The owl eyed man is not a character to be overlooked. Yes, we are never even told his actual name and he only makes a few, very brief appearances in the book, but he deserves a special mention as he is key in understanding the allegory that the novel is for the American Dream. We first see him in Gatsby’s library, a guest at one of his parties. He reveals that the books in his marvellously lavish library are real, although admittedly uncut. Thus, Gatsby has propagated an extravagant illusion regarding his identity, and successfully has a mass of people at the palm of his hand. This is not unlike the American Dream, a concept that has captured the hope of many Americans but is for most a deceptive, unattainable falsehood. His reference to Gatsby as a “regular Belasco” consolidates this, comparing him to the playwright who constructed strikingly real set pieces to facilitate his fantastic stories.
