Character List

Character List

The Great Gatsby doesnt just have one or two main characters, like a lot of novels do. Instead, every character in the book can be classed as a main, as they each hold their own significance to the novel. Of course, it can be argued that Gatsby is the main character as he is the main protagonist. He is the title character of the novel, but his story wouldnt be right without the other characters involved.

Here is a list of the F. Scott Fitzgeralds characters:

Nick Carraway - The Narrator of the novel and Daisy Buchanan's cousin. The novel is told entirely though Nick's eyes, his thoughts and perceptions shape the story.

Jay Gatsby - The title character and the main protagonsit of the novel. He is a mysterious character, known for his lavish parties, love for Daisy and achievement of wealth. However, Gatsby has a dark criminal background that the others do not all know about.

Daisy Buchanan - Nick's cousin and the woman that Gatsby loves. She never waited for Gatsby to come back from war, although this is what she promised to do. Instead, she married Tom, and they live across from Gatsby in the fashionable East Egg. Shes a superficial character; sarcastic, cynical and beautiful.

Tom Buchanan - Daisy's immensely wealthy husband. He is powerful and comes from a strong, wealthy background and this is thoroughly portrayed throughout his character. Hes arrogant and a bully with no attitudes towards anything that he makes others respect. He has no moral qualms about his affair with his mistress Myrtle, but when he suspects his wife is having an affair he is outraged and forces confrontation.

Jordan Baker - Daisy's friend and a professional golfer. Jordan is a bit of a secret character. She represents the idea of the "New Woman" of the 1920's - boyish and self-centered. She is a beautiful woman, and Nick's lover during the course of the novel. However, she is dishonest and continually known to bend the truth.

Myrtle Wilson - Tom's mistress. Shes unhappy with her marriage to her unsuccessful and lifeless husband. She lives in the Valley of the Ashes, the run down area away from East Egg. Myrtle desires the life of the upper class and is constantly looking for a way to improve her situation. Unfortunately for her she chooses Tom, who treats her as more of an object as opposed to a desire.

George Wilson - Myrtles husband who owns a run down auto shop at the edge of the Valley of Ashes. He is lifeless and exhausted, but has overwhelming love for his wife. His devastation for her affair with Tom is the backbone for the end of the novel. Tom and Gatsby can be comparable, in the sense that they both love women who are devoted to Tom.