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Abigail Tempel
Mrs. Weathersbee
AP Language Composition
10 February 2015
Autobiographical Aspects of The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is set in the 1920s and describes the
relationship between the main characters Gatsby and Daisy. It follows them through their first
meeting to their last meeting and the events in between their relationships. There are some
aspects of the book that show autobiographical references to Fitzgeralds life. The book, The
Great Gatsby, is semi-autobiographical due to the comparison of Gatsby and Fitzgerald.
Although there are some differences between Gatsby and Fitzgerald such as number of affairs
and consumption of alcohol, but there are similarities between them such as affairs during
marriage and lifestyles.
F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in Minnesota in 1896 and he moved to many places
throughout his childhood. The last place his father was relocated to was upstate New York,
which is where The Great Gatsby takes place. He originally went to Princeton but because of
academic failure, he dropped out and joined the military. He was a second lieutenant in the
infantry during World War 1. While he was stationed in Alabama, he met his wife Zelda Sayre,
who originally did not want to marry him. He was seen as ill-fitted for her and she called off
their engagement. Once the war ended and he was discharged, Zelda decided to marry him
because of his ongoing success with writing. Fitzgerald, during his marriage with Zelda, had
many affairs with different women he had known before he met Zelda. One notable one was
Genevra Scott who he met in his earlier life. Zelda, who was having mental breakdowns due to

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hearing news of Fitzgeralds affair, developed schizophrenia and passed at an early age. Even
though Fitzgerald and Zelda remained married, their marriage was loveless and for Fitzgerald,
like Zelda was not even there. Fitzgerald was also an alcoholic and buried his sorrows over
Zelda and his lost marriage with alcoholism (Harpers Bazaar, Scott and Zelda, n.p.).
Jay Gatsby, the main character in The Great Gatsby, lived a wealthy lifestyle in the West
Egg in a mansion across the lake from Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby, who had had a relationship with
Daisy earlier in life, had followed her throughout her life after their relationship was terminated.
He lived a very lavish lifestyle and was known for his parties and events. He did everything he
could to attract Daisy even though she was already married and did not remember he existed. He
had been in the army which is where he met Daisy. Throughout the book, he meets Daisy again
through the narrator Nick, and they fall in love again like they once were. Daisy was having an
affair with her husband Tom Buchanan, but she liked the idea of Gatsby. Gatsby didnt drink
alcohol and he was constantly worried about his appearance and how he was perceived in public.
The lifestyles of Gatsby and Fitzgerald can be considered similar due to life experiences
such as being in the military, affairs during marriage, and the role of alcohol in their lives. The
comparison between Gatsby and Fitzgerald is clear through these connections. Both Gatsby and
Fitzgerald were a part of the military which shows the similarities between the locations they met
their partners. Fitzgerald met Zelda through being in the military and Gatsby met Daisy because
he was wearing his military uniform. This showed their characters as being powerful and brave
just because the uniforms were covering up their pasts.