Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on September 24th, 1896, with the namesake and second cousin twice removed of the author of the National Anthem. In 1918, he fell in love with a celebrated belle, near Montgomery, named Zelda Sayre. The publication of his book, “This Side of Paradise” on March 26, 1920, made him famous overnight. He then married Zelda a week later. A few years later he traveled to France and wrote The Great Gatsby. It was published in 1925. He later met Ernest Hemingway and they formed a friendship. He wrote many books but they kept getting rejected, leading him into financial trouble. After that, he believed himself to be a failure. Fitzgerald soon began writing a Hollywood novel called “The Love of the Last Tycoon” and was more than half way done with his draft when he died of a heart attack on December 21, 1940.

A lot of people say that Fitzgerald’s most famous work was The Great Gatsby. This book is about the narrator, Nick Carraway, an investigator who is finding his way through New York and meets Jay Gatsby. Nick learns about Gatsby’s past and his love for Daisy, Nick’s cousin. Daisy is married to Tom, how is cruel and participating in many affairs. Things start to get out of hand after Gatsby throws many parties, in hopes that Daisy will come. Events lead to Gatsby’s death and the return of Carraway. It is considered to define the classic American novel and it considers the theme and aspirations among the American setting. A quote from The Great Gatsby: “‘In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. ‘Whenever you feel like criticizing any one’, he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.’”, (Fitzgerald 5).

F. Scott Fitzgerald was considered to be one of the best authors of the jazz age. His most famous books were published in the roaring 20s and captured the mood during that decade. People say that the publishing of the two books was “perfect literary timing”. He brought the world to life with This Side of Paradise and The Great Gatsby with love and a desire for more. Unfortunately his other books were not as successful and led him into living a life in debt. He continued to write book that did ok, but did not make such an impact on people that The Great Gatsby and This Side of Paradise did.

I think the author had really great potential when it comes to writing books. I believe the rejection of most of his novels led to disappointment, frustration, and a lack of motivation to try. I like the idea of The Great Gatsby and This Side of Paradise because it captures the essence of the 1920s. The fact that a lot of his books were either rejected or neglected is saddening because he put so much effort into writing books just for people to forget and not care. He put everything into writing and I think he deserves to be more appreciated in what he accomplished. After Fitzgerald’s death, most people forgot about who he was and what he wrote. Eventually in 1960 he was secured in America’s enduring writers.

My essential question is how does failure contribute to mental health. I believe this is a good essential question because Fitzgerald struggled with rejection and developed the idea of being a failure. He pretty much gave up after most of his books struggled with publication. The idea of failure, for some people, is very scary and depleting. The fear of failure, or atychiphobia, causes many emotional and psychological problems. It leads to shame, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and low self-esteem. It negatively affects your work ethic and how you converse with friends and family. It causes this sense of paranoia to the point where people avoid certain things and or situations altogether. It affects the ability to grow and adapt to certain situations and often times leads to dark places.