Frances Scott Fitzgerald was born September 24, 1896 in St. Paul Minnesota and died of a heart attack in a Hollywood apartment on December 21, 1940 Throughout his career, Fitzgerald wrote numerous works, traveled the world and served in the United States Army. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote primarily short stories, but rose to fame through his novel This Side of Paradise and became even more famous through The Great Gatsby, released in 1925. The time period in which Fitzgerald lived played an important role in his work. Fitzgerald is one of the greatest American authors of all time solely because his works exemplify “the American dream.” This raises an excellent question: what was or is “the American dream”? The American dream is to achieve: achieve greatness, higher social rank, wealth, a family, first-class happiness. The idea is supposed to be that when you work hard, your hard work will pay off in the end. But more importantly, the American dream is a personal feeling. It's when you feel like you're on the verge of success. Do you have to have wealth and high social status to achieve the American dream? No, not necessarily. It's a dream, it's what you've dreamed of and dreamed of having one day. Everyone has a different perspective when it comes to the “American Dream.” For example, a professional athlete like a baseball player would dream of playing in the world series or on his favorite baseball team or both, knowing that it's up to him, an actor would want to win a Grammy and star in the movie of his dreams, a singer would like to land a big recording contract and become the number one singer of his time, who knows. Whether or not anyone can make this dream come true or...... middle of paper......2. FamousAuthors.org February 28, 2014 “Biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940). » Biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald.Grade Saver. Internet. March 5. 2014. Fitzgerald, Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1925. Fitzgerald, Frances. This side of paradise. New York: Scribner, 1920 “Biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940). “Biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald.Grade Saver, Web. March 5, 2014"Palen, Autumn DPCHOOSEASUBJECT." Autumn Palen's Digital Portfolio • NovelAnalysis. Internet. March 12, 2014 Reuben, Paul P. "PAL: F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940)." PAL: F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940). October 31, 2011. The web. March 4, 2014. Shmoop editorial team. “F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Timeline of Important Dates.” Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., November 11, 2008. Web. March 13, 2014The Great Gatsby. Real. Clayton, Jack. Paramount Pictures, 1974. Cinema.