''The Crack-Up'' (1945) is a collection of

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

s by American author

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

. It includes previously unpublished letters and notes, along with the three essays Fitzgerald originally wrote for ''Esquire'' magazine, which were first published in 1936. After Fitzgerald's death in 1940,

Edmund Wilson Edmund Wilson Jr. (May 8, 1895 – June 12, 1972) was an American writer and literary critic who explored Freudian and Marxist themes. He influenced many American authors, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose unfinished work he edited for publi ...

compiled and edited this anthology, first published by New Directions in 1945. The main essay starts "Of course all life is a process of breaking down ...." which gives something of the tone of the piece.

Essays

*"The Crack-Up" (originally ''Esquire'' magazine, February 1936) *"Pasting It Together" (originally ''Esquire'' magazine, March 1936) *"Handle with Care" (originally ''Esquire'' magazine, April 1936) :collected together under the title ''The Crack-Up'' in the book The book also includes other essays by Fitzgerald and positive evaluations of his work by

Glenway Wescott Glenway Wescott (April 11, 1901 – February 22, 1987) was an American poet, novelist and essayist. A figure of the American expatriate literary community in Paris during the 1920s, Wescott was openly gay.Eric Haralson, ''Henry James and Queer Mo ...

John Dos Passos John Roderigo Dos Passos (; January 14, 1896 – September 28, 1970) was an American novelist, most notable for his ''U.S.A.'' trilogy. Born in Chicago, Dos Passos graduated from Harvard College in 1916. He traveled widely as a young man, visit ...

, and

John Peale Bishop John Peale Bishop (May 21, 1892 – April 4, 1944) was an American poet and man of letters. Biography Bishop was born in Charles Town, West Virginia, to a family from New England, and attended school in Hagerstown, Maryland and Mercersburg Acade ...

, plus letters from

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...

, T. S. Eliot, and Edith Wharton in 1925 praising Fitzgerald's novel ''

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby ...

''.

Famous quotes

At the beginning of ''The Crack-Up'' Fitzgerald makes this widely quoted general observation:— As an example of this "truth," he cites the ability to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise. In modern decision theory, the quote has been used by some to explain the bias shown in many experiments, where subjects gather information to justify a preconceived notion. These experiments suggest that the mental ability described by Fitzgerald (being able to see both sides of an argument) is rarer than many assume.

Reaction

The essays when originally written were poorly received and many reviewers were openly critical, particularly of the personal revelations. Time has been somewhat kinder to them and the collection is an insight into the mind of the writer during this low period in his life. The philosopher Gilles Deleuze adopted the term ''crack-up'' from Fitzgerald to refer to his interpretation of the Freudian death instinct.

In popular culture

The title of the 2017

Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes is an American indie folk band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2006. The band consists of Robin Pecknold (vocals, guitar), Skyler Skjelset (guitar, mandolin, backing vocals), Casey Wescott (keyboards, mandolin, backing vocals), ...

album '' Crack-Up'' was inspired by these essays.Fleet Foxes - Robin Pecknold Interview with Zach Cowie
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References

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External links

''The Crack-Up'' By F. Scott Fitzgerald
'' Esquire''. Originally published in ''Esquire''s February, March, and April 1936 issues. 1945 books Books by F. Scott Fitzgerald Essay collections Works originally published in Esquire (magazine) Literature about alcohol abuse Books published posthumously New Directions Publishing books {{essay-stub