Francis Scott Fitzgerald zählt neben Ernest Hemingway zu den größten Schriftstellern der amerikanischen Moderne. Sein Lebensstil ist durch die goldenen Zwanziger und den der Lost Generation geprägt. Sein Werk, so sagt man, spiegelt sein Leben wider.
Dieses Buch setzt sich mit Fitzgeralds Leben und Umgebung auseinander und geht von diesem Standpunkt aus auf die Texte des berühmten Schriftstellers ein.
Aus dem Inhalt:
The "Lost Generation" of American Expatriates, The Road to France – Fitzgerald’s Early Years, Disillusionment in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, An Analysis of the Contextual Influences of Fitzgerald’s Work, The novels & short stories of Fitzgerald
Table of Contents
Expatriate American Authors in Paris
Introduction
The Expatriate Artist Community in France
Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald in France
Disillusionment in Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises
Disillusionment in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby
Summary and Conclusion
The Clash of Ideals in the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald
Introduction
This Side of Paradise - Introducing the Golden Girl
The Great Gatsby – Distrusting the Rich
Babylon Revisited
The Last Tycoon
Conclusion
An Analysis of The Contextual Influences of Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s Work
THE NOVELS & SHORT STORIES OF F. SCOTT FITZGERALD
Go on talking,’ said the big man.
“Let’s not get to know anybody, but just stay together”
“So many smart men go to pieces nowadays”
“Hollywood: This is no art… - this is an industry”
Conclusions
Research Objectives & Themes
This work investigates the phenomenon of mass American expatriation to Paris during the 1920s, analyzing the disillusionment with the American lifestyle reflected in the works of Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. It explores how socio-political factors, post-war moral confusion, and the perceived sterility of American consumer culture drove intellectuals into exile.
- The historical and social impetus behind the "Lost Generation's" exodus.
- The function of Paris as a permissive, cosmopolitan creative refuge.
- Comparative analysis of disillusionment in The Sun Also Rises and The Great Gatsby.
- The impact of materialism and the "consumption ethic" on moral decay.
- The search for personal codes and authenticity amidst a broken post-war society.
Excerpt from the Book
The “Lost Generation” of American Expatriates
There have always been varied motives for self-exile, just as many different Americans have gone abroad. Yet Ishbel Ross, in his study of Americans who have left their homeland, notes that “the artists and writers have most consistently fed the expatriate flame,” leaving behind the limitations of American culture, and seeking an atmosphere of tradition. This “flame” reached its peak with the Americans who went to Europe after World War I, an artistic mass migration which was the largest ever made from the New World. According to A Handbook to Literature, “expatriate” is a term “applied to those who leave their native lands and reside elsewhere,” further stating that this move is usually voluntary. Moreover, an expatriate is a person who has withdrawn from residence in or allegiance to his or her native land, who has become disillusioned with that country and seeks a more welcoming environment.
Whereas historically the expatriates had been isolated individuals, the number of gifted writers and artists who settled in Paris during the 1920s created a group effect. Ross states that it was authors such as “Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald” who “shook up the literary world, as both writers and personalities.” The Americans who went to France after the war became members of what Gertrude Stein described as the “Lost Generation.” The term originated from an incident in the summer of 1925, when Stein’s car was being repaired in a French garage. The garage owner lamented that workers aged between twenty-two and thirty did not learn fast and he was unable to teach them. He said to Stein, “C’est une génération perdue.” Stein later repeated the remark in conversation with Ernest Hemingway, extending it to include the moral chaos of the then-current generation of expatriates whom Stein felt had no respect for anything.
Chapter Summaries
Introduction: Outlines the historical context of American expatriation to Paris and defines the scope of the study regarding Hemingway and Fitzgerald.
The Expatriate Artist Community in France: Examines the socio-political factors and the cultural allure of Paris that turned the 1920s into a major migration period for writers.
Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald in France: Details the biographic experiences of the two authors and how their time abroad shaped their personal disillusionment.
Disillusionment in Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises: Analyzes the insular nature of the expatriate community and the search for authentic values in the aftermath of the war.
Disillusionment in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby: Explores the destructive effects of wealth and materialism, focusing on the moral disorder represented by East Egg and the valley of ashes.
Summary and Conclusion: Consolidates the findings regarding the authors' shared rejection of the materialistic American lifestyle.
Keywords
Lost Generation, Expatriates, Paris, American Lifestyle, Disillusionment, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Sun Also Rises, The Great Gatsby, Materialism, Prohibition, Modernism, Moral decay, Jazz Age, Post-war literature.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The work examines the mass migration of American intellectuals to Paris in the 1920s and assesses how this exile was fueled by a profound disillusionment with the American lifestyle, specifically its materialism and post-war moral decline.
What are the primary thematic fields addressed?
The central themes include the "Lost Generation" experience, the cultural opposition between the American "production/consumption ethic" and European artistic tradition, and the moral corruption prevalent in the U.S. during the 1920s.
What is the overarching research question?
The study seeks to identify how Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald utilized their experiences as expatriates to critique the socio-political climate, moral decay, and the corrupted "American Dream" of their homeland.
What methodology does the author employ?
The author uses a comparative literary analysis of selected novels, combined with historical and biographic context, to demonstrate how both authors expressed their disillusionment through their characters and settings.
What is covered in the main body of the work?
The main body provides historical background on the expatriate community in France, detailed biographical sketches of Hemingway and Fitzgerald, and in-depth literary analyses of The Sun Also Rises and The Great Gatsby.
Which keywords best define this thesis?
The core concepts are the "Lost Generation," materialism, the corruption of the American Dream, and the aesthetic/moral contrast between the U.S. and the European experience in the 1920s.
How does the author characterize the contrast between East Egg and the valley of ashes in The Great Gatsby?
The author views this geography as a symbol of the vast socio-economic divide in America, representing the heartless affluence of the established elite versus the spiritual and material desolation of the exploited lower class.
What role does alcohol play in the authors' depictions of their characters?
Alcohol serves as both a form of escapism from post-war trauma and a symbol of the moral sterility and aimless hedonism that characterized the "Lost Generation."
- Arbeit zitieren
- Michael Grawe (Autor:in), Laura Deneke (Autor:in), Piers Henriques (Autor:in), Christoph Kronig (Autor:in), 2013, Francis Scott Fitzgerald: The great Author, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/230225
