Class Description
F. Scott Fitzgerald is the author of The Great Gatsby, a pivotal American novel whose classic themes of the misguided pursuit of romance and the personal costs of wealth we will discuss in the class. Two of his later novels, Tender is the Night and The Love of the Last Tycoon, extend his imaginative reach, compassion, and insight to characters living on the French Riviera and in Hollywood, respectively. We will also read several of his best short stories, including "The Rich Boy," "Winter Dreams," and "Babylon Revisited."
Joseph Heininger is a Professor of English at Dominican University. He has published articles on Seamus Heaney’s adaptations of Dante and Joyce’s advertising fictions in Ulysses. "Representing Contemporary Life and Searching for the Sacred in Dennis O’Driscoll’s Poetry" was published in Christianity and Literature in 2022.
All virtual classes are recorded and made available to participants registered in the class. These recordings are password-protected and available for up to two weeks after the class ends.
Materials List
Required
- F. Scott Fitzgerald, Babylon Revisted and Other Stories. Scribner, 1996. ISBN: 978-0684824482
- Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby. Scribner, 2004. ISBN: 978-0743273565
- Fitzgerald, Tender is the Night. Scribner, 1995. ISBN: 978-0684801544 (Please Note: We are unable to stock this book, but copies are available at the Chicago Public Library. You can also buy it from online stores like Bookshop.org.)
- Fitzgerald, The Last Tycoon. Scribner, 2023. ISBN: 978-1668047996
First Reading
- Please read two stories in the collection titled Babylon Revisited and Other Stories: "Winter Dreams" and "The Rich Boy."
A Brief Syllabus
- Two stories “Winter Dreams” and “The Rich Boy”: adolescent hopes for excitement, romance, and success in social status and in love. Class issues; self-images. The fine portraits of Midwestern mores.
- “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz” and begin The Great Gatsby. Discuss narrative perspectives on the ways of solid Midwesterners and East Coast aspirants to wealth and station.
- Finish The Great Gatsby with its justly famous conclusion. A fine post-Crash story: “Babylon Revisited” (1931).
- Begin Tender is the Night in the annotated edition. The novel has been called “a profound study of the romantic concept of character.”
- Continue Tender is the Night in the annotated edition. How does Fitzgerald invite readers to experience both sympathy and judgment as we see the frayed emotional lives and complicated fates of these characters?
- The Love of the Last Tycoon, Fitzgerald’s last novel, is unfinished yet it remains quite fascinating. It is a Hollywood novel about a charismatic film producer, Monroe Stahr, as he strives for magnificent successes and great fame in “the dream factory.”
Cost and Registration
6 sessions, $245 ($220 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.
We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($245), Community Supported ($230), and Sponsor ($260). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.
To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.
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