In the 1920s, the American literary scene was dominated by fascinating and compelling characters, who were known as much for the lives that they led as the novels and stories that they produced. There is perhaps no better example of this phenomenon than F. Scott Fitzgerald, a writer who is often considered the spokesman for the Jazz Age. Indeed, much of Fitzgerald's writing was informed by his own personal experiences, and his novels not only capture what life was like in the United States during the 1920s, but what Fitzgerald's life in particular was like. Fitzgerald's first novel, This Side of Paradise, is often considered his most autobiographical, but each of his works contain elements borrowed from his own life. In his masterpiece, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald bases much of the main character's past upon his own, and the reader is thus able to glimpse into the world of not only Fitzgerald the author, but Fitzgerald the man as well. This paper will examine the ways in which The Great Gatsby functions as an autobiographical work, and highlight the parallels between the backgrounds of Fitzgerald and his protagonist, Gatsby.
To understand the links between Fitzgerald's life and his writing in The Great Gatsby, it is important to consider his background and experiences at the time in which he wrote the novel. Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota to Mollie McQuillan and Edward Fitzgerald. His mother had given birth to two children previously, but both had died in infancy (Turnbull 7). When Fitzgerald was five years old, his mother gave birth to a daughter, Annabel, but the two were never particularly close as siblings (Bruccoli 18).
Fitzgerald's mother, Mollie, came from a family with a high social standing in St. Paul, and they had accumulated modest wealth in the wholesale grocery business. Mollie thus enjoyed a privileged education, and traveled abroad in Europe. Edward Fit...