Character: George Wilson (Leaving Cert English): Revision Notes

Character: George Wilson

Overview and role in the novel

George Wilson serves as one of the most tragic figures in The Great Gatsby, representing the forgotten working class of 1920s America. As a car mechanic who owns a small garage in the Valley of Ashes, George lives with his wife Myrtle above their struggling business. Though he appears infrequently throughout the novel, his presence carries significant weight in the story's tragic conclusion.

Wilson embodies everything that the wealthy characters are not - he is powerless, passive, and nearly invisible to those around him. Fitzgerald uses George as a foil character to Tom Buchanan, highlighting the vast divide between America's social classes. While Tom represents privilege and control, George represents defeat and dependence.

Despite his humble circumstances, George is portrayed as one of the novel's few genuinely moral characters. He loves his wife devotedly and works hard to survive, making his ultimate fate all the more tragic. His story demonstrates how the wealthy manipulate and destroy the poor, using them as pawns in their own games.

Historical context: The Valley of Ashes and 1920s poverty

The reality of 1920s prosperity

The 1920s, known as the Roaring Twenties, created a myth of universal prosperity that masked harsh realities. While some Americans became wealthy through business growth and stock market trading, approximately 60% of Americans actually lived below the poverty line. This economic divide is central to understanding George Wilson's character.

The period supported the ideology of the American Dream - the belief that anyone could achieve success through hard work and determination. However, Fitzgerald uses George to critique this notion, showing how hard work doesn't always lead to prosperity, especially for those trapped by their circumstances.

Symbolism of the Valley of Ashes

The Valley of Ashes, where George lives and works, serves as a powerful symbol of industrial waste and moral decay. Fitzgerald describes it as a place where ashes take the form of houses and chimneys, and where men move "dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air."

This wasteland represents several important themes:

• The environmental cost of industrial progress that enriched the wealthy
• The forgotten underclass who service the rich but remain invisible to them
• The moral emptiness at the heart of the American Dream

George becomes almost indistinguishable from his surroundings - covered in ash-like dust, grey and lifeless. The Valley literally shapes its inhabitants, reducing them to "grey creatures" and "unreal illusions."

Key character traits

Physical appearance and invisibility

George's physical description immediately establishes his insignificance in the eyes of others. He is introduced as "a blond, spiritless man, anaemic, and faintly handsome." Fitzgerald emphasises how George blends into his environment, becoming nearly invisible:

"mingling immediately with the cement colour of the walls. A white ashen dust veiled his dark suit and his pale hair as it veiled everything in the vicinity"

This physical invisibility reflects his social invisibility. Tom treats George as if he barely exists, calling him essentially worthless. Even his wife Myrtle walks "through her husband as if he were a ghost." The wealthy characters literally cannot see George as a full human being because of his poverty.

Passive and downtrodden nature

George's most defining characteristic is his passivity - his acceptance of his circumstances without fighting to change them. Unlike other characters who actively pursue their dreams, George has resigned himself to his fate. This passivity is evident in several ways:

• He sits in his doorway watching life pass by rather than actively participating
• He doesn't initially investigate Myrtle's suspicious behaviour, despite obvious signs of her affair
• He depends on others for business opportunities rather than creating his own

Fitzgerald describes him as one of the "worn-out men," suggesting that life has defeated him before the novel even begins. However, this passivity makes his final transformation into an agent of revenge all the more shocking.

Financial dependence and powerlessness

George's poverty creates a web of dependence that traps him. His most significant dependency is on Tom, who represents a potential business opportunity. When Tom and Nick visit the garage, George shows "a damp gleam of hope" in his eyes, desperate for Tom to sell him the car that could provide much-needed income.

This economic relationship gives Tom power over George's survival. Tom exploits this dynamic ruthlessly:

• He flaunts his affair with Myrtle in George's own home
• He manipulates George's desperation by threatening to take his business elsewhere
• He plays psychological games that keep George anxious and dependent

The power imbalance extends to George's marriage as well. Myrtle orders him around without even looking at him, and their neighbour observes that George is "his wife's man and not his own."

Naivety and trust

George's naivety stems from his basic decency and his assumption that others share his moral standards. This trait manifests in several ways:

• He trusts Myrtle's lies about visiting her sister in New York
• He doesn't recognise obvious signs of the affair despite Myrtle's flirtation with Tom
• He believes people tell the truth and act honestly

George describes himself as "one of these trusting fellas" who doesn't think harm of anybody. This naivety makes him vulnerable to manipulation, particularly by Tom, who eventually convinces him that Gatsby was both Myrtle's lover and her killer.

Character relationships and contrasts

Relationship with Myrtle

George's marriage to Myrtle reveals the tragedy of his circumstances. He genuinely loves his wife and remains faithful to her, making him one of the few characters who doesn't engage in adultery. However, their relationship highlights several key themes:

• Economic strain on marriage: Their poverty creates tension and desperation
• Different dreams: While George has accepted his situation, Myrtle actively seeks escape
• Power dynamics: Myrtle dominates George emotionally and socially

When George finally discovers Myrtle's infidelity, his reaction differs dramatically from Tom's response to similar news. Where Tom becomes calculating and aggressive, George becomes physically ill and emotionally devastated.

Contrast with Tom Buchanan

The comparison between George and Tom reveals the novel's central theme about class division. They represent opposite ends of American society:

Fitzgerald uses this contrast to show how wealth creates different kinds of people. Tom's confidence comes from never having to worry about survival, while George's passivity comes from being constantly defeated by circumstances beyond his control.

Both men use violence to control Myrtle, but their motivations differ significantly. Tom hits Myrtle to assert dominance, while George locks her up out of desperate fear of losing her.

Character transformation: From passive to active

George's most significant character development occurs after Myrtle's death, when his lifelong passivity transforms into determined action. This change happens in stages:

The discovery of betrayal

When George finds the dog collar and realises Myrtle has been unfaithful, he attempts to take control by:

• Physically restraining Myrtle in their room
• Planning to move West to start fresh
• Confronting the reality of his situation

The devastating loss

Myrtle's death breaks George completely, but also awakens something new in him. Fitzgerald describes his transformation through physical details - his eyes that "drop" and then "jerk," his "high, horrible" wail that reduces him temporarily to a "doll" that Tom manipulates.

The turn to revenge

In his grief, George becomes focused and determined for the first time in the novel. He tells Michaelis: "I have a way of finding out" who killed Myrtle. This marks his transformation from passive victim to active agent.

His final action - killing Gatsby - represents both his liberation from passivity and his ultimate destruction. Tragically, his newfound agency serves the interests of the very class that oppressed him, as Tom manipulates him into eliminating Gatsby.

Key quotations for analysis

George's introduction

"He was a blond, spiritless man, anaemic, and faintly handsome. When he saw us a damp gleam of hope sprang into his light blue eyes."

This quotation establishes George's essential characteristics and his desperate circumstances. The contrast between his lifeless description and the sudden "gleam of hope" shows how poverty has drained him while leaving him vulnerable to exploitation.

The power dynamic with Tom

"Hello, Wilson, old man," said Tom, slapping him jovially on the shoulder. "How's business?" "I can't complain," answered Wilson unconvincingly.

This exchange reveals the false friendliness that masks economic exploitation. Tom's casual dominance and George's forced politeness demonstrate the class dynamics that govern their relationship.

George's crisis of faith

"God sees everything," repeated Wilson. "That's an advertisement," Michaelis assured him.

After Myrtle's death, George seeks divine justice but finds only commercial manipulation. This moment symbolises the moral emptiness of American society and George's desperate search for meaning.