Biography

F. Scott Fitzgerald was a self-made man who epitomized both the glory of the Jazz Age and the desperation of the aftermath of the 1929 stock market crash. Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, Fitzgerald met and fell in love with Zelda Zayre when his army unit was stationed in Montgomery, Alabama. Zelda refused his marriage proposal, so Fitzgerald left for New York to win a fortune and Zelda's love. He succeeded with This Side of Paradise (1920), an instant critical and financial hit: Zelda married him a week after its release. The Fitzgeralds were extravagant beyond their means, partying and drinking into the night and using up all the proceeds from two short-story collections and a second novel, The Beautiful and the Damned (1922). They moved to France in 1924 -- living among the group of American expatriates that included Hemingway, Stein, and Pound -- and in 1925 Fitzgerald wrote his masterpiece, The Great Gatsby. The party ended, though, when heavy debts drove Scott to alcoholism and Zelda to insanity: she had a breakdown in 1931 and spent the rest of her life in mental hospitals. Fitzgerald continued to write to support himself and their daughter, finally landing in Hollywood in 1937 as a screenwriter. He died of a heart attack at the age of forty-four.

Explorations

Babylon Revisited contains many of the motifs of Fitzgerald's most famous stories: a setting among the rich and the aimless; a theme of failed love and longing for a time and a world that cannot be regained; a narrative voice which is urbane, surprising in its imagery, and darkly evocative.

1. Is Babylon Revisited a story about alcohol abuse and the destruction it causes -- or does the story treat alcoholism as a symptom of some other or larger problem facing Charlie and his world? Cite details from the story to develop an answer to this question.

2. Describe Charlie's relationships with women -- Helen; Lorraine; and his own daughter, Honoria. Is there a recurring problem with these relationships? Does he become fully aware of such a problem during the story? How does he regard anyone beyond, or below, his own social circle? How do his various attitudes affect your view of him?

3. In another Fitzgerald story, The Rich Boy, the narrator says, "Begin with an individual, and before you know it you find that you have created a type." Is Charlie a type? If so, what does he represent?

Other sites to consult:

• The University of South Carolina's F. Scott Fitzgerald centenary home page. An extensive Fitzgerald site including selected online texts, essays and articles about Fitzgerald, a bibliography, a family chronology, and more.
• F. Scott Fitzgerald's 100th birthday. Visit the Minnesota Public Radio site for a number of resources, including a detailed biographical timeline; contemporary writers' reflections on Fitzgerald's work; and a vignette on Fitzgerald in St. Paul, followed by Garrison Keillor's personal reflections on Fitzgerald.
• Minnesota Center for the Book Fitzgerald "pathfinder". A brief guide to Fitzgerald, his creative work, and sources about him.
• American Modernism: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Graphics, a bibliography, overview, and study questions on the PAL: Perspectives in American Literature site maintained by Paul P. Reuben (California State University, Stanislaus).
• "Hometown Anti-Hero". An article by Alan Bjerga that was originally the cover story of the 9/26/96 A&E.