The Great Gatsby Alcoholism Essay

Words: 771
Pages: 4

“First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you.” Those are the famous words of F. Scott Fitzgerald, a successful writer who also happened to be an alcoholic. He is one of many authors who face addiction and/or alcoholism, a mental illness in which one depends on alcoholic consumption. Being alcoholics, their writing is bound to be somewhat different from that of a nonalcoholic author. An author’s writing can be influenced by addiction and this can be analyzed by the way characteristics of their own can be found in their characters and how their relationship are reflected there as well.

Addiction can influence an author’s writing and this can be confirmed by analyzing their works and finding characteristics
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According to Hall, people with alcoholism “are more likely to have poor interpersonal relationships, live alone, have higher levels of aggression and impulsivity, and have an overall negative outlook on life.” All of these characteristics can be used to describe some of the main characters in Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby. In fact, Tom and Daisy Buchanan, whose lavish lifestyle included plenty of alcohol, had a rather rocky relationship. Nick remarks that he “never seen a girl so bad about her husband,” (Fitzgerald, 76). Fitzgerald’s relationship Zelda is somewhat similar to this. Fitzgerald implemented the struggle in his relationship with his wife, Zelda, in that of the …show more content…
Dorothy Parker and F. Scott Fitzgerald, both writers with addiction, and significant works that separate them from other authors. As Fitzgerald “filled his writing to the brim with liquor,” it is obvious that alcoholism and addiction impacted his writing. The writing of authors with addictions is different from that of a nonalcoholic and the can be confirmed by analyzing the characteristics of both the characters and their