Preview

The Great Gatsby Character Analysis Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
963 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Great Gatsby Character Analysis Essay
George Wilson’s character starts with humble beginnings,

No one thinks to highly of him, but his circumstances, when tangled with the themes of the novel is what will lead to the climax of the novel. George Wilson’s purpose in The Great Gatsby is to show a contrast between corruption and innocence. He is the only passive character in this story and similar to Nick, has moral dilemmas. He is the opposite of the American dream shown through his low wealth and social status. However, as he does show to not gain anything significantly, he is not corrupted by the pursuit of the dream. George is an honest and hardworking man, but is naive and quickly intimidated and manipulated by Tom Buchanan. George defers to Tom out of necessity as he needs Tom's business. Although he believes that Tom will sell the
…show more content…
Tom uses this as a reason come by so that he can continue his affair with Myrtle behind his back. His passiveness is his most outlined and important trait because, when the tragedy of his wife come, he couldn’t do anything, he was just a bystander. The death of Geroge’s wife Myrtle is tragedy for many characters directly like Tom and Georges grief, but also indirectly. It leads to the death of Gatsby and determines the future of the relationship between Tom and Daisy and Nick and Jordan. However, these characters knew what they were doing, they were engaged in deceit. These characters knew the efforts of their own actions upon themselves, but George was the innocent one who in the end would face the consequences of their actions. It shows an innocent person can be affected by the corruption and greed of others. The Great Gatsby is a book that depicts a society in which the moral actions of the characters receive some form of judgment, in the creative piece George is the centerpiece and is just looking blankly, rectifying that every action is observed and judged. George shows us that everyone is part of the same

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel about a man named Jay Gatsby who is living in the era which Fitzgerald referred to as the Jazz Age. The story is told through the eyes of Nick Carraway who characterizes himself as, “one of the few honest people that I have ever known.” Speaking of characterization, Fitzgerald writes masterfully to create morally ambiguous characters which have a huge impact on the story. Although George Wilson was morally ambiguous, Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby are examples of characters with more impact on the story which are also morally ambiguous.…

    • 1033 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby is a very complex book with a lot of different and unique characters. Two characters in mind are Tom Buchanan and George Wilson. These two characters are surprisingly very much alike. They both share the ideal view that men are simple and easily tricked by women. Both Tom and George were cheated on by their wives without them knowing. This shows that Fitzgerald doesn’t think of men too highly in this novel.…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since Tom is immensely wealthy, "and hailing from a socially solid old family" (SparkNotes Editors), he believes that he is untouchable. Tom hides behind the dollar signs that are associated with his name and, uses them as an excuse to treat others harshly. This is evident in how he treats the husband of his mistress, George Wilson and how he treats his wife's admirer, Jay Gatsby. Wilson's characteristics do not matter to Tom Buchanan. It does not matter if George Wilson is kind, handsome, or humble. In Tom's eyes, Myrtles husband is "so dumb he doesn't know he's alive" (Fitzgerald 26). It is not bad enough that Tom "fools around" with George Wilson's wife, he also has the nerve to belittle the man just because they do not share the same privileges in life. The way Tom treats George Wilson is much similar to the way he treats Jay Gatsby. From the very beginning, Tom looks down upon Jay Gatsby and suspects that Jay Gatsby's wealth comes from illegal causes. Thus when Tom finds out about the connection his wife and Gatsby share, his attitude concerning Gatsby worsens. Hence when someone is needed to blame for Myrtle's death, Tom tells her husband that Jay Gatsby is the culprit, and this gets Gatsby killed. Tom does not feel an ounce of guilt for blaming Gatsby, he says, "that fellow had it coming to him" (Fitzgerald 178). Tom's wealth is the only thing that protects him…

