The Great Gatsby: Character & Key Quotes: George Wilson

Character Overview: George Wilson

George Wilson is depicted as much less glamorous and far more grounded than the other characters. He runs an unsuccessful garage business in The Valley of Ashes, serving as a potent symbol of the Working class struggling in the economic boom of the 1920s.
Considered passive and non-assertive, he is dominated by his wife, Myrtle, who has an affair with Tom Buchanan. However, upon discovering about the affair, he reacts with surprising intensity, representing the moral outrage missing in the other characters.

Key Quotes

Character Portrayal:

“He was a blonde, spiritless man, anaemic… and faintly handsome.” This is Nick’s description of Wilson. Despite being described as faintly handsome, he is also portrayed to be pale and spiritless, mirroring the lack of life and the bleakness of the Valley of Ashes.
“I told her she might fool me but she couldn’t fool God…God sees everything.” This stark contrast to the spiritual emptiness of the principal characters shows George Wilson as the only character with a real sense of morality.

Thematic Links:

“The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic…“ The fading eyes of Dr. Eckleburg on a billboard, overlook George’s garage, symbolising the decay of spiritual values in American society, watched over by an unblinking and unforthcoming God.
“Michaelis and several other men were with him; first, four or five men, later two or three men.” This quote shows the lack of charitability and compassion in this materialistic society where not many stand by Wilson in his hour of tragedy.

Symbolic Representation:

“Wilson’s glazed eyes turned out to the ash heaps…“ The description of Wilson with glazed eyes turned towards the desolate, grey Valley of Ashes underlines the despair and hopelessness of his life.
“You may fool me… but you can’t fool God!” The repeated insistence of the fact that ‘God’ is watching, and his belief in a higher moral power, symbolises Wilson’s representation of the discarded moral values and ethos in times of economic buoyancy and material obsession.