English - Winter Dreams and F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald Background

• Born in St. Paul, Minnesota: September 1896

• Family had moderate social status

• Father had success in small businesses, but also failures

• Family had to live off his mother’s inheritance

Does F. Scott Fitzgerald’s name sound familiar to you?

• Related to Francis Scott Key

F. Scott Fitzgerald Education

• Had educational support from his family

• Eventually attends Princeton University

• Felt different from the wealthy student there

F. Scott Fitzgerald Work

• Was successful in writing during his time there

• Did not graduate

• Enlisted in the army during World War I

F. Scott Fitzgerald Marriage

• Met Zelda Sayre while stationed in Montgomery, Alabama

• She broke off their relationship in 1919 because he did not make enough money

• He eventually publishes his first novel, This Side of Paradise, and becomes a literary sensation

• He and Zelda proceed with their marriage

• Basically the it couple

• Their marriage is tumultuous

• They had one child, Scottie

• Their spent their money freely

• Drank a lot

• Mental Instability

• Symbols of the 1920s

• For much of the 1920’s the Fitzgeralds live in Europe with other writers

• They become symbols of the Lost Generation

  • Gertrude Stein coined the term the Lost Generation

The Great Gatsby

• Released April 10, 1925

• Resulted from his astute awareness of the issues of the time

• Was a critical success, but not a financial one

• Becomes popular during WWII

• He never really recovers from this (failure of the book)

  • Given to soldiers in WW2 as mini books to fit in pockets

F. Scott Fitzgerald Final Days

• Fitzgerald eventually moves to Hollywood for stable work as a screenwriter

• Drinking gets the best of him and he dies of a heart attack in 1940

• Zelda goes through periods of mental health issues and dies in a facility in 1948

Dexter Green

A successful businessman and the story’s protagonist. Dexter grew up in Keeble, a small Minnesota village, the son of a grocer and Bohemian mother. Ambitious and eager, he works hard to gain the trappings of wealth and status. Dexter both celebrates and denies his humble working-class origins. He feels like a trespasser in the halls of the affluent, but at the same time he feels superior for having worked his way into the upper ranks, a group comprising people for whom he has little respect.

Judy Jones

The daughter of the affluent Mortimer Jones. Glowing with vitality, Judy is aloof, charming, and irresistible to many men, including Dexter. She is alluring, unattainable, and whimsical, concerned only with the gratification of her desires. Judy does not seem to be fully aware of how manipulative she is toward the various suitors who pursue her—or if she is aware, she doesn’t care.

Mortimer Jones

A wealthy member of the Sherry Island Gold Club and Judy’s father. In one of Dexter’s fantasies, Mr. Jones watches Dexter amaze the club members with his mastery of the springboard. The real Mr. Jones approaches Dexter one day, with tears in his eyes, proclaiming him the best caddy and exhorting him not to quit.

T. A. Hedrick

A pillar of the community. Mr. Hedrick is the man Dexter trounces in his imaginary golf tournaments. Dexter does eventually golf with Mr. Hedrick, who emerges as a bore with few skills as a player. On the course, Mr. Hedrick is hit in the stomach by an errant ball struck by Judy Jones.

Irene Scheerer

Dexter’s fiancée. Irene is light-haired, sweet, and honorable. Dexter breaks her heart by cheating on her with Judy.

Mrs. Scheerer

Irene’s mother. A kind presence, Mrs. Scheerer likes Dexter and the idea of him becoming her son-in-law. Dexter’s betrayal of Irene hurts her deeply.

Mr. Hart

A successful man who admires young Dexter’s drive and work ethic. Mr. Hart gives Dexter a weekend guest pass to the Sherry Island Golf Club.

Mr. Sandwood

A member of the Sherry Island Golf Club who golfs one day with the twenty-three-year-old Dexter. Mr. Sandwood is captivated by Judy Jones’s beauty.

Devlin

A businessman from Detroit who visits Dexter in New York. Devlin informs Dexter that Judy married one of Devlin’s best friends, the couple is unhappily married, and Judy has lost her legendary good looks.