ipl-logo

Who Is Wolfsheim In The Great Gatsby

471 Words2 Pages

Appearance Throughout the author’s introduction of Meyer Wolfsheim and the dialogue between Wolfsheim, Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby, a lot is revealed about his appearance and from that, a lot about him. Fitzgerald starts off describing him as a “small flat-nosed Jew” with “two fine growths of hair which luxuriated in either nostril”. Wolfsheim is fifty years old and has tiny, dark and beady eyes. In this context, said Nick “discovered his tiny eyes”; in communication, eyes are nonverbal communicators and the fact that Nick had to search to “discover” the eyes, shows how Wolfsheim is “closed” and there is something mysterious or sly about him. Wolfshiem also points out his cuff buttons to Nick, which he claims are the “finest specimens of human molars”. This interjection creates an almost cannibalistic reaction in the reader, resulting in a negative connotation of the character. This intended distaste hints at the larger theme of anti-Semitism. Furthermore, his physical features are very caricatured and stereotypical casting a negative tone on him as a sly or mysterious man, again hinting at anti-Semitic notions. A final detail to note regarding a the developing …show more content…

Wolfsheim is known as an inhabitant of New York’s sleazy, scheming gangster and gambling undercurrent, said to have fixed the 1919 World Series. He is often caricatured with his accent as well, using the words “Oggsford” (Oxford) and “gonnegtion” (connection). This represents the deception, similar to Gatsby’s, that they are so much more educated and proper than they really are, leaving something about their past out of the picture. Also, Wolfsheim has an air of pride and arrogance about him. This aspect represents that perhaps he himself is not a very honorable and honest person, which is proven in the aspect of his questionable

Open Document