The Importance of George Wilson in The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is a superbly written and an intrinsically captivating novel that deals with the decline of the American Dream and how vapid the upper class is. To illustrate and capture the essence of these themes, Fitzgerald uses characters Gatsby, who epitomizes the actual American Dream, and Daisy, who is based on the ideal girl. Yet, as these characters grasp the topics Fitzgerald wants to convey, there is something inherently like missing from the story as a whole. To fill this void, Fitzgerald utilizes minor characters as a means to move the plot along, develop characters further, and build upon the themes present in the novel. One such character is George Wilson.
George Wilson is the naïve husband to Myrtle Wilson, the woman having an affair with Tom Buchanan, who is the "brute of a man, a great, big, hulking physical specimen"(Fitzgerald 16) husband to Daisy Buchanan, the woman whom Jay Gatsby, the main character, is in love with: a very removed yet significant role in the story. Evidently playing the role of the common man, in a story revolving around wealth and possessions, George Wilson is the owner of an auto body shop and is described as a "spiritless man, anemic and faintly handsome"(29). Wilson's common man image helps to further develop the theme of Wilson is deeply in love with Myrtle to a point where he is paranoid of losing her. "`I've got my wife locked in up there,' explained Wilson calmly. `She's going to stay there till the day after tomorrow and then we're going to move away"(143).
Truly a character that centers on irony, Wilson's wife is indeed having an affair with Tom Buchanan. ...
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...murder of Myrtle, neither of which he committed. After fulfilling his vengeance, George sees no need to continue his life and kills himself, as his only reason for living was his love for the late Myrtle. As well as being a climatic point in the plot, the murder of Gatsby concludes the prevalent theme of the decline of the American Dream.
George Wilson's role, however small it may be, in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is nonetheless clearly one of consequence and importance. Through Fitzgerald's use of Wilson, major characters, prevalent themes, and points in the plot are developed further. And, ultimately, through these characters that at first seem superficial to the story, Fitzgerald is able to weave a complex and charismatic novel.
Work Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. London: Penguin Books, 1990.
Though one of the smallest characters in the book, Fitzgerald took the time to craft a character that represents weakness just by being himself, and that person is George Wilson. Wilson is one of the smallest yet most important in all of The Great Gatsby. He is claimed by his wife, Myrtle, to be a “‘dirty little coward”, which is most likely one of the reasons she leaves him in the dust behind her(137). This statement establishes the fact that Wilson has a weakness of living almost in fear. Wilson is living in an emotionally abusive relationship, and like most in this situation, he does not have the courage to stand up for himself and fight back. However, this fear backfires when Wilson finds a beautiful, silver dog collar. After finding it,
Hooper, Osman C. "Fitzgerald's ‘The Great Gatsby'," The Critical Reputation of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Article A353. Ed. Jackson Bryer. Archon Books, Maryland: 1967.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book The Great Gatsby was a remarkable book. Fitzgerald Made the characters of the book as real and as personal as possible. Three characteristics stood out in the novel to me. Tom’s Jealousy of Gatsby relationship with his wife, Gatsby’s lies about who he is and his life, and Daisy’s ways to tempt Gatsby to fall in love with her. The novel was inspired by the way he fell in love with his wife Zelda.
Throughout the novel, one of Tom 's biggest careless acts was when he cheated on Daisy. Tom is a cocky, confident man shown many times throughout the novel like when Nick arrived at his house and "Tom Buchanan in riding clothes was standing with his legs apart on the front porch" (Fitzgerald 6). His stance showed his arrogance, and how highly he thought of himself because of his wealth. Tom was a man who often acted without thinking things through, like having an affair with Myrtle. Despite both Tom and Myrtle being married, they both had affairs. Tom doesn 't hide his affair from Nick and introduces him to his mistress Myrtle at Wilson 's garage. Tom doesn 't seem to care if anyone finds out because he feels as though nothing would change due to his wealth. While at Myrtle 's husbands garage, Tom tells Myrtle to meet him at the train station. They end up going to their apartment in New York City that they keep for their affair. While at the Morningside Height 's apartment Myrtle starts to talk about Tom 's wife Daisy, ""Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!" shouted Mrs. Wilson. "I 'll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai-"" (Fitzgerald 37). Tom didn 't like Myrtle overstepping her boundaries and to show
Tom Buchanan and George Wilson have plenty in common with their attitude pertaining towards women in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald throughout the entire novel gives the audience an insight on his thoughts about the nature of man. Fitzgerald portrays men often treating women harshly throughout his novel. For example, there are many violent acts towards women, a constant presence of dominance, and also ironically Tom and Georges over reactions to being cheated on.
