Within F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby novel, George Wilson illustrates his rational personality through certain behaviors. For example, George seeks out the identity of the driver of the car that kills Myrtle Wilson and murders this driver. In addition, George wants to buy Tom Buchanan’s car, repair it, and sell it at a profit. This essay illustrates that, in The Great Gatsby, George is a rational character based on the following actions: George finds out the identity of the driver of the car that kills Myrtle and murders this driver, and George wishes to purchase
Buchanan’s car, repair it, and sell it at a profit. To illustrate his rational personality, George seeks out the identity of the driver of the car that kills Myrtle Wilson and murders this driver. In this regard, George finds out that Jay Gatsby was driving the car that knocks down and kills Myrtle. Having this information, George tracks Gatsby to the West Egg neighborhood and kills his victim. Through these actions, George demonstrates his rational personality.
This is because, by killing Gatsby, George supposedly punishes the individual who has been having an illicit affair with Myrtle. In George’s thinking, Myrtle is with her illicit lover at the time of death. George assumes this lover is the driver of the car that kills Myrtle. He therefore kills Gatsby (Fitzgerald, n.d.), thereby supposedly punishing this victim. Here, George makes a logical connection between the driver of the car that kills Myrtle and Myrtle’s lover. This connection is logical because it makes sense. By being able to make this logical connection, George illustrates his rationality. If he were not rational, George would not make this logical connection. From this analysis, it is clear that George is a rational character.
George further illustrates his rational personality by desiring to purchase Buchanan’s car, make the necessary repairs, and sell this car at a profit. A reader would notice that George’s plan makes sense. This is because Buchanan’s car is within George’s reach, meaning that George can easily buy it. Secondly, George is a mechanic, meaning that he has the necessary skills to make repairs on Buchanan’s car. Moreover, George has the money required to purchase Buchanan’s car. A reader would reach this verdict because George himself broaches the subject of buying this car.
If he did not have the necessary finances, George would not ask Buchanan if he can sell the car. Another logical aspect of George’s anticipation concerns George’s economic status; George is a poor working class resident of an impoverished neighborhood named the Valley of Ashes (Ibid.). George is thus in need of money. Given his impoverished status, George decides to employ legal and ethical means to obtain some additional money. George thereby settles on the idea of buying Buchanan’s car, making the necessary repairs, and selling it at a profit. The preceding analysis highlights the rational nature of George’s money making design; this design makes sense. The design is rational because it is based on solid facts. This discussion confirms that George has a rational personality.
In conclusion, within The Great Gatsby, George illustrates rational behavior. In this regard, George searches for the identity of the driver of the car that kills Myrtle and murders this driver. Moreover, George seeks to purchase Buchanan’s car, repair it, and sell it at a profit. It is interesting that Fitzgerald depicts George as a rational character. To obtain insights about this characterization, a reader would consider the idea that George is an artisan. Based on this idea, Fitzgerald may seek to illustrate that artisan individuals are typically rational.
