The Great Gatsby and F. Scott Fitzgerald

The action of The Great Gatsby links with real-life persons and events in part because the novel, originally published in 1925, was very much a contemporary work of realism. It would have been unusual not to include reference to Prohibition in 1925 America. There is a view that Fitzgerald also fictionalized other current events. For example, the characters of Myrtle and George Wilson (Tom Buchanan's "underclass paramour" and her husband) and the whole line of action leading up to Gatsby's violent death may be based on a 1922 New York double-murder case in which a lower-class cuckold killed his wife's lover--"a real-life example of the collision between the worlds of the very rich and the woefully impoverished that so fascinated [Fitzgerald]" (34). But The Great Gatsby draws not only on public events but also on details of the author's life and of those closest to him.

The action of the novel concerns the passion of Jay Gatsby--a bootlegger who throws liquor-flowing parties for high society--for Daisy Buchanan, a well-married socialite with w

. . .
not invited--they went there" (Fitzgerald 41). This points up the irony of Gatsby's aspiration to a society made up of phonies. The character of Daisy is very like that of Fitzgerald's wife Zelda. Le Vot contrasts the fictional privileged background of Daisy with Zelda's genteel but financially modest surroundings in Alabama. In personality, however, they seem much alike. Le Vot cites gossip about Zelda's relationships with World War I soldiers stationed at Alabama training camps. Zelda, he states, "was already famous in Montgomery for her wild escapades and her contempt for convention" (LeVot 63). In Gatsby, "excited young officers from Camp Taylor demanded the privilege of monopolizing [Daisy] that night. 'Anyways, for an hour!'" (Fitzgerald 75). Daisy (from Kentucky, not Alabama) is also the subject of "wild rumors . . . her mother had found her packing her bag one winter night to go to New York and say good-by to a soldier who was going overseas. She was effectually prevented, but she wasn't on speaking terms with her family for several weeks" (Fitzgerald 76). The connection with Zelda, who flouted convention "without remorse or reservation" (63), is inescapable. Le Vot's view is that Fitzgerald's relatively short courtship o
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Le Vot, Gatsby Daisy, Nick Gatsby, Scott Fitzgerald, World War, Tom Buchanan's, French Riviera, Gatsby Fitzgerald, According Fetterley, Kentucky Alabama, le vot, scott fitzgerald, gatsby fitzgerald, fitzgerald assigns, world war, gatsby daisy, fitzgerald's personal, fitzgerald assigns own, various characters, inc 1983, alabama socialite zelda, alabama socialite, scott fitzgerald york, gatsby fitzgerald assigns,
Approximate Word count = 1823
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

More Essays on The Great Gatsby and F. Scott Fitzgerald