johns Hopkins, Zelda wrote her own
autobiography, Save me the Waltz, which caused
further issue with the two due to the fact that she
utilized material F. Scott planned to use in his next
novel
9. Fitzgeralds Death
n After a number of failed attempts at Hollywood,
numerous issues with alcoholism and depression, F.
Scott Fitzgerald died of a heart attack in 1940
n Zelda Fitzgerald passed away from a fire in Highland
Hospital in 1948
n Fitzgerald died believing himself a failure
n Despite his issues, F. Scott Fitzgeralds literary
resurrection began between the years 1945-1950 and by
1960 he had achieved a secure place among America s
enduring writers
10. The Lost Generation
n In general, the post-World War I generation
n specifically a group of U.S. writers who came of age during
the war and established their literary reputations in the 1920s
n The term stems from a remark made by Gertrude Stein to
Ernest Hemingway, You are all a lost generation.
n Hemingway used it as an epigraph to The Sun Also Rises
(1926), a novel that captures the attitudes of a hard-drinking,
fast-living set of disillusioned young expatriates in postwar
Paris.
11. The Lost Generation
n Characteristics of "Lost Generation" Authors:
n Youthful idealism
n Sought the meaning of life
n Drank a lot
n Often love affairs
n Many of the finest literary masterpieces were written during
this period
n Rejected modern American materialism
n Lived in Paris
n Gained prominence in twentieth century literature and
created a mold for many future writers
