Henry C. Gatz

Also known as Mr. Gatz, Gatsby’s father

Minor
First seen · Book 1 · Ch. 8

Henry C. Gatz is a minor character in The Great Gatsby (Book 1).

Gender: male
Age: old man
First appears: Book 1 · Ch. 8
Books: 1

Henry C. Gatz arrives too late from the Midwest as Gatsby's bereft father, clutching a tattered photograph and spilling milk with trembling hands in his warm ulster, his leaking eyes and pulled beard a testament to paternal pride amid devastation. He lingers briefly at the funeral, embodying the humble roots Gatsby rose from and returned to in death. His helpless dismay humanizes the mythic Gatsby as plain Jimmy Gatz.

Description

A solemn old man, very helpless and dismayed, bundled up in a long cheap ulster, with a sparse grey beard pulled incessantly. His trembling hands spill milk, face flushed slightly, eyes leaking isolated tears, mouth ajar.