The Great Gatsby: Success of the novel
Enviado por CesarMembreno • 21 de Octubre de 2013 • 313 Palabras (2 Páginas) • 448 Visitas
THE GREAT GATSBY: SUCCESS OF THE NOVEL
Published in 1925 during the Jazz Age .
Fitzgerald’s most famous novel.
Fitzgerald was the most famous chronicler of 1920s America.
Widely regarded a “Great American Novel” and a literary classic.
The setting of the novel contributes to its popularity.
Has been adapted numerous times, in various media.
Its themes and symbols are reasons of why the novel is still popular today.
SUCCESS UPON RELEASE
Received mostly positive reviews.
Fitzgerald got many letters from fellow writers praising his novel.
The book did not get as much commercial success as Fitzgerald’s previous novels This Side of Paradise (1920) and The Beautiful and Damned (1922).
Less than 25,000 copies of the book were sold before Fitzgerald’s death.
FITZGERALD’S LIFE AFTER “THE GREAT GATSBY”
With the publication of his previous novel The Side of Paradise (1920), Fitzgerald earned enough money to marry Zelda and become a literary sensation.
His fame and fortune led him to a wild, reckless life-style of parties and decadence.
Alcoholism hampered his writing but he published another novel, Tender Is the Night (1934), and wrote many other short stories.
Left for Hollywood in 1937 to write screenplays, before he died of a heart attack in 1940.
“THE GREAT GATSBY” AFTER FITZGERALD’S DEATH
The book did not receive widespread attention until after Fitzgerald’s death.
Gatsby gained readers when Armed Services Editions gave away around 150,000 copies of the novel to the American military in World War II.
In 1951, a biography of Fitzgerald titled The Far Side of Paradise was published by Arthur Mizener.
By 1960s the reputation of the book was restablished.
To date 140000 copies have been sold of this book that is studied in many schools.
REASONS TO STUDY GATSBY
It explores themes that are of current interest, such as ambition, justice, equity, and the American dream.
Gatsby reminds one that the dollars aren’t always enough.
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