F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Biography by Edward J. Rielly (Honors Review)

F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda. Here they can be seen wearing fashionable clothes, which is important to note as they were the faces of the Jazz Age in both style and actions.

Quote

“F. Scott Fitzgerald would soon be perceived as both the embodiment and the spokesperson of his generation” (34).

Connections

Zelda Fitzgerald was diagnosed with a type of scitzophrenia in her 30s, yet continued to create beautiful works of art such as dance, paintings, and essays. The relation of a famous creator with this disease can be connected to Jack Kerouac. Kerouac was a famous writer, most well known for his stream of consciousness style. Many may not have known that he had a form of schitziphrenia, yet despite his struggle, he continued to gain fame for his great works .

Fitzgerald’s alcoholism can be compared to many other famous writers. Some that top the list are James Joyce, William Faulkner, and Truman Capote. However, something interesting to note was that Ernest Hemingway, a friend of Fitzgerald’s, was another alcoholic writer.

I can also connect Fitzgerald to all of his novels and short stories. Fitzgerald took heavily from his own life when creating his stories and charcters. He even went so far as to claim creative ownership of his and Zelda’s life together because she started writing about their life as well. One great example of Fitzfgerald’s influenced writing was his last finished novel, Tender is the Night, which centers on a doctor and his schitzophrenic wife (based on Zelda). He falls in love with a young actress (based on Lois Moran, although in real life nothing ever happened between the two). Although none of the party incidents actually happened to Fitzgerald and his wife, the two did lead a similar life to those of the main character in the first section of the novel (in which the group always ends up staying out all night embarking on crazy adventures and parties). Many of the other characters are based on people who were influential to Fitzgerald’s life.

Questions

1. Was Zelda’s mental illness hereditary (her older brother killed himself, but that could have just been from being in the war)?

2. Why did Hemingway have such a strong sense of condescension toward Fitzgerald?

3. Is it legal to publish someone’s work after they died (it must have been because that’s what Max Perkins did after Fitzgerald’s death, but that just seems so wrong to make a dime off his death)?

4. How in the hell did Scottie turn out so well (her parents were sooooo screwed up)?

5. Why did Scott continue to take Zelda on trips even though they no longer loved each other (plus, he definitely should have been using that money toward paying off his many debts, or paying for Scottie’s tuition so he wouldn’t have to borrow so much)?

Reflection

I usually don’t like biographies as they bore me with their plethora of uninteresting information; however this one was rather interesting. I don’t think it was necessarily the writing, although the writing was fine, but perhaps just that Fitzgerald was an interesting man. At times you just wanted to slap some sense into him (like whenever he started binging on alcohol), but overall, you genuinely felt for him whenever things turned out poorly for him. One part of his life in which my heart particularly went out to him was when he went to see a play of a short story he wrote. He was really excited, having hoped that this particularly story would be adapted for the stage. He and Zelda showed up to a sparsely attended student production. Nonetheless, not to discourage any of the actors who so filled his heart, he was extremely polite the whole time, clapping loudly at every scene and going backstage afterward to talk with the actors. However, in the car on the way back to his home, Fitzgerald sat quietly. I think this except is a really great depiction of Fitzgerald, because he tried so hard and was often let down or treated poorly, and although he had his fair share of bad decisions, ultimately, he was just an excited little boy trying to make a name for himself. (At least, that’s the way I felt toward him while reading thi biography).

Tender is the Night (Honors Review)

While I wouldn’t say this photo is a great representation of the central concept of Tender is the Night, it certainly reminded me of the novel. If you imagine the bride and man on the far left as Nicole and Dick, the woman on the far right as Rosemary, and the man in the middle as Collins Clay, it almost makes sense (except Rosemary would be holding hands with Dick, not Nicole). Something that struck me in this novel was how many times the main characters seemed to have affairs, even small ones of simply a kiss with another woman.

Quote:

“‘Well, upstairs I came upon a scene, my dears-’
Shaking her head cryptically she broke off just in time, for Tommy arose and addressed her politely but sharply:
‘It’s inadvisable to comment on what goes on in this house’” (36).

In this passage, Violet McKisco comes downstairs to rejoin the party after witnessing a scene in the upstairs bathroom of the Diver’s house. She is about to spill the gossip when Tommy Barban interrupts and advises her to keep quiet.

