The purpose of this research is to relate themes in The Great Gatsby to general themes found in F. Scott Fitzgerald's other works.
Following the publication of his first novel, This Side of Paradise, in 1920, F. Scott Fitzgerald proclaimed his belief that "'an author ought to write for the youth of his own generation, the critics of the next, and the schoolmasters of ever afterward'" (Bruccoli 12). While Fitzgerald was being somewhat facetious in this remark, he also revealed a central motivation for his literary creations: the desire to represent the attitudes, values, and aspirations of his generation. Fitzgerald succeeded in all three goals, becoming the literary spokesman for the Jazz Age and creating a body of work admired for its craftsmanship and brilliant social insights. While not a prodigious author--he completed only four novels during his career--Fitzgerald is regarded today as one of the preeminent writers of the Lost Generation.
This Side of Paradise was essentially autobiographical, based on Fitzgerald's college years at Princeton. In his work, he established himself as "the chief historian of the emergent debutantes and playboys . . . devoted to a romantic portrayal of their adventures" (Goldhurst 32). Like many of his contemporaries, Fitzgerald emphasized the need to rely on immediate, personal experiences as the legitimate source of artistic expression. In This Side of Paradise, Fitzgerald attempted the delicate balancing act of re-creating personal experience while remaining detached from it. Lacking in maturity and artistic objectivity, Fitzgerald does not wholly succeed in maintaining the necessary distance from his material. In later works, most notably The Great Gatsby, he rejected the strictly autobiographical mode and thus was able to become a reliable observer as well as participant.
Even as Fitzgerald matured as an artist and his literary gifts became universally acknowledged, he continu...