Characters

Jay Gatsby:  (Originally James "Jimmy" Gatz) – a mysterious young millionaire with shady business connections (later revealed to be a smuggler), originally from North Dakota. Obsessed with Daisy Buchanan, a beautiful debutante, from Louisville, Kentucky, whom he had met when he was a young soldier stationed at the Army's Camp Taylor in Louisville during World War I.

Nick Carraway: The novel’s narrator, Nick is a young man from Minnesota who, after being educated at Yale and fighting in World War I, goes to New York City to learn the bond business. Honest, tolerant, and inclined to reserve judgment, Nick often serves as a confidant for those with troubling secrets.

Daisy Buchanan: Nick’s cousin, and the woman Gatsby loves. As a young woman in Louisville before the war, Daisy was courted by several officers, including Gatsby. She falls in love with Gatsby and promises to wait for him. 

Tom Buchanan: Daisy’s immensely wealthy husband, once Nick’s social club member at Yale. Powerfully built and hailing from a socially solid old family, Tom is an arrogant, hypocritical bully. His social attitudes are laced with racism and sexism, and he never even considers trying to live up to the moral standard he demands from those around him.

Jordan Baker: Daisy’s friend, a woman Nick becomes romantically involved with during the novel. A competitive golfer, Jordan represents one of the “new women” of the 1920s cynical, boyish, and self-centered. Jordan is beautiful, but also dishonest.

Myrtle Wilson: Tom’s lover, whose lifeless husband George owns a run-down garage in the valley of ashes. Myrtle herself possesses a fierce vitality and desperately looks for a way to improve her situation.

George Wilson: Myrtle’s husband, the lifeless, exhausted owner of a run-down auto shop at the edge of the valley of ashes. George loves and idealizes Myrtle, and is devastated by her affair with Tom.

Owl Eyes: The eccentric, bespectacled drunk whom Nick meets at the first party he attends at Gatsby’s mansion.