    • 1470 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Secondly, George is held hostage by his past when he can't handle the consequences of his mistakes. Shortly after his wife is killed, “he announced that he had a way of finding out whom the yellow car belonged to”(Fitzgerald 164). Wilson first comes to the door of Tom Buchanan who indirectly helps him trace the vehicle back to Jay Gatsby. George believes Tom and begins his search for revenge on Gatsby, this revenge turns out to be of the fatal variety. Tom shoots Gatsby numerous times leaving him filled with remorse soon after, so much so that Wilson takes his own life as“the gardener saw Wilson’s body a little way off the grass”(Fitzgerald 170). Though this is something that happened recently in the past, Wilson’s mistake of presuming Gatsby had killed his wife is something he can't handle, therefore causing him to not only lose his wives live but his own. The third and final time George is held hostage is by his poor past, he grew up and now lives a poor life. Money may be one of the reasons for why his wife had an affair, her dissatisfaction with being a poor gas station owners wife urges her to get out. Theres only so much he can do to subdue the problem of keeping her around because he’s not like the wealthy who can just retreat”back to…

    • 558 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When Gatsby found out that Daisy married Tom Buchanan, he lost himself. Gatsby was only worried about Daisy and what she wanted, for he needed to win her over to reach his goal. He focused so much on Daisy that he lost comprehension of his possible character collapse that could occur if he went too far with her pampering and temptation to take her from Tom. Gatsby has wasted many years trying to live up to the American dream and gain wealth. However, Jay has failed to realize that the so called “American Dream” doesn’t exist, for the society has become selfish and grouped into classes. Because of this and the fact that he was considered “new money”, Jay was powerless in the task of reaching Daisy’s class and rating. Jay was prepared to take the blame for Daisy, when she accidentally hit and killed Myrtle Wilson, Tom’s mistress. Because everyone believed that Gatsby did the bad deed, Nick told him to flee the town, but he stayed, for he couldn’t leave Daisy. After George Wilson, Myrtle’s husband, shot and killed Gatsby to gain revenge, Daisy left the town and didn’t attend Jay’s funeral, which led to the end of Jay’s character breakdown. Gatsby’s character downfall and ordeal were negatively impacted by his need to achieve the American dream and Daisy’s…

    • 988 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In Chapter 5, Daisy and Gatsby are reunited in Nick’s house and then Gatsby shows Daisy around his house. Gatsby attempts to reward Nick with money for helping bring him and Daisy together again, “Well, this would interest you. It wouldn’t take up much of your time but you might pick up a nice bit of money.” This shows how Gatsby is not used to people being hospitable towards him without wanting anything in return. It also demonstrates how Gatsby thinks he has to buy Nick’s loyalty in the hope that by bribing Nick with money, he won’t tell Tom about his meeting with Daisy. Nick refuses claiming, “I’ve got my hands full,” This reveals that Nick is very class conscious as he thinks he is above receiving money for something he has done. It also shows that he is aware of the corrupt criminal world that Gatsby is involved in because he doesn’t want to take the chance of getting involved in the same world as Gatsby.…

    • 297 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Great Gatsby Analysis

    • 1125 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is often referred to as the great American novel. The book’s immense symbolism and its many messages make The Great Gatsby a novel that has the ability to appeal to all who read it. Religion plays a key role in the book. For instance, religious beliefs in the 1920s influenced the main characters of the story in a significant way. The Valley of Ashes that is described in chapter two may also help to represent the moral dilapidation that the rich undergo in the 1920s. Lastly, Gatsby seems to represent Jesus in the novel, while T.J. Eckleburg represents God Himself and Wilson represents Judas. Overall, while there are many symbols in the Great Gatsby, religion is one that seems to come up…

    • 1125 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In addition, the unique structure is evident in both “Chronicles of A death Foretold” and “The Great Gatsby”, but the use of structure was used to play the same purpose in both novel; and that is to demonstrate the chronology and its effect in justifying the death evident in both novels. In Chronicle of a death foretold the most prominent form of structure that was evident is narrative structure. The way in which the author divided the narrative structure of the plot and events is through 5 sections. The first section is the morning of Santiago Nasar’s Death, the second section is the historical aspect were the reader learns about the past of Bayardo San Roman and Angela Vicario, the third section is the morning of Santiago’s death which is…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the notorious time of “The Jazz Age”, the American People continuously danced to swingy, joyful, voluptuous music. People all over America were living life to the fullest. Party after party, drink after drink people in the 1920’s didn’t care what the prohibition in tailed. People were buying everything upon everything, until the point where their funds ceased. The American people fell for consumerism. All people cared about was when the next big party was. At the beginning of the 1920’s, the American people valued parties over conservation, but once the Stock Market crashed in 1929 peoples morals changed. All of the sudden people valued conserving money over partying. Fitzgerald reflects these views onto Gatsby’s Character. Gatsby is able to live above the law because of his wealth, connections, and his views on the American dream.…

