A03

Question 1

What book did Bruce Barton publish in 1925?

Answer 1

‘The man nobody knows.’ It portrayed Jesus as the ultimate salesman.

Question 2

What was the name of Fitzgerald’s wife?

Answer 2

Zelda Sayre

Question 3

How much was Fitzgerald earning shortly after moving to New York?

Answer 3

$90 a month

Question 4

How is Fitzgerald and his wife’s love story similar to Gatsby and Daisy’s?

Answer 4

Fitzgerald met Zelda when he was serving in the military in the First World War and fell in love with her, yet she would not marry him until he had become wealthier. When he became successful with ‘This Side of Paradise’ he married her.

Question 5

How did Zelda influence Fitzgerald’s women?

Answer 5

He was inspired by her to create Rosalind Connage in ‘This Side of Paradise’, using her diary excepts verbatim.
- After she gave birth to their daughter Frances, she said she hoped her daughter would be a “beautiful little fool”, like Daisy.

Question 6

What in Gatsby’s yearning for the past is parallel to America itself?

Answer 6

Gatsby seeks an idealised past to live out in the present, a key part of American culture with emphasis on forefathers and ancestors and heritage.

• Contemporary American politicians like Warren Harding called for a return to “normalcy”, much as modern Republican politicians call for a revival of “great” America (and Reagan).
• American citizens long for a romanticised version of a ‘perfect past’ to live in the future, like the antebellum era in Fitzgerald’s time.