His talent was as natural as the pattern that was made by the dust on a butterfly's wings.
- Ernest Hemmingway on F Scott Fitzgerald in ‘A Moveable Feast’, 1964
Known mainly as the author of ‘The Great Gatsby’ and a chronicler of the Roaring ‘20s, F Scott Fitzgerald is regarded as one of America’s greatest writers and the most accomplished member of the ‘Lost Generation’. This success has done a lot to overshadow the rest of his work though. Despite the popular perception Fitzgerald was so much more than a chronicler of the jazz age.
Born in Minnesota in 1896 Fitzgerald belonged to a generation that would experience times of both great excess and great want. He acted as a chronicler through America’s highs and lows, capturing the experiences, desires, and moral quandaries of his peers in novels and short stories. Born into an upper-middle-class family Fitzgerald had access to the best educational opportunities. His desire to write saw his grades fail though and in 1917 he dropped out of Princeton, joining the US Army and leaving to serve in Europe.
It was as a junior officer that Fitzgerald met his future wife, Zelda, at a country club. His lack of financial security would keep the two apart until the success of his first novel, ‘This Side of Paradise’, brought recognition and cash. The parallels between Fitzgerald’s own life and that of the titular character in ‘The Great Gatsby’ are not coincidental. Yet he also reflects much of the quiet outsider, Nick Caraway.
This infusing of his own life into his characters helped Fitzgerald to create believable worlds and characters. He captured more than just the experiences of the upper echelons of society though. In a career that spanned from 1919 until his death in 1940 Fitzgerald illuminated the myriad lives that made up the American experience; from those who strove for the American Dream to those who had given up on it as an illusion and the few for whom it was a reality.
Join Susan as she talks with Sarah Churchwell, author of Careless People and Forgotten Fitzgerald, and Philip McGowan, senior lecturer in American Literature in Queen’s University Belfast, about the life and writing of F Scott Fitzgerald. What was life like for this great author? What made him so sensitive to the world around him? How should he be remembered? Was he a Gatsby or a Caraway?
Rounding off the show Susan delves into the moral issues of right and wrong with author, lecture, and broadcaster Kenan Malik. In his latest book, ‘The Quest for a Moral Compass: A Global History of Ethics’, Kenan traces how mankind has tried to carve out a set of indelible rules by which we can navigate our imperfect world.
Moving from Ancient Greece up to the modern day Kenan looks at the issues that keep arising to challenge and upset the established morals. Looking beyond just the usual Western traditions Kenan traces how different communities and thinkers have tried to overcome the issues of reason versus desire, freewill versus determinism, truth’s relative nature, the individual versus society, amongst others.
Join Susan as she journeys with Kenan through the evolution of morality. How have our ideas of right and wrong changed over history? How has this exploration changed across time and space? And can we ever discover or create the perfect moral compass?
Tonight's music to read to
All of this episode's music comes from German composer Nils Frahm's album, 'Solo. We opened with 'Ode' with 'Some' ending the first part and 'Chant' closing the show.
