Owl Eyes and Klipspringer

These two odd characters sum up two extremes of the kinds of ludicrous, hilarious, bizarre people that populate Gatsby’s parties, drinking his liquor and gossiping about him. On one hand, you have Owl Eyes, who shows a genuine interest (or something akin to it) in Gatsby; Owl Eyes simply cannot believe that Gatsby has real books in his library, and he seems to have a real fascination with the guy. Klipspringer, on the other hand, lives at Gatsby’s house and totally takes advantage of his generosity, but doesn’t appear to have any real feelings for him. These two attitudes towards Gatsby diverge after his death – Klipspringer rudely calls up Nick, not because he wants to give his last respects to a former friend, but simply because he wants to pick up a pair of tennis shoes, while Owl Eyes wistfully shows up at the house, and, unlike all of Gatsby’s fair-weather friends, shows some real sympathy towards him.