Role Of George Wilson In The Great Gatsby

To begin, George and Myrtle Wilson have a poor relationship connection because of the traits that make George weak. George Wilson is unable to make acceptable decisions when under pressure. When work piles up in front of him, he resolves his wife being an issue by, “‘I’ve got my wife locked in up there,’ explained Wilson calmly. ‘She’s going to stay there till the day after tomorrow…”’ (Fitzgerald 136). In a marriage, no husband should ever lock their wife in a room at all, let alone two days. George Wilson makes a rash decision to do this, which creates further tension between him and his wife. When issues arise, George cannot peacefully resolve them, making him a poor choice for Myrtle to be with considering that George is willing to make radical decisions at the

cost of her own happiness. If this happens when Myrtle is herself and work increases the stress on George, much more impeccable consequences would take action if George finds out about Myrtle’s affair with Tom. Furthermore, Wilson is not capable of choosing the correct life decisions.

Lathbury states, “Wilson’s dull, self-defensive grief is the embodiment of the sterility of the valley of ashes; lacking a dream, his life itself is a kind of death” (79). This shows how George does not aspire for a goal in his life, a poor attribute, as a person without a goal is more likely to detract from achievement. Additionally, George is unable to cope with the loss of his wife, ending with the death of Gatsby as well as himself. Although George’s poor attributes have an effect on their relationship, Myrtle’s traits also happen to be an issue. Myrtle does not have any feelings for George any longer. When talking about her life, Myrtle states, “‘Well I married him’...I thought he know something about breeding, but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe”’ (34). With emotions like this, any person can see that Myrtle does not like George and instead uses him for the little wealth he makes from working hard in his garage. Myrtle does not like George anymore, making their marriage more of a one-way relationship where George would sacrifice everything for Myrtle, but Myrtle would not give away a single object if it meant saving her

husband. At the Wilson household, Tom, Myrtle, and Nick are taking part in a conversation with each other about their lives. When talking about her past Myrtle exclaims, “‘The only crazy I was was when I married him. I knew right away I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in and never even told me about it”’ (35). This clearly shows that Myrtle does not share any emotions for George because if she had, she would have gone past this event and carry on with her life. Myrtle uses George and nothing more than that. George and Myrtle are not honest with each other, a paramount trait that should be present in any relationship, especially a marriage. If they cannot be honest with one another, the bond that forms after marriage, which unites two people together, is not present in this relationship since Myrtle does not truly love George. George Wilson has thought that he could marry a woman above their social class, but a relationship such as this one will not work. As Roger Lathbury states, “Both have aspired to marry above their social station” (80). This quote shows how George Wilson marries someone above him on the social hierarchy. George Wilson’s marriage proves to be a failure because marrying someone with a higher social status will most times prove inefficient. To conclude, George and Myrtle’s relationships deteriorates rapidly after their marriage because of Myrtle’s love for wealth and power and George’s lack of traits that makes up his character.