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F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1920 novel This Side of Paradise contains elements drawn from Fitzgerald's own life-there are many parallels between the experiences of the novel's protagonist, Amory Blaine, and those of Fitzgerald-and as a result This Side of Paradise is regularly described as an autobiographical novel. This characterization can be useful, but it also presents drawbacks in terms of how the work is perceived, as it may lead readers to believe that Fitzgerald merely fictionalized true events, which, in an artistic field where creativity and inventiveness are prized, can suggest that