Why Did F. Scott Fitzgerald Write The Great Gatsby?

Author: MARTIN MUNYAO MUINDE
Email: ephantusmartin@gmail.com

Introduction

1. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925) remains one of the most celebrated works in American literature. The novel is widely recognized for its exploration of the American Dream, its depiction of the Jazz Age, and its enduring commentary on love, wealth, and social decay. But beyond its literary significance, one central question emerges: Why did F. Scott Fitzgerald write The Great Gatsby? Understanding Fitzgerald’s motivation requires an exploration of his personal life, the historical context of the 1920s, and his broader literary ambitions. His motivations were deeply intertwined with his own experiences, his relationship with Zelda Sayre, and his observations of American society during a period of profound cultural transformation.

Fitzgerald did not merely write The Great Gatsby to tell a story about Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan; rather, he sought to capture the essence of an era, critique the illusions of the American Dream, and immortalize the struggles he personally experienced with wealth, class, and love. The novel is both personal and universal, reflecting Fitzgerald’s ambition to create a work of art that would define his generation and secure his place among the greatest American writers. This paper explores the reasons Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby, analyzing the influences of his personal struggles, historical circumstances, and artistic goals that shaped the novel into a timeless masterpiece.

Fitzgerald’s Personal Life and Its Influence on the Novel

One of the most compelling reasons why Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby lies in his own personal experiences with wealth, love, and ambition. Born into a middle-class family in St. Paul, Minnesota, Fitzgerald was acutely aware of the class divisions that defined American society. His deep longing to be part of the elite social class influenced his pursuit of both personal and professional success. His relationship with Zelda Sayre, who came from a wealthy Southern family, further deepened his obsession with class and money. Zelda initially rejected Fitzgerald because of his lack of financial stability, which profoundly impacted his self-perception and ambitions (Bruccoli, 2002). This rejection motivated him to achieve literary success and wealth, themes mirrored in Jay Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy Buchanan.

The Great Gatsby reflects Fitzgerald’s personal disillusionment with wealth and love. Despite eventually marrying Zelda, Fitzgerald discovered that the glamour of wealth and high society brought instability rather than happiness. The parties, excesses, and indulgences he experienced in the 1920s mirrored the hollow extravagance described in Gatsby’s mansion. Thus, Fitzgerald wrote the novel as a reflection of his own struggles—his ambition to achieve success, his romantic idealism, and his disillusionment with the reality of materialistic pursuits. By embedding his own experiences into the narrative, Fitzgerald created a deeply personal yet universally resonant work.

Capturing the Spirit of the Jazz Age

Another major reason Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby was his desire to document and critique the Jazz Age, the era he famously named. The 1920s was a decade of unprecedented cultural transformation in the United States. Economic prosperity, Prohibition, and the rise of consumer culture shaped a society obsessed with wealth, pleasure, and excess. Fitzgerald and Zelda were at the center of this cultural explosion, attending lavish parties, mingling with the wealthy elite, and living lives that seemed glamorous but often masked personal struggles (Fitzgerald, 1925/2004).

Through The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald sought to capture both the allure and the emptiness of the Jazz Age. The novel’s depiction of Gatsby’s parties, the glittering New York City, and the careless behavior of the wealthy reflects the spirit of the 1920s. However, Fitzgerald did not celebrate this culture uncritically. Instead, he portrayed the darker side of the Jazz Age—the moral decay, superficial relationships, and disillusionment that lurked beneath the glamorous surface. Writing the novel allowed Fitzgerald to hold a mirror up to his society, documenting both its brilliance and its flaws. This duality ensures the novel’s enduring power as both a cultural artifact and a critique of an era.

The American Dream and Fitzgerald’s Critique

A central motivation for writing The Great Gatsby was Fitzgerald’s desire to explore and critique the American Dream. The American Dream—the belief that anyone can achieve success and prosperity through hard work—was a defining cultural narrative in the early 20th century. However, Fitzgerald observed that in the 1920s, this dream had become corrupted by materialism and greed. Through the character of Jay Gatsby, Fitzgerald dramatized the dangers of equating success with wealth. Gatsby, who rises from poverty to immense wealth, epitomizes the self-made man but ultimately finds that money cannot buy true love or happiness (Prigozy, 2001).

