Hamlet's Soliloquy with George Wilson

George Wilson, the mechanic, plays a central role in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Wilson resides in the Valley of Ashes, a land where “ash grows” upon “ash-grey men.” Lifelessness prevails in the valley. There is no hope for a better future, no life which promises a human expectation and no life energy to sustain one’s self. Were George Wilson familiar with the passage, he would appreciate Hamlet’s “To Be or Not to Be” soliloquy. It does not matter much for those like him whether to go on living or to die because there is no much difference between the lives they lead and death. George Wilson may psychologically choose either way out because he is lonely. He cannot develop a sense of belonging and he is completely frustrated with his life.

George Wilson does not find any meaning in sustaining his life because he suffers psychologically from an extreme sense to loneliness. His loneliness is due to the fact that he cannot rely on himself like a romantic poet. He seeks for establishing communication with his customers, trying to serve them in the best possible way. He fills in their gas tanks, repairs their cars and he only wishes to exchange a few words. No matter what he does, he is humiliated and rejected by those like Tom Buchanan. Moreover, he wants to share his loneliness with his beloved life Myrtle, who cheats on him and despises him. He cannot share his loneliness with Myrtle because he is a stranger to Myrtle’s world as much as he is a stranger to the world of others. Therefore, when Myrtle is killed in a car accident he is completely left alone and he is confronted with no choice but to commit suicide. For Wilson, the lonely man does not know whether he should fight or quit, to “The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles.”

Wilson cannot sustain his life because he cannot develop a sense of belonging. He cannot belong to either of the Eggs, to any part of the society that parades in front of his garage. He is isolated in his garage from which he wants to escape with his wife. He cannot do it either. He only belongs to the Valley of Ashes although he does not want to. Belonging to the valley means belonging to the land of the dead. Although he seems to be living, he is psychologically dead in the valley. Therefore, it does not matter much to think about whether “to be or not to be” in the Valley of Ashes where he belongs. He is like a ghost who is and is not at the same time just like Hamlet who is between life and death when he quotes “For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, Th’ oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely the pangs of despised love, the law’s delay.”

Wilson is frustrated with life because he’s not clear on his future. His frustration with life is augmented with the death of Myrtle. With the death of Myrtle, George Wilson is unable to find a reason why he should continue living. Myrtle’s death creates some vacuum in Wilson’s life. To begin with, after Myrtle’s death, Wilson is left without an ideal in life. Then, he is frustrated as he has lost his partner in life. Finally, his frustration leads him to a point where there it does not matter whether he lives nor not. This same feeling is seen by Hamlet when he says, “To grunt and sweat under a weary life.”

“To be or not to be” does not make a difference of choice for Wilson since he is dragged into an inevitable loneliness, belonging to nowhere and a tragic frustration. The psychology of a man as he is cannot be restored because these are traumatic experiences and there is no cure for them. Under these circumstances, Wilson will eventually choose death as a path to escape from life. Anyway, “to be” is identical for him with “not to be.”

The Car: A Vehicle of Cataclysm

"Cars were the symbol of the new consumer society that emerged in the 1920s. In 1919, there were just 6.7 million cars on American roads. By 1929, there were more than 27 million cars--or nearly one car for every household in the United States. In that year, one American out of every five owned a car--compared to one out of every 37 English and one out of every 40 French car owners. Car manufacturers and banks encouraged the public to buy the car of their dreams on credit. Thus, the American love affair with the car began." (The Consumer Economy and Mass Entertainment)

Cars have a significant role in The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald. If the cars in the novel were taken out of the plot, the novel would collapse. Fitzgerald brings the cars in the novel to the foreground in order to critize the American Consumer Economy, which became catastrophic in 1929. The consumer mentality became a race of buying the most extravagant and expensive car so that the car would serve as a symbol of one's status. Gatsby's car, a Rolls Royce, is definately much more expensive than Tom Buchanan's car. While these two cars are racing in the novel, those who are poor, like the Wilsons watch the race. They owe their survival to the cars, which are serviced by Wilson. However, ironically and tragically their death comes from the cars. Myrtle Wilson is run over by the Rolls Royce, which forces George Wilson to destroy the monster that drives the car. As he kills Gatsby, he also commits suicide.

Fitzgerald's prophecy is that cars bring destruction, if they are not merely taken as transportation vehicles. If they are taken as objects of show-off(as in Turkey) and invested a lot of money, the result will be both economically and spiritually a great depression as it was for the Americans by the end of the 1920's.

Worshipping Money

"That was always my experience-- a poor boy in a rich town; a poor boy in a rich boy's school; a poor boy in a rich man's club at Princeton ... . However, I have never been able to forgive the rich for being rich, and it has colored my entire life and works."

F. Scott Fitzgerald hates those who are rich but ironically he has created a great character with the legendary name of The Great Gatsby, which stands for legendary richness. Although readers of the novel are expected to hate Gatsby as a rich man from the viewpoint of the writer's perspective, they do not. Why do not they hate Gatsby? It is because Fitzgerald did not create Gatsby as a rich man without any human touch. Gatsby is romantic. He is a good lover. He is loyal and he can sacrifice all his wealth, just to win Daisy and her dedication. Therefore, Gatsby is not a typical, inhuman, materialistic rich man. He exploits the powers the richness to attain Daisy. Because of this, Gatsby is Fitzgerald himself, who is not a money worshipper.

Fitzgerald, participating in The Great Gatsby

"Unwilling to wait while Fitzgerald succeeded in the advertisement business and unwilling to live on his small salary, Zelda Sayre broke their engagement."

From this quotation, there appear certain affinities between Fitzgerald's life and his novel, The Great Gatsby. The first affinity arrises between Zelda Sayre and Daisy Buchanan. Both women signify a breaking of the engagement with their male partners. In Fitzgerald's life, Zelda escapes, in Gatsby's life, Daisy escapes. Therefore, Fitzgerald and Gatsby are almost identical with each other. The quotation also suggests that Fitzgerald was in the advertisement business. The same business appears in the novel with the gigantic sign post of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg. The "small salary" in the novel can be attributed to Wilson, the poor mechanic. The sign overlooks Wilson's gas station. Therefore, in a way there is an affinity between the poor Fitzgerald and Wilson.