Transcript Characters
Great Gatsby Character Descriptions Nick Carraway Jay Gatsby Daisy Buchanan Tom Buchanan Jordan Baker Myrtle Wilson George Wilson Owl Eyes Klipspringer Nick Carraway Novel’s narrator, young man from Minnesota who, after being educated at Yale & fighting in W.W.I, goes to New York City to learn about the bond business. Honest, tolerant, and inclined to reserve judgement, Nick often serves as a confidant for those with troubling secrets. Befriends Gatsby after moving next door to him. Jay Gatsby Protagonist of the novel. He is a fabulously wealthy young man who lives in an opulent mansion in on Long Island, New York. Famous for throwing lavish parties every Saturday night. No one knows where he comes from, what he does, or how he made his fortune. Daisy Buchanan Nick’s cousin, and the woman Gatsby loves. They met in her home town of Louisville before the war. She fell in love with Gatsby and promised to wait for him. Because Daisy harbors a deep need for love,she does not wait for him, instead marries a wealthy and powerful business man. Tom Buchanan Daisy’s immensely wealthy husband. Handsome and powerfully built, he comes from a “socially solid” family. He is an arrogant, hypocritical bully. His social attitudes are racist and sexist. Very low moral standards Jordan Baker Daisy’s good friend who represents one of the new women of the 1920’s. She is cynical, boyish, and self-centered. Jordan is beautiful but also dishonest…continuously bends the truth Myrtle Wilson Tom’s lover, whose lifeless husband owns a run down garage in the valley of ashes. She possesses a fierce vitality and desperately looks for a way to improve her situation as well as social status. George Wilson Myrtle’s husband, the lifeless, exhausted owner of a run down auto shop in the valley of ashes George loves and idealizes Myrtle Owl Eyes The eccentric, bespectacled drunk whom Nick meets at the first party he attends at Gatsby’s Klipspringer The shallow freeloader who seems to live at Gatsby’s mansion. Takes advantage of Gatsby’s generousity.