There are many heroes in human society: tragic heroes, anti-heroes, and old-fashioned courageous heroes. Although all of these heroes are engaging and fascinating, the most interesting hero to read and study is the tragic hero. A tragic hero is a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat. An illustration of this hero can be shown in The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The tragic hero featured in the novel is George Wilson. Mr. Wilson can be seen as an unusual character in that he does very little and has a unique personality, which allowed for a tragic twist towards the end of the novel. Mr. Wilson is an important player in The Great Gatsby and exhibits the characteristics of a tragic hero because he is an innocent person with big goals and dreams, but this leads his thoughts and beliefs in the wrong direction. As a result, pity and fear can be aroused in Mr. Wilson because he is not able to see clearly what is really happening around him. While some characters in novels have flaws that give them a mysterious or strange image, Mr. Wilson is completely far from this "mysterious" feeling, until we see his true colors towards the end of the novel. Throughout the book, Mr. Wilson is simply a person who works all day at an auto shop, just to save enough money to get out of his terrible situation. “[He’s] been here too long. [He] wants to run away. [His] wife and [he] want to go west. » (Fitzgerald. 123) This quote illustrates how Wilson wants to move from the Valley of Ashes to a more decent home that will satisfy his greatest needs. These personal goals to succeed in life...... middle of paper ...... successful in life. In conclusion, Mr. Wilson's actions display a wide variety of emotions towards the readers and can evoke pity and fear for George, which is a key characteristic of the tragic hero. Wilson is a critical character in The Great Gatsby, which allows the reader to be convinced that Mr. Wilson is undoubtedly a tragic hero. Mr. Wilson possesses the characteristics of a tragic hero since he is an innocent person with big goals and dreams, however, this leads his thoughts and beliefs in the wrong direction. Because of this, pity and fear can be aroused in Mr. Wilson because he is not able to see clearly what is really happening around him. Mr. Wilson is a simple man, but he is able to thicken the plot when he shows his twisted personality near the final chapter of the novel. A tragic hero has characteristics such as those that George displays.