We commemorate the 100th Anniversary of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby this week with Patrick O'Sullivan Greene, author of Gatsby: Death of an Irishman.
Patrick guides us through F. Scott Fitzgerald's troubled Midwest upbringing, his quest for status, his ambivalence towards his Irish heritage, the sociopolitical climate of early 20th-century America, and the careless Jazz Age excess portrayed in Gatsby.
Patrick peels back the intricate layers of Fitzgerald's character, revealing the underlying themes of identity and self-rejection in his work, his shifting views of Irish issues, and how his personal battles influenced his writing and contributed to his tragic life.
The episode also touches on Patrick’s own Irish heritage and his journey from business and finance to writing.
We end the conversation as The Great Gatsby ends, with the novel’s closing line, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
Links:
Patrick O'Sullivan Greene
Gatsby: Death of an Irishman
Episode Details: Season 7, Episode 11; Total Episode Count: 114
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