The Great Gatsby
George Wilson
The garage mechanic
The worn-out owner of a dusty garage in the Valley of Ashes and Myrtle’s husband.
George runs a run-down garage at the edge of the Valley of Ashes, where Tom stops for gas and conversation. He is pale, tired and quiet. He hopes to sell Tom his car, because he is short of money and wants to take Myrtle West and start over.
George is a kind of ghost in the story, easy to overlook and always waiting for Tom to throw him some business. He is desperate to get Myrtle away from the city, and he locks her upstairs while he arranges it.
“I spoke to her. I told her she might fool me, but she couldn't fool God!”
In the story
Contains spoilers.
George is sick and desperate on the day of the Plaza Hotel confrontation. That evening his wife dies in front of the garage. Michaelis stays with him through the night, and George stares at the faded eyes of Doctor Eckleburg and tells himself God sees everything.
Tom tells him who owns the yellow car. Wilson walks to Gatsby’s mansion with a revolver and shoots him in the pool, ending the story in grief.
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