Foils are a narrative technique used to highlight a character’s traits by creating a character with opposite traits to contrast them with. Fitzgerald was no stranger to the technique, as The Great Gatsby is full of foils and character relationships that contrast each other. These foils serve to characterize the main characters and highlight these characteristics of them. For example, Tom has a foil in George who serves to emphasize the main character traits in Tom as a main character.
Tom Buchanan and George Wilson are complete opposites. The first description of Tom makes sure to emphasize the strength and size of his body. He is described to have “a touch of paternal contempt” in his voice as he speaks. As the novel progresses, it is clear Tom Buchanan is a strong, selfish, and dominant man. He has had various affairs throughout his marriage, unable to stay faithful to Daisy since he does what he wants. When he talks to the police officer at the scene of Myrtle’s murder, he interrupts the police officer’s interrogations and physically catches his attention in order to find out what happened. He also shows his dominance in the way he treats George Wilson. When George jokes about the speed of Tom’s man working on the car, Tom takes offense but more importantly, takes the opportunity to assert his dominance over George by threatening to cancel the deal that George so desparately needs. In constrast, George is submissive and weak. In his first description, George is described as anemic and spiritless, a complete opposite to Tom’s “great pack of muscle”. His lack of spirit is also shown by his submissiveness, which is seen in the way he is pushed around by Myrtle and Tom in his first scene.
The two men are ultimately connected as foils when comparing their reactions to finding out that their wife has been unfaithful. Tom becomes suspicious of Daisy and Gatsby and begins to investigate Gatsby’s background. Armed with knowledge of Gatsby’s misdeavors, Tom confronts Gatsby head on and succeeds in breaking the affair. George instead becomes sick and wishes to run away from the problem, hoping that by leaving the affair behind, his relationship with Myrtle will improve. Both are placed into similiar situations, but their opposite responses confirm that they are very different. This serves to emphasize Tom’s confrontation with Gatsby; by showing George’s reaction first, Fitzgerald builds up more tension to the upcoming confrontation. George has shown to be the opposite of Tom, and with the unbearable heat of that summer day, Fitzgerald foreshadows a terrible climax.
Fitzgerald’s extensive use of character foils contributes to the great characters of the novel. There are other examples of foils in this novel like Daisy and Myrtle. The use of foils characterizes them and