Fitzgerald and Regret

[Sitaram]

After the publication of "The Great Gatsby" Fitzgerald said that he realized that writing was really "the thing," and he sould have buckled down and sacrificed all his energy to it. Sometimes, hell is simply our bitter regret.

The picture which Hemingway paints of Fitzgerald as a party goer/heavy drinker sheds some light upon the bitter regret over wasted time and opportunity.

Apparently, Fitzgerald did a major structural rewrite of "The Great Gatsby" during the GALLEY SHEET phase, which is I suppose a time meant only for minor corrections and editing.

The publisher commissioned an artist to do a mystical sort of painting for the cover; coney island at night, ferris wheels, but in the sky the ghostly face of a woman, (and in the pupils of the eyes of that face, there is not a retina, but a tiny image of a naked woman.) The artist had the cover for the book ready BEFORE Fitzgerald had the book finished.

Time is so precious. We must use it wisely. Even when we think we are weary, there is so much we can learn, so much we can say, if only we have the courage to face the paper; face the printed page.

Sometimes I feel weary, but I carry some book with me, and open it at random and read a page, or half a page.

I opened Hardy, "Far from the Madding Crowd" (yes, I used to think it was Maddening not so long ago) and I read the passage about Bathesheba's upper and lower lip. When she was troubled by an earthy visceral thought, her lower lip quivered (I just made a "Freudian slip" and typed "lover lip"). When a more etherial, elevated, higher matter troubled her, then her UPPER lip quivered. This was a clever device for Harding, but somewhat contrived. How convenient to have a spiritual barometer on ones' face. Yet, I only came to appreciate that because I used an extra moment to read at random, a moment which might have otherwise been wasted.

(By the way, how clever of this forum's sofware! I have edited this a dozen times in a dozen minutes, yet the forum only shows ONE view. Good forum! Good doggy!)

[Ranoo]

hi ,
Thanks sitaram.In fact ,I studied Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby "as a requirement for literary Criticism course. It is considered to be his masterpiece.I liked it a lot.
Is anybody interested to do some discussion about this novel "The Great Gatsby " ?

[Scheherazade]

I like 'Tender is the Night' better than 'The Great Gatsby'.

[Zeus]

I agree; but my favourite of all is 'The Beauty and Damned'. 'The Great Gatsby', in my opinion, is of no comparison.

[Ranoo]

[B]hi,
Thank you for sharing both Scheherazade and zues
Unfortunately ,I haven't read anything by Fitzgerald other than "The Great Gatsby "
What I liked about the novel every time you re read the novel you find something different regarding symbols and its meanings. Though, there are lots and lots of fantastic web sites wrote about them, still you find something new and significant .You are right maybe in the first reading we think that it is not that new ,yet bit by bit you find something attract you, that you even have not finded at any website
I'll try to find Fitzgerald other novels to read them . Till that, since somebody agreed and interested Let's discuss The Great Gatsby" . I'll send a topic on this novel
yours,
Rana

[Sitaram]

Ranoo, thanks for posting! My only regret is that you have not chosen a more lively and colorful font.

[subterranean]

exactly

Ranoo, thanks for posting! My only regret is that you have not chosen a more lively and colorful font.

[Zooey]

My vote goes to This Side of Paradise, with Gatsby not far behind. Tender is the Night is of no comparison, I think.