Throughout The Great Gatsby, the three main female characters, Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Myrtle Wilson, all embody this flapper of the 1920s. Fitzgerald accurately portrayed the flamboyancy of the 1920s in The Great Gatsby. Many aspects contributed to this flamboyance and indifference. The pursuit of the “American Dream” contributed to the actions of Americans and to the actions of Fitzgerald’s characters.
The idea of tragedy has been around ever since the Greeks. It has always been a major part of literature, from Shakespeare’s plays to modern works. Thousands of authors have written amazing tragedies including the famous American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald in his novel The Great Gatsby. The Great Gatsby contains many tragic heroes, but the novel is truly the tragedy of George Wilson. The story of George Wilson is truly a tragic because he is a good person, he loses everything and his only part in his downfall is his trust.
According to Nick, Tom Buchanan is a “sturdy, straw-haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner” (13). Tom shows careless and arrogance multiple times throughout the novel, the reason George Wilson thought it was Gatsby who killed Myrtle was because of Tom Buchanan. Tom infers to Wilson that it was Gatsby who hit his wife and killed her with the “death car” (182). When Tom is asked about the incident, he defends himself and says, “that yellow car I was driving this afternoon wasn’t mine” (187). Later when the police ask him the colour of his car he replies, “It’s a blue car, a coupe.” (187). Tom successfully makes it clear that the car that hit Myrtle was yellow, but his car was blue. His actions showed his carelessness towards others. His actions also show that it’s no surprise he blamed Myrtles death on Gatsby. He was jealous after finding out about Daisy’s past with Gatsby and their current affair and blamed Gatsby to save himself from Wilson’s actions. “He was crazy enough to kill me if I hadn’t told him who owned the car. His hand was on a revolver in his pocket every minute he was in the house ——” (236). George Wilson was looking for a targe...
the very end, there is a tragedy that falls over the characters. Gatsby has an untimely death and
In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan and George Wilson are two characteristics that have very different social backgrounds. Tom Buchanan is an entitled, wealthy, young man who is married to Daisy. Tom lives in West Egg, the location of the “old rich”. George Wilson in a poor man who lives in the valley of ashes with his wife Myrtle. Tom and George are similar yet contrast in their attitudes toward women, the ways they show violence, and their reactions to betrayal.
The occasional insights into character stand out as very green oases in an arid desert of waste paper. Throughout the first half of the book the author shadows his leading character in mystery, but when in the latter part he unfolds his life story it is difficult to find the brains, the cleverness, and the glamour that one might expect of a main character. The Great Gatsby is a parody of itself. While Fitzgerald tries hard not to make Gatsby and especially Daisy laughable personalities, this is where he ultimately fails. There's not enough ironic distance between his characters.
F. Scott Fitzgerald's most famous novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), is about many things that have to do with American life in the "Roaring Twenties," things such as the abuse of alcohol and the pursuit of other pleasures, including that elusive entity, the "American dream." Mainly it is the story of Jay Gatsby, told by Gatsby's friend and neighbor, Nick Carraway, a bonds salesman in New York. Three other important characters are Daisy Buchanan, Tom Buchanan, and Myrtle Wilson. Nick is distantly related to Daisy, whose wealthy husband, Tom, went to college with Nick. Myrtle is married to a mechanic but is sleeping with Tom. Fitzgerald's novel seems to affirm the Biblical adage that the love of money is the root of all evil, for his characters value money inordinately. And this attitude is a central moral concern of the novel. Fitzgerald's characters erroneously believe money can buy them love, friends, and happiness.
Bruccoli, Matthew J. Preface. The Great Gatsby. By F. Scott Fitzgerald. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. vii-xvi.
In 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald published The Great Gatsby, a novel set in The Roaring Twenties, portraying a flamboyant and immortal society of the ‘20s where the economy booms, and prohibition leads to organized crimes. Readers follow the journey about a young man named Jay Gatsby, an extravagant mysterious neighbor of the narrator, Nick Carraway. As the novel evolves, Nick narrates his discoveries of Gatsby’s past and his love for Daisy, Nick’s married cousin to readers. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald develops the theme of the conflict which results from keeping secrets instead of telling the truth using the three characters – Tom Buchanan, Nick Carraway, and Jay Gatsby (James Gats).
George Wilson is an amicable man. He lives a simple life with his wife and lives in an apartment above his service station. When he discovers that his wife has been having an affair, he is heartbroken to the point of sickness. “I’ve been here too long. I want to get away. My wife and I want to go West.” (123) Tragically, shortly after the affair is brought to light, she is killed in a hit and run. George is destroyed with the grief of losing his wife. After learning who may have been guilty of the murder, George does not waste time to attain vengeance. “I’m one of these trusting fellas and I don’t think harm to nobody, but when I get to know a thing I know it.” (158-9) He shoots Gatsby then immediately shoots himself. George Wilson, a usually passive person, kills another human then commits suicide over the lost love of his