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What did Mr. Gatz show Nick from his wallet in The Great Gatsby?
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Mr. Gatz shows Nick a photograph of Gatsby's house from his wallet, which is cracked and dirty from being shown to many people, reflecting his pride in his son's accomplishments. He also shows Nick an old book containing Gatsby's schedule, detailing his ambitious and disciplined daily routine. These items highlight Mr. Gatz's admiration and the tragic gap between his perception and the reality of Gatsby's life.
Mr. Gatz takes out his wallet in order to show Nick "a photograph of [Gatsby 's] house, cracked in the corners and dirty with many hands." It is obvious to Nick that "He had shown it so often that [...] it was more real to him now than the house itself." Clearly, Mr. Gatz had taken this photograph out and shown it to many people, proud of what his son had accomplished, and this makes us feel a great deal of sympathy for him. He clearly did not know that his son was a criminal, and he only saw that his son had made something big of himself. He also shows Nick the notes Gatsby had taken in an old book. It contains a "schedule" that Gatsby made for himself, and this schedule details an early wake-up, time for exercise, time for study, time for work, time for sports,...
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time to work on his poise, and time to dream up inventions. Gatsby had resolved not to waste time or smoke, to bathe regularly, to read a lot, to save money, and to treat his parents well. One can really see, for his entire life, how ambitious and determined he was.
Mr. Henry C. Gatz, Gatsby's father, is pacing up and down in the hall of Gatsby's house on the morning of his son's funeral. His pride in his son and his son's accomplishments is nearly palpable. He pulls from his wallet a photo, "cracked in the corner and dirty from many hands" (Fitzgerald 180) to show Nick. This is a photo of Gatsby's mansion, clearly cherished and looked at often by Mr. Gatz. Mr. Gatz lingers over the photo, pointing its details out to Nick. Since they are actually standing in the house itself looking at a photo of the house, this is rather sad and silly, and Nick says "I think it was more real to him now than the house itself" (180). I think Mr. Gatz is one of the saddest characters in The Great Gatsby, and his appearance at the end is heartbreaking.