July 29, 2026
The Great Gatsby Characters — Who's Who Before You Reread
Great Gatsby characters explained spoiler-free — Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, Nick Carraway, Tom Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and the Jazz Age cast on CharacterViz.
The Great Gatsby is one of the most assigned novels in American literature — and one of the easiest to misremember. Nick's narration, the flashbacks, and the glittering Long Island social scene can blur together on a reread. Who exactly is Jay Gatsby, and how does he connect to everyone else at those parties?
This guide introduces the main characters you'll meet early in the novel, without spoiling what happens later. For chapter-by-chapter analysis, portraits, and relationship maps, see the full Great Gatsby character guide on CharacterViz.
Nick Carraway
The narrator — a young Midwesterner who moves to West Egg in the summer of 1922 to work in the bond business. Nick is our window into the wealthy world of East Egg and West Egg: observant, sometimes judgmental, and close enough to the central figures to see what others miss.
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Jay Gatsby
The mysterious host of lavish parties at a mansion on West Egg. Neighbors gossip about his fortune and his past, but Gatsby himself stays oddly elusive — until he seeks out Nick for a very specific reason connected to Daisy Buchanan.
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Daisy Buchanan
Nick's cousin, married to Tom Buchanan and living in the old-money enclave of East Egg. Daisy is charming, restless, and famously voiced — the kind of person who makes an entire room feel like it's revolving around her.
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Tom Buchanan
Daisy's husband — a wealthy, physically imposing former football star from Chicago. Tom represents old money and entitlement, and he moves through the novel with a confidence that brooks no challenge.
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Jordan Baker
A professional golfer and Daisy's friend, known for her cool composure and sharp wit. Jordan becomes Nick's romantic interest over the course of the summer, though their relationship sits uneasily alongside the larger dramas unfolding around them.
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Myrtle Wilson
Tom Buchanan's mistress, who lives above a garage in the valley of ashes with her husband George. Myrtle chafes against her working-class life and throws herself into the fantasy of Tom's world — with consequences that ripple through the whole story.
Explore: Myrtle Wilson on CharacterViz
How to read without spoilers
Fitzgerald tells the story through Nick's retrospective narration, so past and present blur from the opening pages. CharacterViz gates every bio, chapter analysis, and relationship detail to your bookmark, so you only see what you've actually read.
Start here: The Great Gatsby on CharacterViz — set your bookmark to Chapter 1 and explore characters as you go.
CharacterViz is a spoiler-safe reading companion. Analysis for this title is grounded in Fitzgerald's public-domain text.
Ready to read with spoiler gates? Open the book on CharacterViz →