F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, born in Saint Paul Minnesota on 24 September 1896, was a descendant of Francis Scott Key, the author of The Star Spangled Banner ("F. Scott Fitzgerald." Encyclopedia Brittanica Online). Fitzgerald's parents were not able to maintain a steady income. Therefore, they lived off of the McQuillan wealth (his mother's family). "Young Scott's mixed feelings of hostility and love, guilt and shame, toward his parents, are seen to underline his psychic conflicts"(Elbe). Fitzgerald went to a Catholic school and he went to Princeton University where he met some great authors of his time. Fitzgerald dropped out of Princeton because of bad grades and joined the military where he became a second lieutenant. In 1918 Fitzgerald was sent to Montgomery, Alabama with the army. While in Montgomery, he fell in love with the wealthy Zelda Sayre, the daughter of a judge. Throughout Fitzgerald's life, he went through tough experiences such as extramarital affairs, struggles regarding money, and a less than sane wife.
A study of F. Scott Fitzgerald by Gordon Bryant. P...
The grave of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Fitzger...
F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1937, June 4He reflects this in such works as The Great Gatsby.
Zelda (Fitzgerald's wife) was someone who thought money was very important and so she would not marry Fitzgerald at first because he was a poor man; but in 1920 Fitzgerald published his first novel and Zelda married him. Zelda is much like Daisy in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, who is very materialistic. Daisy meets a man named Jay Gatsby (of whom Fitzgerald portrays himself) while Jay is stationed in Daisy's hometown. Daisy meets a man named Tom Buchanan while Jay is off at war. Tom wins her heart with a three-hundred-thousand-dollar necklace and so Daisy marries Tom. After Gatsby gets back from the war, he makes a living by illegal gambling and crime. His wealth is the major factor in the novel...