The Great Gatsby: Characters

Jay Gatsby

The title character of the novel, Gatsby is from North Dakota. Early in the book, he is established as a dreamer who is charming, gracious, and a bit mysterious. He despises being poor, and his ultimate goal in life is to become wealthy, for which he eventually engages in illegal activities. One of the central reasons for his desire to have a luxurious lifestyle is to win over Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby falls in love with her while stationed in Louisville, but he soon leaves to fight in the First World War. Daisy meanwhile marries someone else, and Gatsby dedicates his entire life to the singular purpose of winning her back.

Initially, Gatsby is presented as an aloof man. The book focuses quite a bit on his grand, entertaining parties. As the novel progresses, we learn more about Gatsby’s inner conflicts, and how he is really just a young, hopeful man who has put everything at stake just to achieve his dream. In one sense, Gatsby’s story makes him an embodiment of the American Dream.

Daisy Buchanan

Daisy is based on Fitzgerald’s wife, Zelda. She is from Louisville, Kentucky, where not just Gatsby but many young officers are attracted to her. Gatsby, though he falls in love with her, doesn’t think she would reciprocate. Therefore, he lies about his background, making Daisy believe he belongs to a wealthy family. When Gatsby leaves for the war, Daisy promises that she will await his return. However, in 1919, she changes her mind and marries Tom Buchanan instead. Though beautiful and charming, Daisy is quite selfish and shallow.

Gatsby holds an idealistic, nearly perfect picture of Daisy, but soon, however, the reader understands that she is far from ideal. She ignores her husband’s infidelity just so she can enjoy the comforts he offers her. She is capable of caring for others only when it suits her. Like the people around her, Daisy, too, has been consumed by materialism.

Finally, when she hits and kills Myrtle Wilson and flees the scene, readers find out that she is void of a conscience. Fitzgerald relies on Daisy to represent what he arguably sees as the amoral streak of 1920s America.

Nick Carraway

Nick is the novel’s narrator. He represents the reflective, quiet part of Fitzgerald’s personality. He hails from the upper Midwest (Minnesota or Wisconsin) and has been raised on Midwestern values, such as hard work, perseverance, justice, and so on. Even though he lives in West Egg, he is not blinded by the glitz that characterizes the lifestyle of those who reside there. He is a good listener, and Gatsby treats him as a confidant.

Nick’s moral sense sets him apart from all the other characters: he is more practical and humble than them. Through the course of the novel, Nick grows from a man dreaming of a fortune to a man who knows that the pursuit of fortune is fraught with miseries.