F. Scott Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota. His father, Edward Fitzgerald, was a proud Maryland man. Fitzgerald's mother, Mary (Mollie) McQuillan, was the daughter of a humble but wealthy Irish immigrant. Fitzgerald, being the only child to survive infancy, was spoiled and was the apple of his mother's eye. After her father's dismissal from a job in upstate New York, the family moved back to St Paul in 1908 and lived a comfortable life financed by Mollie Fitzgerald's inheritance. F. Scott Fitzgerald's life would exemplify both sides of the "American Dream": the joy of wealth, love, and success paired with the tragedies that come from overindulgence and failure. Named after another very famous American, his distant cousin Francis Scott Key, Fitzgerald had he not been born to certainly be named an American legend. After a stint at Princeton, where he wrote and partied instead of going to class, Fitzgerald joined the Army. Knowing that no amount of money could guarantee his safety, Fitzgerald feared death. Not necessarily death, but more fear of dying without leaving something to be remembered by. This fear fueled his hastily written first novel. When he submitted The Romantic Egoist to Charles Scribner's Sons, it was rejected. This was one of Fitzgerald's first attempts to capture the "American Dream" and also one of his first failures. Unshakeable in the face of this failure and on the advice of the publishers, Fitzgerald was determined to revise the novel and resubmit it. Time did not stand still because of his failure, Fitzgerald was still drafted into the army and still in constant fear of being shipped overseas. That fear was quelled when Fitzgerald was reassigned to... middle of paper... ld left behind a legacy that cannot be forgotten. His tenacity after many different paths and mistakes made his life the true “American Dream”. Works Cited BRUCCOLI, Matthew J. "A Brief Life of Fitzgerald." Biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald. The F. Scott Fitzgerald Society, n.d. Web. 08 March 2014. "F. Scott Fitzgerald." History.com. A&E and Web Television Networks. March 09, 2014.Fitzgerald, F. Scott. ““The only thing worse than a guy who hates you: a guy who loves you.”” Goodreads. Goodreads and Web. March 11, 2014. Kretzmer, Sybil S. “Fitzgerald Through Other Eyes.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, September 24, 1995. Web. March 11, 2014. Willet, Erika. "F Scott Fitzgerald and the American Dream." PBS. PBS and Web. March 08, 2014. Willet, Erika. "Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald artist, writer, dancer and wife." PBS. PBS and Web. 08 March. 2014.