I believe this quote is a good selection to sum up the book because it eludes to Nicole’s mental condition (which is a large basis of the diver’s marriage, and therefore a great contributor to the importance of the novel), encases the McKisco’s gossiping tendencies (and therefore the prissy, high profile life the Divers lived while in Paris), and showed Tommy’s assertiveness in defending Nicole’s honor (his character is absent for a great portion of the novel, but returns at the end, “saving” Nicole).

Connections:

One connection I could make between Tender is the Night and the world in general is Nicole’s character. She was born into a rich family. Her mother died when she was still rather young and her father took advantage of her sexually. Nicole’s mental state deteriorated. She had a fear of men and frequent psychotic episodes. She was checked into a mental hospital and her father was sent away, she met Dick, and her state grew steadily better. Nicole then went on to marry Dick who, as a psychologist and her husband, took care of her for a long time.

I could compare Nicole’s situation to many people, but as a general, I could compare her to anyone who had abusive parents. There are so many girls in the world whose mother’s have died and their fathers, as a result, release their sexual needs upon their daughter. So many girls have been sexually abused and have PTSD as a result, some too afraid of men to function properly in society, some who can overcome their past.

I can also connect Tender is the Night to another of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s books, The Great Gatsby. Obviously the writing style is very similar because it was written by the same author, but the basic elements that contribute to each novel on the whole reflect similarities. For starters, they both center on characters who partake in rich, crazy parties. The majority of Gatsby surrounds Gatsby’s nightly parties. The first portion of Tender includes many strange and random parties in which the whole group partakes. Another connection of the two novels is that in Gatsby, Gatsby is portrayed as mysterious man with a hidden, unsolvable past for most of the novel. In Tender, the Divers have a secret about Nicole that is hinted at the beginning of the novel but only revealed toward the end.

Finally, I can connect this novel to life in general, especially many negative aspects. It sounds cheesy, but think about it. There is romance, secret desires, betrayal, mental disorders, and the growth or change of characters. So many elements of life wrapped into one story. There was romance between Dick and Nicole, Dick and Rosemary, Rosemary and Collins, Tommy and Nicole. There were the affairs (betrayal and secret desires) between Dick and Rosemary, Dick and a couple of other unimportant women, and Nicole with Tommy. There was Nicole’s mental instability. Lastly, there was the great change of Dick’s character—he began as a man loved by all, and throughout the story, his character morphed to become an alcoholic who all disrespected. In life, all of these things happen, to the best and worst of people. Maybe not all at once, but a few are inevitable. People are changing every day, growing into better people or shrinking into worse. Humans have intimate desires they wish to pursue with those whom they shouldn’t. There are hospitals in the world dedicated to the recovery of those with mental disorders or who’ve been through traumatic ordeals. This novel portrayed these life themes rather well.

Questions:

1. How many people loved Nicole (besides Dick, there was also Abe and Tommy, but it seemed like there was just so many people and so much controversial and mixed feelings about the Divers on the whole)?
2. Dick loved Nicole, but cheated on her a lot. Is it fair to think of Dick as a scoundrel (or a perv, especially considering how most of them were young women), or was that just how things were back in those days?
3. Why does it seem like people fell in love at first sight so often in novels from this time period? Was that how the romantic culture was, or is it just coincidence?
4. Is Fitzgerald’s writing perhaps a bit disjointed at times, or was that just the style of writing in the 1920s? (Or do I just have a lower reading level…)
5. Why did Baby want Dick to take care of her sister Nicole, but was then upset when the couple was engaged?

Reflection:

Personally, I didn’t really like this book. It was just…too much. It starts out with Rosemary falling in love (instantly) with Dick Diver (who is married), and there are tons of really crazy random parties, and then Dick falls in love with Rosemary too, and then they can’t pursue a relationship, and then you find out how Dick met his wife Nicole, and then she goes ballistic and almost kills them all by driving off a cliff, and then Dick becomes an alcoholic asshole, and he gets work at a clinic but is doing really poorly, and he keeps having intimate relations with young girls (legal, but young), and he’s such a failure, and then he and Nicole get divorced, and, and, and! There was just so much, and since the writing was already a bit difficult to follow at times, I just felt totally unsatisfied. It felt like Fitzgerald was forcing an exciting story to be written, and maybe it was a really good novel during his time, but I didn’t find it quite to my taste.

The Great Gatsby (Honors Review)

This photo is taken from a scene in the first version of The Great Gatsby when it was adapted to film.

Quote

"'This is an unusual party for me. I haven't even seen the host. I live over there--' I waved my hand at the invisible hedge in the distnace, 'and this man Gatsby sent over his chauffeur with an invitation.'

