La Vida de Jay Gatsby y F. Scott Fitzgerald~September 22

Joseph

A.P. English

September 22, 2011

La Vida de Jay Gatsby y F. Scott Fitzgerald

            The Great Gatsby has many people and events that show characteristics of its author, F. Scott Fitzgerald.  The book was written once Fitzgerald was married, as his money was dwindling.  As a writer, some of his ideals, values, and experiences were placed in the book, possibly on purpose, possibly not.  The Great Gatsby is an autobiography of Fitzgerald, represented mostly by the character Jay Gatsby.

            As a youth, Fitzgerald lived on the outskirts of wealthy neighborhoods, but was never accepted by the other rich kids.  As an adult in The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby certainly lived surrounded by the “new money” wealth of West Egg, New York.  He was not truly accepted by the other rich folk on the island as a true friend or acquaintance.  The other “new money” people only went to his parties to have a good time, but not because they respected or were good friends with Gatsby.  “As soon as I arrived I made an attempt to find my host, but the two or three people of whom I asked his whereabouts stared at me in such an amazed way, and denied so vehemently any knowledge of his movements…” (42).  After attending St. Paul Academy, Fitzgerald joined the Navy and was stationed at Camp Sheridan.  Gatsby joined a branch of the United States military and was stationed in Germany.  Gatsby, in saying how he recognized Nick from the war, says, “‘I was in the Seventh Infantry until June nineteen-eighteen.  I knew I’d seen you somewhere before’” (47).

            At age 22, Fitzgerald met Zelda Sayre and the two had a relationship, until Fitzgerald’s proposal was denied because of his lack of money.  After writing the book This Side of Paradise, Fitzgerald came into a great deal of money, and Zelda married him one week later.  Gatsby met Daisy and they had a relationship when Gatsby was in his early twenties.  When Gatsby is gone because of military duties, Daisy decided to marry another suitable man with money.  Five years later, when Gatsby had a fancy mansion and tons of money, Daisy gave him another chance and appeared to love him once again.  “Gatsby’s eyes floated toward her.  ‘Ah,’ she cried, ‘you look so cool.’  Their eyes met, and they stared together at each other, alone in space” (119).  Fitzgerald and Zelda had an unstable and turbulent lifestyle, largely due to their alcoholism.  The world of Jay Gatsby revolved around alcohol.  Bootlegging is the implied main source of income for Gatsby to host all his extravagant parties, which were always brimming with all sorts of alcohol.  “‘I found out what your ‘drug-stores’ were.’  He turned to us and spoke rapidly.  ‘He and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter.  That’s one of his little stunts.  I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him, and I wasn’t far wrong’” (133).

            The love of Fitzgerald’s life, Zelda, had only one child, whom she gave birth to one year after their marriage.  The love of Gatsby’s life, Daisy, also had an only child, a daughter.  Her daughter was mostly taken care of by a nurse.  “I woke up out of the ether with an utterly abandoned feeling, and asked the nurse right away if it was a boy or a girl.  She told me it was a girl, and so I turned my head away and wept.  ‘All right,’ I said, ‘I’m glad it’s a girl” (17). 

Both Fitzgerald and Gatsby died a rather premature death.  Fitzgerald died at the age of 44 in 1940.  Gatsby also suffered an early death in his early thirties.  Nick narrating about Gatsby at their meeting early in the summer, said “…an elegant young roughneck, a year or two over thirty…” (48).  Fitzgerald died in “literary oblivion” and had no friends in the end.  His obituaries were gloomy and focused on hardships.  The funeral after Gatsby’s death showed few friends and moral supporters.  Nick, Gatsby’s father, and Owl Eyes were the only people to go to the funeral out of respect for Gatsby.  “The minister glanced several times at his watch, so I took him aside and asked him to wait for half an hour.  But it wasn’t any use.  Nobody came” (174). The love of both Fitzgerald and Gatsby were not supportive in the end.  Zelda had three breakdowns related to alcohol and was in very poor condition.  Daisy realized when Gatsby died, so did her opportunities for obtaining his money.  “…I could only remember, without resentment, that Daisy hadn’t sent a message or a flower” (174).

            F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby in 1925.  This book illustrates many parallels between the choices and lives of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Jay Gatsby.  The two men had many similarities in the choices they made, such as resorting to alcohol in one way or another to solve a problem and joining a branch of the military.  Gatsby and Fitzgerald shared multiple experiences, such as rejection from the girl of their dreams because of being too poor and also having few friends in the end of their lives for support.  This book is realistic fiction and serves as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s autobiography.