ERNEST HEMINGWAY, F. SCOTT FITZGERALD AND THE JAZZ AGE
ERNEST HEMINGWAY, F. SCOTT FITZGERALD AND THE JAZZ AGE

Summary/Abstract: This paper concerns the main reasons that led the Jazz age authors, Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald to leave their home country, and start expatriate lives in Paris, France. First, an overview of the transformation of Victorian age to early modern literature is given, with an accent to Ernest Hemingway’s and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s roles in it. After that follow the main scandals of the early 20th century America, which shook the society, with a special context to the youth and other important realities that were not common. The most echoing occurrences were the exponential increase of the number of millionaires, massive concentration of the population in urban areas, Prohibition known as the Volstead Act, Teapot Dome scandal, Black Sox Baseball scandal and the Armory Show and last but not least post-World War I experience in the United States. This paper also includes description of far more advanced Paris in terms of culture, art and freedom as contrary to Prohibition and culturally conservative America. It is fair to consider here Gertrude Stein’s Salon, which gathered all her contemporary artists, and Sylvia Beach’s library Shakespeare and Company, which was a touching point for all English speaking expatriate writers in Paris. Another important fact is the favorable dollar rate in France. Before the great depression approximately one hundred thousand Americans lived in France due to dollar rate. The final part of this paper considers a conclusion, based on the highlights and the main points of this paper.

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