The story is centered around Amory Blaine, a midwesterner who falls in love with and is rejected by girls from wealthy families (“F. Scott Fitzgerald Biography”). The novel is highly autobiographical and many of the characters can be identified as real people in Fitzgerald’s life. The main character, Amory is said to be an idealized Fitzgerald and there are many parallels between their lives such as they both came from Minnesota, went to a boarding school, and attended Princeton (Mangum, Fitzgerald). Fitzgerald wrote about the themes close to him that he drew on largely from his own life. These themes include those of love, greed, and youth (“F. Scott Fitzgerald Biography”). For Fitzgerald, his style of writing was intertwined with emotions. This Side of Paradise is filled with Fitzgerald’s personal feelings, rhythmic lines, and imagery (Bruccoli, Grandeur). It was even considered slightly experimental with the poetry it contained (Mangum, Fitzgerald). However, the novel was loosely structured and had some issues with point of view (Bruccoli, Grandeur). Overall, This Side of Paradise received exceptional reviews and it made Fitzgerald start to be seen as a promising author. The success of his novel also made him somewhat of an overnight celebrity and Fitzgerald began to live an extravagant lifestyle. He gained a reputation as a playboy which hurt his status as a serious writer.(“F. Scott Fitzgerald …show more content…
While he was alive, none of Fitzgerald’s novels achieved more than a little commercial success. It wasn’t until after he died that Fitzgerald’s work became popular. After the Great Depression and with the publication of his last novel, The Last Tycoon, Fitzgerald’s novels were rediscovered. It was not until the 1950’s and 1960’s that The Great Gatsby was considered a classic American novel. Now, The Great Gatsby is a required book for reading for most high school students. His works are now considered social histories of the Jazz Age that show the culture of the time. Fitzgerald is now a prominent author in American literature (“F. Scott Fitzgerald