About F. Scott Fitzgerald

The author of The Great Gatsby lived an unexpected life for the author of an American classic. He was a complete drunk since he was in college (at Princeton University, if you were wondering). He married a girl named Zelda who he met in the military. Some people think she was some sort of inspiration for Daisy but I don't think so according to the personality I've read about her. He had one kid, Frances.

Here's some actually interesting things I found now:

• Not only was he an alcoholic, he was renown for being extremely drunk, all the time.
• He died eating a candy bar and reading the newspaper, of a heart attack. Ironic?
• His third cousin is Francis Scott Key (writer of the Star Spangled Banner) is why he's named Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald. BUT also after his dead sister, Louise Scott.
• Only 20-30 people came to his funeral.
• His wife died in a mental institution fire but I can't find out why she was there
• Alternate names for Gatsby included Trimalchio, Among the Ash Heaps and Millionaires, The High-Bouncing Lover, Gold-Hatted Gatsby,Gatsby, On the Road to West Egg, Incident at West Egg, and Trimalchio in West Egg.

Alright now this is awesome, check it out. I found a digitalized version of his ledger (basically his notebook) and it is really cool if you look around. Here's the link. If you have only been skimming until now please go take a look and realize that its literally from pre-WWII era and you have complete access to it and if you don't think that's historically awesome then I don't know what is.

Go check that out and tell me what you find, it's worth it.

The Worst Thing about The Great Gatsby

Although The Great Gatsby is a pretty good story, let's talk about the typical boring "book" qualities. Everyone says they hate reading. Everyone's said it, even if you're the type to read 6 books a week. But no one hates reading when there's a good story. That's what Gatsby's like. The story sucks you in and makes you do the pathetic "read 150 pages in one sitting oops" type thing. So the worst thing about The Great Gatsby? There is none. Read the book, see the movie, and google pictures of Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby. It's cool, I get you.

Excuse the short post, I just really wanted to say this. Any suggestions for my next book, that you could say the same about?

Suspense; The Great Gatsby

Does The Great Gatsby have effective suspense? Some might say yes, but I would say no. There's not much action to the book (for me, at least) as there is just sharing a lifestyle love story of Jay and Daisy. But instead of suspense, I think curiousity is what keeps you reading, not suspense. You get invested into this book and the tale of Jay Gatsby, but it's not really a cliffhanging, must-read-on type book. Fitzgerald uses one of the most basic human characteristics; curiousity. You feel you need to know what's next. So no, The Great Gatsby doesn't have "suspense", but using the human, curiousity-driven mind is just as effective, and twice as genius.

For those of you who have read this, do you feel the same way? And those of you who have not, do you think a cliffhanger and using curiousity are essentially the same technique?

The best thing about The Great Gatsby

The best thing about The Great Gatsby is the realism in the characters. Jay, for example isn't just a polished rich guy in New York. Jay has a very shady past and human fears. His emotions for Daisy are very human, not just typical love story, happily ever after. He gets jealous, he makes mistakes. It happens and he accepts this and moves on. Daisy also isn't just a polished, beautiful girl either. She has her fears and anxieties just like Jay, and it gives you a deep connection in the book. Empathy draws the characters to you in this book. You feel their emotions, and that is the best thing about this American Classic.

Character Symbolism- The Great Gatsby

Jay Gatsby is sort of like an onion. He is a rich man. He throws parties all the time and has lots of fun. That's his outer layer. Somewhere in the middle of his character, he is a very loving man: you don't see this at his parties, but you certainly see this in the way he looks and acts around Daisy. His final innermost layer is afraid. He is afraid to lose Daisy and very afraid of swimming pools. I haven't read enough to know why though. A prediction I have for this is that his fear of swimming pools root back to his childhood. Here is a picture of how Jay (portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio) looks at Daisy (portrayed by Mira Sorvino) like how I said in his middle layer.

Do you know anyone with an "onion" personality? When do you see their "innermost layer"?

Book Choice- The Great Gatsby

Why did I choose The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald? The movie was coming out when I got the book. But when I bought the book, I bought The Fault in our Stars and Looking for Alaska along with it, and read them both first. I originally started on Gatsby but then read The Fault in our Stars instead. I now wanted to read Gatsby because I've refused to see the movie first. I barely knew what the book was about going into it, and that's what I think kept me from reading it to start with. Now that I've started reading I love how the story is told. The narrator being part of the story makes me excited to read the book.

Setting- Fahrenheit 451

The setting in 451 is a future American society. It's the kind of future written about, in fear that we might come to it. All of the citizens are essentially brainwashed by the government, and have no knowledge outside of what they've been told. The society revolves around censorship, and that's the only way of life they know. "They walked in the warm-cool blowing night on the silvered pavement and there was the faintest breath of the fresh apricots and strawberries in the air, and he looked around and realized this was quite impossible, so late in the year," (Bradbury 4) I actually love this line. It gives you idea of the time and place. Time: autumn, Place: southern. You know because he talks of how late in the year it is, yet there is fresh fruit. It's south because I know that apricots grow down south. This provides great imagery of what it would be like to walk around in this place. What does that line remind you of? It reminds me of walking my dog at night in the summer, where it's just kind of cold at night, but hot all day.