Fitzgerald wrote the novel to expose the hollow core of the American Dream. Gatsby’s downfall illustrates the futility of pursuing success through materialistic means while ignoring deeper values such as integrity, morality, and genuine relationships. The Valley of Ashes, a bleak wasteland between West Egg and New York City, symbolizes the moral and social decay underlying the glittering façade of wealth. Fitzgerald’s critique of the American Dream was not only relevant in the 1920s but remains strikingly applicable today. By writing The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald sought to immortalize his warning about the corruption of ambition and the emptiness of material success.

Artistic Ambition and the Pursuit of Literary Greatness

Fitzgerald also wrote The Great Gatsby out of a desire to create a lasting work of literary art. Having achieved fame with This Side of Paradise (1920), Fitzgerald was determined to prove himself not just as a popular novelist but as a serious literary figure. He believed that The Great Gatsby could secure his reputation as one of the greatest writers of his time. Unlike his earlier works, which were semi-autobiographical and focused on youth and romance, The Great Gatsby was crafted with careful precision, narrative innovation, and symbolic depth (Bruccoli, 2002).

Fitzgerald’s artistic ambition is evident in the novel’s structure and style. Told through the first-person narration of Nick Carraway, the novel blends lyrical prose with psychological depth and rich symbolism. The use of motifs such as the green light, Dr. T. J. Eckleburg’s eyes, and the Valley of Ashes demonstrates Fitzgerald’s mastery of symbolic language. He deliberately set out to write a work that would transcend its time and place, ensuring its relevance for future generations. His ambition to achieve greatness as a writer was a driving force behind the creation of The Great Gatsby, and the novel’s lasting success is a testament to the fulfillment of that ambition.

Fitzgerald’s Disillusionment with Society

Another motivation for Fitzgerald in writing The Great Gatsby was his growing disillusionment with American society. Though he and Zelda often enjoyed the privileges of wealth and fame, Fitzgerald became increasingly aware of the emptiness and superficiality of the elite circles he inhabited. The careless destruction caused by characters like Tom and Daisy Buchanan reflects Fitzgerald’s critique of a wealthy class that thrived on privilege but lacked responsibility. His portrayal of their recklessness—leaving Gatsby to take the fall for Myrtle’s death, for example—demonstrates his condemnation of a society that values wealth over morality (Lehan, 1990).

By writing The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald expressed his disillusionment with a culture driven by materialism and shallow desires. The novel’s tragic ending underscores his belief that such a society was unsustainable and destructive. His critique transcends the Jazz Age, resonating with readers in modern times who continue to grapple with issues of inequality, consumerism, and the decline of moral values. In this way, Fitzgerald wrote the novel not only as a personal expression of disillusionment but also as a timeless social critique.

Legacy and Lasting Impact

Fitzgerald’s decision to write The Great Gatsby was also influenced by his desire to leave a legacy. Despite struggling financially and critically during his lifetime, he envisioned creating a novel that would define his generation. Although the novel was not an immediate commercial success, it has since become one of the most studied and celebrated works of American literature. Fitzgerald’s motivations to capture his era, critique its values, and express his personal struggles ultimately produced a work that transcended its time.

Today, The Great Gatsby is recognized as a literary classic, taught in schools worldwide and adapted into films, plays, and cultural references. Fitzgerald’s ambition to create a timeless novel was fulfilled, even if he did not live to witness the extent of his success. In retrospect, his motivations for writing the novel reveal both a deeply personal quest and a universal artistic vision.

Conclusion

1. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby for multiple, interconnected reasons. His personal experiences with love, class, and ambition heavily influenced the characters and themes. His desire to capture the Jazz Age and critique the corruption of the American Dream gave the novel cultural depth and social relevance. Furthermore, his artistic ambition to create a masterpiece and his disillusionment with society added layers of complexity that ensured the novel’s timeless appeal. Ultimately, Fitzgerald’s motivations reveal a blend of personal expression and literary ambition that transformed his struggles and observations into one of the most enduring works of American literature. Through The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald not only expressed his own life and times but also produced a universal meditation on ambition, disillusionment, and the human condition.

References

• Bruccoli, M. J. (2002). Some Sort of Epic Grandeur: The Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald. University of South Carolina Press.

• Fitzgerald, F. S. (2004). The Great Gatsby. Scribner. (Original work published 1925)

• Lehan, R. (1990). The Great Gatsby: The Limits of Wonder. Twayne Publishers.

• Prigozy, R. (2001). The Cambridge Companion to F. Scott Fitzgerald. Cambridge University Press.