F. Scott Fitzgerald
By: Ezri St. John
Biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on September 24, 1896. His father's job took the family to New York for the first ten years of his life. When he was twelve years old, they moved back to St. Paul. When Fitzgerald was thirteen years old, his first piece of published writing was put in his school newspaper. Fitzgerald dropped out of Princeton University to join the army in 1917. Just a few weeks before he reported for duty, Fitzgerald wrote a novel called The Romantic Egotist and sent it to be published. It was rejected. While he was stationed in Camp Sheridan, just outside of Montgomery, Alabama, he met his wife, Zelda. They married in 1920 in New York; a year later they had their first and only child, Frances Scott Fitzgerald.
In 1924, Fitzgerald moved to France, in need of a change of scenery. In Valescure, he wrote his most famous novel The Great Gatsby at age twenty-eight. This novel got published in 1925 and became a huge hit for all of America. After the excitement of his immensely popular novel died down, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life began to take a downward fall. He suffered from alcoholism and constant writers’ block. His wife, Zelda, suffered from mental health problems and was in and out of mental hospitals. In 1934, Fitzgerald published his fourth book entitled Tender is the Night. Right when it was released, it was poorly received and did not bring him very much money, but now it is considered a classic American novel. Finally, in 1934, he started working on his fifth and final novel, The Love of the Last Tycoon, but on December 21, 1941, he passed away because of a heart attack.
Fitzgerald's Impact on History
F. Scott Fitzgerald impacted society and culture by giving America pieces of literature they would cherish. The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night are just a few of the impactful books he gave to society. He reflected his lifestyle and experiences of the 1920’s in his writing, helping tell the story of life in that time period.
The Great Gatsby
The Saturday Evening Post
St. Paul Academy
Questions From Video
2) Why did he go to Hollywood?