Fitzgerald’s Personal Background Paralleled with the Characters in The Great Gatsby

As F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby in the early 1920’s, he used a variety of sources to develop the setting, themes and characters. Since Fitzgerald lived through the corrupt era of the 1920’s he is able to lend authenticity in his portrayal of the materialism and deceit among the characters of his novel. Fitzgerald was influenced by the novel, The Waste Land by C.F. Elliot (Richard Lehan “Sugar Lumps” 95). The Waste Land was a response to postwar Europe, which was undergoing a radical change (Lehan “Sugar Lumps” 95). Elliot portrays a world, morally falling apart with no principle to hold it together (Lehan “Sugar Lumps” 95). Fitzgerald incorporates his personal background, peers and close friends, to form the personalities of the various characters in The Great Gatsby.

F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota (Michael Reynolds 2360). His mother’s father was a self made Irish immigrant millionaire, and his father was a salesman who married above his social class and squandered the family fortune (Reynolds 2360). Fitzgerald enlisted in the army and fell for the southern belle, Zelda Sayre (Reyno

In a letter sent to John Peale Bishop, Fitzgerald talks about how he never clearly saw Gatsby (Tom Burnam 106).

Fitzgerald came away from Ginevra with a sense of social inadequacy, a deep hurt, and a longing for the girl “ beyond attainment” (Lehan “Careless People” 71). Fitzgerald ties Ginevra in with the character of Daisy and many other women in his novels. Kenneth Eble is quoted as saying, “the details of Gatsby’s and Daisy’s love affair all come from Fitzgerald’s own experience delete [] [. . .]” (99).

. . . that’ll last all summer” (Stark 60).

Myrtle Wilson’s name has a number of interesting features (Stark 60). In the American College Dictionary, Myrtle is the generic name of an evergreen that, “is used as an emblem of love and was anciently held sacred by Venus;” also the “crape myrtle” a plant grown in the south, reminds someone of the “wreath,

Ginevra’s fiancé was William Mitchell (Lehan “Careless People” 70). Mitchell was from an extremely wealthy family associated with Chicago banking (Lehan “Careless People” 70). Charles King (Ginevra’s father) and William Mitchell both owned a string of polo ponies as did Tom Buchanan (Lehan “Careless People” 70). Lehan comments to Mr. King, “Fitzgerald was from another world, and Fitzgerald became aware that he was considered socially beneath Ginevra” (“Careless People” 70). Like Tom Buchanan, William Mitchell also went to Yale (Lehan “Careless People” 70).

Some topics in this essay:
Gatsby’s Daisy’s, Zelda Scott, Waste Land, Fitzgerald Ginevra, Myrtle Stark, Scott Fitzgerald, Kerr Bruccoli, Max Geralch, Daisy Fay, Michael Reynolds, “careless people”, lehan “careless, lehan “careless people”, people” 70, “careless people” 70, reynolds 2360, stark 61, “careless people” 68, people” 68, ginevra king, lumps” 95, “sugar lumps”, “sugar lumps” 95, lehan “sugar, lehan “sugar lumps”,