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    At one point or another in life everyone dreams of one day being rich and living a life free of worries. Few ever achieve this goal and most come to look at it as nothing more than a fleeting dream forever beyond their grasps. It was during the Jazz age, a time when people had mistakenly believed that everyone could be rich, that the concept of “old money” emerged. Those born into wealth were held at a higher esteem than those who had struggled and worked for their success. In this time the wealthy spent their time entertaining high-class social parties, and playing polo in the summer. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, the Buchanans represent "old money" and as a result hold themselves superior to others despite not having worked for their money or status.…

    • 1237 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tom Buchanan plays a large role in the great Gatsby and is greatly representative of the rich “old money” part of society, and, in many ways what was wrong with it. F. Scott Fitzgerald may have made Tom a villain because of their rejection of him in his earlier life. Fitzgerald has used Tom in The Great Gatsby, to demonstrate the power that men had during the 1920s. In order to understand Tom's purpose in the book, it must be known that he has been purposely set up as a character the reader does not like. Fitzgerald has done this, as he does not like men whose lives mirror Tom's. Tom is a violent man, who is completely in control of the women in his life. He shows how disrespectful some men were to women. For example, he breaks his mistress Myrtle's nose.…

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tom Buchanan is a football player from Chicago whose family is extremely rich, he studied at Yale with Nick, and he is the husband of Daisy (Gatsby’s lover). He came to New York, and lives in East egg which is the place for the “Old rich”. Tom Buchanan is a very arrogant person with no real moral values, and a hypocritical bully. He is incapable of feeling guilty or emotional and he represents racism in this novel. In the novel, “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tom Buchanan’s purpose is to serve as foil to the characters Gatsby and George Wilson.…

    • 932 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He met a girl named Daisy Buchanan and fell in love with her. She lived a wealthy life where Gatsby did not. Gatsby was sent to war and Daisy got married. Gatsby was willing to be able to give Daisy everything she wanted without her ever having to ask for it. After Gatsby came from the war, he started to become a rich and successful man. Gatsby was killed by George Wilson once he figured out that it was his car that hit Myrtle. Gatsby's identity represents that the American dream can be destroyed because he puts forth all this effort in trying to "repeat the past"(110), that he, however, gets distracted from being in love and gets…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Great Gatsby, many characters were portrayed, all with their own little quirks and characteristics. However, one of the most interesting characters is Tom. That is because he is one of the most arrogant, self-serving characters in the book. He sometimes bursts out with white supremacist ideas, such as when he mentions that whites created civilization. He also has the habit of putting people down, such as when he has an affair with Myrtle, and makes fun of her husband. Lastly in an attempt to save himself, he sets a mourning George Wilson onto Gatsby.…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby focuses around several characters, all of whom see reality in a different perspective. We are introduced to Daisy Buchanan, Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. Daisy is characterized as a sort of air-headed woman who believes a woman’s looks are more important than their intelligence. She lives her life in a delusional fantasy in which there is no time frame for anything and nothing really has any substance. She is portrayed through the duration of the novel as being confused not really knowing what’s going on at all. Her reality seems to be nothing at all, shown by her spending days sitting on the couch with Jordan Baker, and not having any opinion as to where to go during the evening. Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband, is a character that readers are introduced to as a pompous, selfish, arrogant man who does whatever he likes. He even has a mistress in the city, and finds nothing wrong with his “dual life”. Tom’s take on reality is blurred by his self-centered agenda. He even goes as far as making George Wilson, his mistresses’ husband, beg him to sell his car to George, knowing all the while that he is sleeping with his wife. This twisted act further shows just how altered Tom’s reality is in his mind. On the other side of the spectrum, Jay Gatsby is living in a world where a big house, lavish parties, and material objects will win over the only person he cares…

    • 819 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays