Inside the story
Meet George Wilson
George Wilson owns a run-down auto garage in the valley of ashes, where he lives with his wife, Myrtle. Worn down but honest, he is quietly devoted to her and dreams of earning enough money to move West.
On the page
A blond, spiritless man in his mid-thirties, anaemic and faintly handsome, with pale hair, tired light-blue eyes, and a slack, defeated posture. A film of grey ash seems to veil his hair and clothing. He wears a grease-stained work shirt and trousers, wiping his hands on a rag amid the gloom of his bare garage.
