characters in the great gatsby / gatsby character analysis

use this set of notes to study up on the various characters of the great gatsby after completing the reading.

nick carraway—narrator

nick is the narrator or “window” to the story
unsuccessful stockbroker, lives on the west egg as a neighbor to jay gatsby. also a cousin of daisy buchanan. love interest of jordan baker.
from the midwest, comes from a well-to-do family (rich, prosperous, wealthy)
nick doesn’t consider himself part of the “upper-crust.” he doesn’t consider himself as part of the wealthy
- however, it is important to note that fitzgerald is never explicitly anti-capitalist in his works
unreliable narration: narrator that expressed some judgment that the author wouldn’t agree with
as a narrator, nick has certain tasks he does and doesn’t perform successfully
- evaluation of events: nick is lackluster
- interpreting events: nick is lackluster
- reporting events: nick accomplishes this successfully
  - nick is partially dishonest about his accounts with women, one example being his refusal to fully break the engagement off that he had left back home
- although nick considers himself one of the most honest people he has ever known, he may be equally as disingenuous as the other characters of the book
judgment is part of nick’s character development: he is an astute observer. at first, he takes his father’s advice and withholds judgment. by the end, he realizes that it is not always morally right.
nick’s character mainly takes a backseat. he says, not acts.

jay gatsby / james gatz

jay gatsby was not present for about 1/3 of the novel, and for the rest of the novel he served mostly as an enigma
- most of his backstory was communicated by other characters. he is never fully revealed to us
early life: gatsby grew up with high ambitions but no plans to achieve them
- high ambition, no direction
gatsby worked on lake superior (clam-digger, salmon fisher)
- went to college for a few weeks before dropping out
- returned to lake superior, and went on to meet dan cody
later: ‘jay gatsby’ is a role that james gatz fulfills with dan cody’s help
- gatsby becomes involved in organized crime and bootlegging in order to do so
daisy is not only the love of his life, but she also represents his selfhood, and how you can always recover something back (i.e. “can’t repeat the past? why, of course you can)
- gatsby feels that he gave up something to be with daisy, so if he doesn’t have her, it was all for nothing

daisy buchanan

daisy gets a negative perception, seen as the “careless” upper-class
- has a habit of whispering to draw people in—calculated move
“daisy, in fact, is more victim than victimizer”
- tom buchanan’s cruel power
- gatsby’s increasingly depersonalized vision of daisy
she is a symbol to gatsby of his choice to give up on a certain dream for his life, so she must live up to high standards
- she is a commodity to tom, and an asset to gatsby
- they may love her in some way, but they’re more in love with what she represents
human relations in the great gatsby are defined by projection of internal desires onto others, rather than connection
- it’s easy to call daisy money-hungry—but really, she just wants security. tom has security, but gatsby leads her under false pretenses
she still has agency, making her bad decisions (choosing tom, having an affair with gatsby, going back to tom.)
- still, she is motivated by complex desires

tom buchanan

tom is less complex than other characters. he strives (ftizgerald) to use tom as a symbol of everything he finds distasteful about the incredibly wealthy
imposing, rude, self-assured. “cruel body” used for physical control
nick can tell tom only sees things at surface level
- tom is a white supremacist. he reads works of phrenology and ignores accomplishments outside of white civilization.
  - fitzgerald gave this thinking to his most foolish character
antithesis to whimsy and wonder of nick, gatsby, and daisy
- he’s solid, so daisy marries him
- his lack of imagination and wonder is what fitzgerald finds in many old money families
- isn’t given the burden of longing. he’s simplistic
- even his sensitive moments are selfish

jordan baker

famous golfer. “fit, tan, attractive.”
“incurably dishonest.” —nick. another representation of indecency of the wealthy
- liberated, autonomous, bold/cruel, callous, narcissistic
  - fitzgerald uses her to complicate flapper characters
- absorbed in social charms and self-obsession
  - unused to being denied
  - she uses status and wealth to pursue her own happiness with disregard for others
- nick distances himself from people like her
not significant, but reinforces themes about how cruelty emerges from self-absorption

myrtle wilson

thickish figure. not particularly beautiful, but has a vitality about her. contrasts daisy’s “immaterial beauty.”
limited role. she has an affair with tom buchanan. nick interacts with her early in the novel, she reappears chapter seven.
she is tragic—while her betrayal of her husband is “callous,” she is not fundamentally evil. just lonely and misguided
- the men in her life mistreat her. george is possessively jealous, and tom beats her
  - she is both a woman subject to the whims of men, but also a working-class person subject to upper class people
her death is simply a final humiliation

george wilson

george contrasts myrtle. he is hollow and empty
- michaelis: ” “was almost sure that wilson had no friend: there was not enough of him for his wife”
mechanic, business inquiries are routinely rebuffed by tom
grows suspicious of myrtle’s behavior
social opposite of tom. works physical labor that benefits many people
fitzgerald writes wilson as a common person undone by cruelty of wealthy people
- action of killing gatsby is of a broken man, not a monster.
  - he is a victim, a tragic character

meyer wolfsheim