Nick Carraway - The
novel’s narrator, Nick is a young man from Minnesota who, after being educated
at Yale and fighting in World War I, goes to New York City to learn the bond
business. Honest, tolerant, and inclined to reserve judgment, Nick often serves
as a confidant for those with troubling secrets. After moving to West Egg, a
fictional area of Long Island that is home to the newly rich, Nick quickly
befriends his next-door neighbor, the mysterious Jay Gatsby. As Daisy
Buchanan’s cousin, he facilitates the rekindling of the romance between her and
Gatsby. The Great Gatsby is told entirely through Nick’s eyes; his thoughts and
perceptions shape and color the story.
Jay Gatsby - The title
character and protagonist of the novel, Gatsby is a fabulously wealthy
young man living in a Gothic mansion in West Egg. He is famous for
the lavish parties he throws every Saturday night, but no one knows where he
comes from, what he does, or how he made his fortune. As the novel
progresses, Nick learns that Gatsby was born James Gatz on a farm in North
Dakota; working for a millionaire made him dedicate his life to the achievement
of wealth. When he met
Daisy while training to be an officer in Louisville, he fell in love with her.
Nick also learns that Gatsby made his fortune through criminal activity, as he
was willing to do anything to gain the social position he thought necessary to
win Daisy. Nick views
Gatsby as a deeply flawed man, dishonest and vulgar, whose extraordinary
optimism and power to transform his dreams into reality make him “great”
nonetheless.
Daisy Buchanan - Nick’s
cousin, and the woman Gatsby loves. As a young woman in Louisville before
the war, Daisy was courted by a number of officers, including Gatsby. She fell
in love with Gatsby and promised to wait for him. However, Daisy harbors a deep
need to be loved, and when a wealthy, powerful young man named Tom Buchanan
asked her to marry him, Daisy decided not to wait for Gatsby after all. Now a
beautiful socialite, Daisy lives with Tom across from Gatsby in the fashionable
East Egg district of Long Island. She is sardonic and somewhat cynical, and
behaves superficially to mask her pain at her husband’s constant infidelity.
Tom Buchanan - Daisy’s immensely wealthy
husband, once a
member of Nick’s social club at Yale. Powerfully built and hailing from a
socially solid old family, Tom is an arrogant, hypocritical bully. His social
attitudes are laced with racism and sexism, and he never even considers trying
to live up to the moral standard he demands from those around him. He has no moral qualms about his
own extramarital affair with Myrtle, but when he begins to suspect Daisy and
Gatsby of having an affair, he becomes outraged and forces a confrontation.
Jordan Baker - Daisy’s
friend, a woman with whom Nick becomes romantically involved during the course
of the novel. A competitive golfer, Jordan represents one of the “new women” of
the 1920s—cynical, boyish, and self-centered. Jordan is beautiful, but also
dishonest: she cheated in order to win her first golf tournament and
continually bends the truth.
Myrtle Wilson - Tom’s
lover, whose lifeless husband George owns a run-down garage in the valley of
ashes. Myrtle herself possesses a fierce vitality and desperately looks for a
way to improve her situation. Unfortunately for her, she chooses Tom, who
treats her as a mere object of his desire.
George Wilson - Myrtle’s
husband, the lifeless, exhausted owner of a run-down auto shop at the edge of
the valley of ashes. George loves and idealizes Myrtle, and is devastated by
her affair with Tom. George is consumed with grief when Myrtle is killed.
George is comparable to Gatsby in that both are dreamers and both are ruined by
their unrequited love for women who love Tom.
Owl Eyes - The eccentric,
bespectacled drunk whom Nick meets at the first party he attends at Gatsby’s
mansion. Nick finds Owl Eyes looking through Gatsby’s library, astonished that
the books are real.
Klipspringer - The shallow
freeloader who seems almost to live at Gatsby’s mansion, taking advantage of
his host’s money. As soon as Gatsby dies, Klipspringer disappears—he does not
attend the funeral, but he does call Nick about a pair of tennis shoes that he
left at Gatsby’s mansion.
Meyer Wolfsheim - Gatsby’s
friend, a prominent figure in organized crime. Before the events of the novel
take place, Wolfsheim helped Gatsby to make his fortune bootlegging illegal
liquor. His continued acquaintance with Gatsby suggests that Gatsby is still
involved in illegal business.
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