Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby: Life, Works, and Legacy

Which novel remained Fitzgerald's most acclaimed work during his lifetime and afterward?

The Great Gatsby

What career did Fitzgerald attempt after his initial success writing fiction?

Screenwriting in Hollywood

What creative pursuit did Zelda Fitzgerald take up in 1928?

Ballet

Where did the Fitzgeralds move in 1928 so Zelda could study dance?

France

In what year did Zelda Fitzgerald suffer her first acute mental breakdown?

1930

Where did Zelda receive her first major psychiatric treatment in 1931?

A Swiss hospital

What financial burden forced Fitzgerald to keep writing short fiction?

The cost of Zelda's medical treatments

In which cities did Fitzgerald live while Zelda was hospitalized in the 1930s?

Montgomery, Los Angeles, Asheville, and Baltimore

What was Fitzgerald's fourth completed novel, published in 1934?

Tender Is the Night

How was Tender Is the Night received by critics?

Mixed reviews—some praised it, others called it a weak imitation of earlier work

Which fellow American author outshone Fitzgerald in the 1930s?

Ernest Hemingway

How did Hemingway treat Fitzgerald?

He encouraged him but also mocked him at times

What series of essays did Fitzgerald publish in Esquire in 1936?

The "Crack-Up" essays

What impression did Fitzgerald's "Crack-Up" essays give the public?

That he was a lonely, broken has-been

Which writer edited and published Fitzgerald's "Crack-Up" essays as a collection?

Edmund Wilson

Which 1936 New York Post interview depicted Fitzgerald as a "washed-up drunk"?

Michael Mok's interview

What novel was Fitzgerald working on in Hollywood during the late 1930s?

The Last Tycoon

What year did Fitzgerald die, and at what age?

1940, at age 44

What caused Fitzgerald's death?

A heart attack, worsened by alcoholism and tuberculosis

How many short stories did Fitzgerald publish during his lifetime?

About 180

How many novels did Fitzgerald leave behind?

Five (four completed, one posthumously published)

Which novelist did Americans in the 1930s consider superior to Fitzgerald?

Sinclair Lewis, Willa Cather, and John Dos Passos

How has Fitzgerald's reputation changed since his death?

It has steadily grown, making him one of America's most celebrated writers

Which friends and colleagues championed Fitzgerald's writing after his death?

Max Perkins, Edmund Wilson, and Dorothy Parker

Which scholars and biographers helped preserve Fitzgerald's legacy?

Scott Donaldson, Arthur Mizener, Matthew J. Bruccoli

What aspect of Fitzgerald's personal life has been widely researched?

His marriage to Zelda Fitzgerald

Which theme did critics say Fitzgerald uniquely captured in his writing?

The feeling of longing and striving for something unattainable

According to Lionel Trilling, what did Gatsby come to represent?

America itself and the American Dream

Which characters in The Great Gatsby reflect parts of Fitzgerald's own life?

Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby

Which character in The Great Gatsby is often linked to Zelda Fitzgerald?

Daisy Buchanan

Why did the public view Fitzgerald's lifestyle differently in the 1930s?

His partying, once glamorous, now seemed embarrassing

What was Fitzgerald's only official Hollywood screenwriting credit?

The Three Comrades (1938)

Who was Sheila Graham in Fitzgerald's life?

A journalist and Fitzgerald's companion in his final years

What major global event contributed to Fitzgerald's declining reputation in the 1930s?

The Great Depression

Which contemporaries of Fitzgerald have faded into obscurity compared to him today?

Sinclair Lewis and John Dos Passos

How did Mok's 1936 interview portray Fitzgerald physically?

Trembling, twitching, and drinking excessively

What lasting symbol from The Great Gatsby reflects Fitzgerald's themes of longing?

The green light across the bay

What enduring American theme did Fitzgerald most embody in his works?

The pursuit and failure of the American Dream