Lorraine Cook/THE REVIEW
Kayla discusses the work of F. Scott Fitzgerald.
BY
SENIOR REPORTER
Like many great authors during his time, F. Scott Fitzgerald had a talent that would keep a reader wanting more. Of course, “The Great Gatsby” has seen success with past and present readers, but after doing some research this summer, I can say one thing: Fitzgerald is more than just a writer of “The Great Gatsby.”
The story looks at the Jazz Age and Roaring Twenties through fiction: the division of old money versus new money plays a role in the novel, but the main focus is love. Jay Gatsby, famous for his lavish parties, loves the beautiful Daisy Buchanan and goes to extreme measures to win her back. But happy endings aren’t guaranteed, resulting in a tragedy that the reader wouldn’t have seen coming.
Fitzgerald and “The Great Gatsby” have become synonymous with one another, resulting in the neglect of his other works.
His other novels, “This Side of Paradise” and “Tender is the Night” are the ones that truly make me appreciate Fitzgerald as a well-rounded writer.
In “This Side of Paradise,” which I’m currently reading, the reader meets Amory Blaine, a Princeton University student with a penchant for literature. The novel focuses on love and how it gets entangled with power, money and social standing.
At the time of this novel, Fitzgerald and his future wife Zelda’s relationship was starting to flourish. Fitzgerald went as far as to model one of the characters after her.
“Tender is the Night” mirrors the Fitzgeralds’ marriage closely. Although Zelda wrote a book that describes in greater detail the nature of their marriage, it is often overshadowed by this novel.
The story centers around a young couple’s deteriorating relationship and the fall of Dick Diver, the main character, as he descends from a once-promising career and looks back at a life that is nothing more than a memory. As in Fitzgerald’s other novels, there is no such thing as a happy ending.
“Tender is the Night” is the last novel that Fitzgerald wrote to completion.
F. Scott Fitzgerald was a great writer whose works would continue to be a part of literary history for years to come. There is so much more to learn when it comes to Fitzgerald, and I hope his other works begin to receive the recognition they deserve.