For a moment he looked at me as if he failed to understand.

‘I’m Gatsby,’ he said suddenly.

‘What!’ I exclaimed. “Oh, I beg your pardon’” (pg 47-48)­.

This excerpt is taken from the main character’s, Nick Carraway’s, first time attending a party at Jay Gatsby’s house. He tried to search for the host earlier in the evening but wasn’t able to find him and didn’t even know what he looked like. He eventually finds himself conversing with someone who was in the war with him and discovers, through an embarrassing mistake, that it is actually Gatsby that he is talking to.

I chose this section from The Great Gatsby to represent the book as a whole because neither the reader, nor Nick Carraway, even learns the whole truth about Gatsby until about 2/3 of the way into the book. Though Carraway can now put the name with the face, there is still so much mystery surrounding who Gatsby really is. There are rumors about where he came from, and Gatsby doesn’t even tell the truth for some time. Both Carraway and you, the reader, don’t fully understand Gatsby for the majority of the book, and a large portion of the whole point of the novel is trying to figure out the truth of Gatsby.

Connections

One way in which this novel connects back to my life is the author’s use of rumors. In The Great Gatsby, all of those who attend Gatsby’s parties don’t really know him. They speculate that he once killed a man, or that he was a German spy during the war, or that he attended Oxford for college. No one quite knows the truth, and as the lies continue to spread, they get more distorted and extravagant. I’ve never had a particularly bad bout with rumors, but I, as everyone else in high school has, have experienced the awkwardness of hearing untrue rumors spreading.

Rumors are unyielding in their ways, specifically in the sense that, while certain rumors may die down, there will always be an untruth spreading somewhere about someone. An important aspect to comment on is how these rumors, both in the novel and in real life, can distort one’s view of the person in question.

The Great Gatsby is also a great representation of the 1920’s in America, before the stock market crash in 1929. The Roaring Twenties was a time when music and fashion thrived and flourished. It was a time for extravagant parties at which new social standards began to shape, such as the consumption of alcoholic beverages in great quantities by both men and women (especially at a time when it was illegal). The kind of people seen at these parties were slightly more rambunctious than they would normally act during the day at a proper event. All of these elements were seen at Gatsby’s nightly parties. Large crowds of people getting drunk, women wearing odd headdresses in attempt to make a fashion statement and start a new trend, and people constantly socializing with others who they wouldn’t normally have met were all common place at Gatsby’s parties. These parties are an excellent representation of the parties many wealthy people had back in the ‘20s.

Finally, The Great Gatsby is also a good representation people (or their works) who didn’t receive fame until after their death. F. Scott Fitzgerald received much notoriety as an author during his time, but The Great Gatsby was sub-par at best when it was released. It wasn’t until after his death and people began reading Gatsby again that it gained popularity. It is now known to be a classic. The popularity of a works after the death of its creator is something of a common occurrence. It happened with Edgar Allan Poe and Galileo Galilei. In Poe’s case, his many prose and short stories were sometimes published, but rarely for money. Not many people even knew of him. Much after his death, his work became famous as a new style of writing, and his poem, The Raven, is an extremely popular literary work. As for Galilei, he was a scientist, a mathematician, and an astronomer. He proved the theory that the earth orbits the sun, as opposed to the other way around. During his time, he received much criticism for this because it was seen as anti-religious, but now-a-days, all of his work is commonly accepted and is central to much of the scientific community.

Questions

1. Why did Gatsby choose to lie about his past (it didn’t seem horrible when it was finally revealed)?
2. Was Myrtle Wilson running out into the street because she thought Tom was driving the yellow car?
3. Similarities between Daisy and Tom (e.g. Nick says how they are both immature in the sense that they make messes and then hide behind their money with each other, allowing others to clean up)?
4. How does Nick change from the beginning of the novel to the end?
5. What is the significance of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes?

Reflection

In my opinion, The Great Gatsby was a fine book. Nothing special, but not horrible like a lot of people say. Some parts of the book—mainly the dialogue—seemed kind of disjointed, though that could just be because language was different in the '20s than it is now.

I found that this novel was really hard to start. The first chapter was intensely boring because I didn’t know who Gatsby was yet, and there was really nothing of interest happening. Once I was about forty pages into the book, I was actually interested in what was happening and wanted to continue reading. Problem is, the book is only 180 pages, so almost 1/3 of the book is unexciting, and the rest is only mildly interesting.