Every Writer projects themselves into their writing, whether they do it consciously or not. F. Scott Fitzgerald did this in his book "The Great Gatsby," with the main character Jay Gatsby. By reading The Great Gatsby one can clearly see F. Scott Fitzgerald reflected in Jay Gatsby in that they both left college, met the love of their life while in the army, and strove to impress the loves they ultimately lost.
The first similarity between F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life and that of Jay Gatsby is how they dropped out of college. Both of them only attending college for a short amount of time. An online biography of Fitzgerald states, “Because of ill health and low grades, he left the university in 1915…He returned to Princeton in 1916 but left a year later without a degree and joined the U.S. Army…” (Fitzgerald Biography 2). This quote shows how Fitzgerald was not able to graduate from Princeton University despite his efforts. James Gatz had a similar experience as is explained by his closest friend. He states, “An instinct toward his future glory had led him, some months before, to the small Lutheran college of St. Olaf in southern Minnesota. He stayed there two weeks… and despising the janitor’s work with which he was to pay his way through…” (Fitzgerald, 99). This quote illustrates how Jay Gatsby struggled through college for just two weeks when he realized he wouldn’t be able to handle the difficulty of college anymore. This lead to him finding Dan Cody. The author and his protagonist struggled through their short time at college, due to a combination of little money, poor grades, and failing health, that made them quit.
Another similarity between both men is that they joined the army as lieutenants and met the loves of their lives while in the service. Fitzgerald joined the army right when he dropped out of college and was stationed near Montgomery, Alabama. According to an article on the PBS website, “Meanwhile, fate, in the form of the U.S. army, stationed him near Montgomery, Alabama in 1918, where he met and fell in love with an 18-year-old Southern belle - Zelda Sayre…” (Willett 3). However because Fitzgerald did not have a good income, Zelda broke off the engagement. Fitzgerald uses this experience to create Jay Gatsby’s meet with Daisy. In chapter eight it states, “He went to her house, at first with other officers from camp Taylor, then alone… eventually he took Daisy one still October night, took her because he had no right to touch her hand. He might have despised himself, for he had certainly taken her under false pretenses” (Fitzgerald, 148-149). This illustrates how Jay Gatsby mislead Daisy about his true income and living arrangements. Both men found their loves but did not feel worthy of them. The difference between Fitzgerald and Gatsby is that Fitzgerald eventually marries Zelda, while Gatsby never gets to make Daisy his wife.
Finally, both F. Scott Fitzgerald and Jay Gatsby make great efforts to impress Zelda and Daisy, when in the end they lose them. Both men tried to win their significant others love, by impressing them with a luxurious lifestyle. However their romances were fated to fail. Zelda was unable to defeat her mental illness and Daisy decided to disappear with Tom in the end. Fitzgerald impresses Zelda by writing and publishing his books, becoming a successful, rich author. This proves to Zelda that she can sustain her lifestyle. According to an autobiography on the Fitzgerald’s, “upon his discharge he moved to New York City hoping to launch a career in advertising lucrative enough to convince Zelda to marry him…” (Fitzgerald 5). In this quote the career that he chose did not have a good enough income for Zelda so she originally turned his marriage proposal down. Gatsby throws lavish parties to try to impress Daisy as well. However their love for the women was not just a show. Like Fitzgerald when Zelda suffered her mental illness, Gatsby also stands by Daisy when she accidently murders Myrtle. In the novel it says, “’Was Daisy driving?’ ‘Yes,’ he said after a moment, ’but of course I’ll say I was… I’m just going to wait here and see if he tries to bother her about that unpleasantness this afternoon’” (Fitzgerald, 143-144). This shows the lengths that Gatsby would go for daisy and metaphorically how far Fitzgerald would go for Zelda. Both men tried to impress their loves, but for them fate did not want them to be together. Zelda eventually was overcome by her mental illness and Daisy never left Tom to be with Gatsby.
In conclusion, the character Jay Gatsby mirrored F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life. Both men left their college, were in the army where they met the love of their lives, and both lost Zelda and Daisy in the end. Fitzgerald used The Great Gatsby as an outlet to speak about his life. Fitzgerald does not hold anything back, he writes about himself, Zelda, and their life together and apart, which makes the novel so realistic.
