# George O'Kelly — Short Fiction character guide

> George O'Kelly in Short Fiction by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** George, O'Kelly

**First appearance:** 0168-i

## Snapshot

A suave, weak-chinned waiter who trades on old acquaintance, George has learned to make money in the margins while his brother still fights for footing.

## Who they are

George O'Kelly has become the practical one: married, three children, alert-eyed, and faintly superior behind a waiter's manner. When his brother Carrol and two broke soldiers need whiskey, George names his price and stashes them among the pails and scrubbing brushes, wary of the head waiter's eye. His small, transactional competence measures the distance the brothers have traveled since the war, and quietly indicts the glamour Carrol still chases.

## Relationships

### [Kitty Carr](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters/kitty_carr)

_romantic_

George has a romantic relationship with Kitty, but it is overshadowed by his deeper feelings for another woman, Jonquil.

### [Jonquil Cary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters/jonquil_cary)

_romantic_

George is deeply and romantically devoted to Jonquil, who represents his ideal love and the source of his emotional turmoil.

### [Kitty Carr](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters/kitty_carr)

_romantic_

George has a romantic relationship with Kitty, but it is overshadowed by his deeper feelings for another woman, Jonquil.

### [Jonquil Cary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters/jonquil_cary)

_romantic_

George is deeply and romantically devoted to Jonquil, who represents his ideal love and the source of his emotional turmoil.

### [Kitty Carr](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters/kitty_carr)

_romantic_

George has a romantic relationship with Kitty, but it is overshadowed by his deeper feelings for another woman, Jonquil.

### [Jonquil Cary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters/jonquil_cary)

_romantic_

George is deeply and romantically devoted to Jonquil, who represents his ideal love and the source of his emotional turmoil.

## In the story

### [The Sensible Thing](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/the-sensible-thing)

Protagonist who struggles with love and ambition, ultimately facing disillusionment.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/i)

Protagonist; an engineer by training now working as an insurance clerk, deeply in love and anxious about his future.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/ii)

Visits Jonquil in Tennessee, lies about his job, and becomes anxious about their relationship.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/iii)

Heartbroken and desperate, George tries to convince Jonquil to marry him, but ultimately leaves alone after their breakup.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/iv)

Returns to Tennessee after a year in Peru, transformed by success but haunted by lost love.

### [Magnetism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/magnetism)

Central figure in the romantic dynamics, experiencing the pull of attraction.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/i)

George Hannaford, a thirty-year-old film actor, is the central character. He experiences a brief, intense attraction to Helen Avery but ultimately chooses to preserve his marriage.

### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/ii)

Movie star, husband of Kay; struggles with marital tension and later faces blackmail.

### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/iii)

George is the protagonist in this chapter, dealing with the aftermath of Margaret's forgery and his marital issues with Kay.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/chapters/iv)

George returns home, learns of Margaret Donovan's suicide attempt, and rushes to the hospital despite Kay's protests.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters/george_o_kelly
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_16_se/characters