F.
Scott Fitzgerald’s life is a tragic example of both sides of the American Dream – the bliss of young love, wealth and success, and the tragedies associated with excess and failure. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 24, 1896. Fitzgerald began writing at an early stage in his well known life. During his time spent it Princeton University before dropping out to join the army and pursue his obsession with writing. Princeton published his detective stories in their newspaper encouraging him to focus on his great talent.
At the early age of 21 he submitted his first finished product titled The Romantic Egoist for publication. Unfortunately Charles scribner’s sons rejected it, but with words of encouragement. Which gave him the fuel he needed to go back and rewrite the novel in order to perfect the piece and resubmit it for publication. Meanwhile the US Army stationed him near Montgomery, Alabama in 1918 where he met the love of his life; Zelda Sayre who at the time was 18 years old.
Once again scribner’s rejected his novel, so he turned elsewhere to find a steady source of income which he struck through aqdvertising.Unfortunately for his sake his sweetheart Zelda broke off their engagement due to the fact that his salary didn’t satisfy her needs and tired of waitin for him to make his fortune. blissfully scribners finally accepted the once not so great novel after Fitzgerald wrote it for the third time as The Side Of Pradise, ad published it a year later. Once the deal fell through causing him to tranform into a well known wealthy author his love Zelda fell back into his arms. Fitzgerald was not only known for his immaculate story telling through his novels but also a great magazine story writer with his work being showcased to entertain.The fitzgeralds enjoyed the fame and fortune which accompanied his success as a writer.
He often portrayed their lifestyle through his writings, a year after being married Fitzgeraled published The Beautiful and the damned. Three years later after the birth of their only child, Scottie, Fitzgerald wrote his proclaimed novel The Great Gatsby Known to many as his best work. Success comes with the good and the bad having experienced the good the bad has now taken toll on the Fitzgeralds. As they tried to escape from scotts alchohism and zeldas mental illness by globe trotting.Zelda suffered several breakdowns both mentally and physically leaving her checking in and out of clinics from 1930 to her heartbreakin death in 1948 due to a fire at Highland Hospital In North Carolina. Zeldas mental illness was the subject of Fitzgerald’s forth novel Tender is the Night.
Things were looking prosperous for Fitzgerald near the end of his life he won a contract in 1937 to write for Metro Goldwyn Mayer in hollywood and fell in love with Sheilah Graham, a movie columnst. He began once again writing scripts, short stories and a book about Hollywood when he fuffered a heart attack and died in 1940 aged 44.
