Lone Star College-Kingwood
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1925
Born: St. Paul, Minnesota, Sept. 24, 1896
Died: North Carolina, Dec. 21, 1940
For an introduction to the author, watch F.Scott Fitzgerald & The Great Gatsby by
Peggy Whitley (approx. 6 minutes; requires Windows Media Player. Note: this may take a few minutes to load.)F. Scott Fitzgerald diverged from the society or class which his family represented. This was the seed from which The Great Gatsby grew. Fitzgerald came of age in the Roaring Twenties when material values shaped one's lifestyle and friendships. Fitzgerald began his writing career at Princeton, composing lyrics for the Triangle Club productions. During World War I, Fitzgerald wrote his first novel, This Side of Paradise, which was accepted for publication in 1919. Fitzgerald went on to write The Great Gatsby in 1925 and Tender is the Night in 1934. A tumultuous marriage to Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald and his own flamboyant lifestyle, predisposed F. Scott Fitzgerald to the heart attack which struck him in 1940 at the age of forty-four. At the time of his death, his novels were unread and had virtually been forgotten, however in the 1950's a Fitzgerald revival spawned new interest in his writings and praise as a leading American author of the twentieth century.
Topics to Consider
Librarian talk . . . About Getting Started!As you begin, narrow your topic to a size that you can manage. Consider keywords that will help you find the information you need. These can be names of people, literary works, events, or broader identifying terms. Use these keywords for locating information in the library catalog, electronic databases, and on the internet.
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Background on the
Novel
Nick Carraway narrates
the story of Jay Gatsby, his neighbor on Long Island. Rumors run rampant
about Gatsby's accumulation of wealth and his lavish soirees. Gatsby
involves Nick in a scheme to reveal his true love for Nick's cousin, Daisy, Tom
Buchanan's wife. Through a series of unfortunate misunderstandings supported by
the lavish and decadent lifestyle of the wealthy on Long Island during the
1920's and 30's, Gatsby quickly becomes the object of a Tom's fury over advances
made towards his wife. A final confrontation ends Gatsby's life as well as
that of his killer, George Wilson. In the end only one person, Nick, feels the
obligation to honor Gatsby's life at his funeral.
The historical setting of The Great Gatsby was the period known as the roaring twenties, a time of gaity, rejecting rigid rules of society, of flaunting wealth and all it could buy. Prohibition legally prevented alcohol consumption, but money could buy whatever was needed to supply the illegal beverages to the wealthy. The Great Gatsby was written by a man influenced by the romance of the era, but a man who could see the evils of the choices being made. Jay Gatsby died with but one friend to remember him.
REFERENCE BOOKS
Librarian Talk . . .About Books!
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Criticism or analysis of a novel begins in the reference section with sources such as the Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (TCLC). TCLC offers students excerpts from analytical articles written by literary scholars and previously published in scholarly journals. These analyses can help to formulate a topic and begin to understand how the novel has been understood by these literary experts. More books containing analysis of The Great Gatsby can be found by searching the Lone Star College-Kingwood Online Catalog. Enter the title as a keywords anywhere search. Books listed below are located in Lone Star College-Kingwood Library. Others can be requested electronically from the Lone Star College System colleges or the Montgomery County public library using your library card. Please ask a librarian if you need help requesting a book.
Librarian Talk . . . About Finding Journal and Newspaper Articles!Electronic databases are purchased by the libraries for your research use. To find articles in newspapers and journals, letters, reference books, illustrations, photographs and more, use your updated library card to login to the following databases. If you find an interesting article that is not full-text, please give the correct bibliographic information to our Reference Librarians and they will see that you get the article. They will need full bibliographic information - and your name and address. Send your phone number as well, so they can contact you if they need to. There is some overlap of articles in the following databases. However, we encourage you to use more than one. All are excellent sources for this topic. HINT: For a full list of article databases, go to http://Library.LoneStar.edu and use your library card for login. |
Use these databases to find articles in scholarly journals which discuss The Great Gatsby. To login from home, use your library barcode number.
Academic Search Complete - This general subject database offers articles from scholarly literary journals which discuss The Great Gatsby, many of them full text. Limit your search to Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) journals, and enter "the Great Gatsby and Fitzgerald" to retrieve articles.
Proquest Research Library - Another multi-subject database which contains scholarly articles from literary journals. Limit with "Show articles from peer reviewed publications only" and enter "great gatsby and Fitzgerald" to retrieve articles.
Literature Resource Center - A literary database containing articles from scholarly journals as well as information from reference sources. Use the title search to find information about The Great Gatsby. You will find full text critical essays in the Literary criticism section. Use the link to the MLA International Bibliography to find more articles from scholarly journals. Some of the MLA articles are full text while many are citations to articles that are printed on microfiche located in the library. Ask a Reference Librarian if you need help using the microfiche or the microfiche reader/printer.
Project Muse - This database contains only scholarly, full-text articles from selected journals, including more recent issues. Use the Advanced Search page for the most effective search.
JSTOR- Print or save full-text articles from high quality scholarly journals, generally from older issues. Use the Advanced Search page for the most productive searches.
NetLibrary For home access to this database, enter your library card barcode number. Search for F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, edited by Harold Bloom. This searchable electronic text offers thematic structural analysis, critical views and more. See the "Index of Themes and Ideas" with links to specific pages within the book discussing these themes and ideas. Other electronic books linked to the Kingwood College Library are:
Learn how to search NetLibrary for literary criticism.
Librarian Talk . . . About the Internet!The Internet will be a wonderful source of original documents. Browse the sites we have suggested below. Remember, you do want to find reputable sites. Look at:
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The F. Scott Fitzgerald Society page of teaching resources on The Great Gatsby.
The F.Scott Fitzgerald Centenary page by the University of South Carolina.
The Great Gatsby article by Bryan Mangum, Virginia Commonwealth University, originally published in the Encyclopedia of the Novel.
Librarian Talk about getting help!Support for a successful paper is more than finding the right resources. Putting it all together takes time and effort. Sometimes it takes additional help from the librarians or tutors. Please consider the following resources if you need additional help. Remember, the expert on the assignment is your professor; use the eCollege VISTA in-class email to contact her. |
Citing Sources Using the Library MLA Style Guide | Lone Star College-Kingwood Library guide. Examples of both paper and electronic citations.
Avoiding Plagiarism | Excellent information and guide on how to avoid plagiarism from the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University.
University of Texas Copyright Crash Course | This helpful guide on copyright is suggested by Lone Star College-Kingwood Teaching and Learning Center.
Learning Center | Check our hours for in-house tutoring.
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page created by Melinda Cavanaugh and Becky Bradley 9/23/02. Revised rparrish 6/2008
