What is the significance of the Owl Eyed Man in The Great Gatsby?!

Somewhat surprisingly, not everything in *Gatsby* is a metaphor, simile, or symbolic figure.

*Owl Eyes* is inserted with a definite purpose though, chiefly exemplified by his behavior. You'll recall that he was the only one who finally made it to the funeral (of all the party-goers other than Nick). What did it say when he showed up?

Owl-Eyes was so impressed with Gatsby's books and other riches, as well as with Gatsby's very corporeal status -- however, Owl-Eyes was just a regular drunk. Guys like him showed up at parties all the time during the Flapper era (as a sort of novelty, they are tolerated, AND such people provide *ornamentation* at such ecclectic events even today. Remember Nick's list of people who came? Some of them weren't very desirable people but they all provided *ornamentation*, gossip fodder for others.) So what did these folks represnt to Gatsby himself? More possessions! And more control.

So the end of the story is [my words], "Only a drunk was impressed enough to show up at Gatsby's funeral -- no one else was actually impressed enough with him at attend, or else they saw that he was only a phony." [*A Phony* being the theme of yet another great work, *The Catcher in the Rye* by J.D. Salinger -- the two books share many ethical dilemmas.]

Owl-Eyes is strategically used to convey (covertly) to the reader the actual value of possessions and of superficiality, a general punctuation of and elaboration upon the over-riding theme of *The Great Gatsby*.

And it probably also says something that quirky people often *look* quirky as well which is, I'm sure, why Fitzgerald portrayed Owl-Eyes in the manner in which he did. Fitzgerald probably heisted this man's appearance from real life, someone whom he had met in the past, perhaps in Paris.

To the best of my knowledge, Owl-Eyes had NO direct connection with Dr. T.J. Eckleberg (on the sign -- I actually painted and erected one in my back yard!), those eyes on the sign which *were* symbolic of God's distaste for how man had abused His world and creation.

I hope that helps.

I once wrote a lenghthy academic thesis on Gatsby

He's almost like innocence and honesty, IMO.
He's different from the rest of Gatsby's "friends". He's the only one who cares enough to show up at the funeral.

I'm sorry, it's been three years since I read the book so I don't really remember that much about him.