The physical description of different characters throughout Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby” often times puts a large amount of emphasis on the nose. This description of the nose varies from individual to individual. Of the characters described, the nose is used to represent their fetishization of money. This ranges from the flat-nose of Mr. Wolfsheim to the ambiguous, yet negative description of the bachelor’s nose. On the flip side, a proud, positively portrayed nose will symbolize a character’s relative indifference to the value of money. This is visible in how someone such as Mrs. Baker is described carrying her nose, and how she feels towards money.
The nose, literally, leads the rest of the body forward in the world. Historically, it has represented the sense of self or ego of a conscious person, who upholds morals. In this novel, a similar use is apparent, but the lack of morals seems to only be initiated by the potential for money to be won. Fetishism in the Marxists sense of the word, is the “illusion that in buying and selling the values being exchanged are part of the physical make-up of the commodities themselves.” (Lawrence 1) according to Pieter Lawrence’s “The Fetishism of Money”.
The most unscrupulous pursuer of money, and fetishizing of money, described by Scott Fitzgerald in this novel is Mr. Wolfsheim. His nose is described as “small, flat-nosed” (Fitzgerald 69) by Nick Carraway. As Nick Carraway’s impression of him progresses through the meeting, it later comes to light that Mr. Wolfsheim was the mastermind behind the fixed the World Series in 1919 in his quest
for money. Fixing sporting events is generally regarded as immoral, and is certainly illegal. Despite his morally ambiguous activities that earn him money, Mr. Wolfsheim is nice in his mannerisms and is well adjusted socially. Gatsby described his old companion as “very sentimental sometimes. [...] He’s quite a character around New York,” (Fitzgerald 73). In stark contrast to the wealth Mr. Wolfsheim experienced, the butler who used to serve the Buchanans was described as having an affected nose. The explanation for this nose was that he had polished silver as a past means of earning money. At one point he performed this service for
200 people in New York. Daisy explained “He had to polish it from morning till night, until finally it began to affect his nose,” (Fitzgerald 13). The fetishization of money on the butler’s part directly lead to his affected nose. It can therefore be assumed that Fitzgerald intended to have the fetishization of money lead to the corruption of a person’s character, rather than the fetishization of money be innate in dishonourable people. On the other hand, a proud nose worn properly and with grace symbolizes the purity of a character uncorrupted by the fetishization of money. This is exemplified by Jordan Baker’s tendency to hold her nose high, “with her chin raised a little, as if she were balancing something on it which were likely to fall.” (Fitzgerald 8). Jordan, relative to the others with their noses described, did not lust after money, as she did not grow up fawning over every individual dollar that she was able to get her hands on. Instead, she lived ignorant to how it was valued by the society she was surrounded by.
Though similar in their desire to be rich, only those who fetishize money go to great, and often times unsafe and unethical lengths to become wealthy. Fitzgerald has chosen to give these characters a small or undesirable nose in some fashion to symbolize this trait.
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