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Mr. McKee is a photographer whom Nick meets at Myrtle Wilson’s apartment. He and his wife run in the same social circles as Myrtle and her sister Catherine, meaning they are middle- to low-class. Nick’s description of him as a “pale, feminine man” is similar to his description of George Wilson, and in some ways, the two men seem to operate on a similar level. Both are symbols of the exhausted, dispirited lower classes, desperately attempting to make a living in the harsh world of the urban east coast, and they are also both, to some extent, overpowered by their wives. While Myrtle’s behavior toward her husband is aggressive and nasty, Mrs. McKee is more supportive, but she clearly annoys her husband when she loudly and forcefully attempts to direct his professional endeavors.
Mr. McKee is a soft-spoken, inoffensive man, but there’s no doubt that he’s desperate for a leg up. Despite Tom’s obvious disinterest, Mr. McKee continuously attempts to engage Tom in conversations about his photography, hinting rather tactlessly that he’s trying to find more work on Long Island. Like so many of the characters in The Great Gatsby, Mr. McKee simply represents another version of the striver, hoping to break into the competitive, unforgiving landscape of New York City. It’s a difficult and potentially futile quest, as Tom Buchanan’s company is likely the closest he’ll get to true wealth in his life. The missed spot of shaving cream on Mr. McKee’s face, which bothers Nick throughout the get-together at Myrtle’s, represents the mark of the lower-classes, that lack of affluence which can never be fully washed away. Additionally, the missed spot is a physical manifestation of how Mr. McKee has unknowingly embarrassed himself by attempting to self-promote. Nick, who is more considerate than Tom and more empathetic toward the struggles of the lower classes, wipes the cream off Mr. McKee’s face while he’s sleeping to save him the shame of finding it later.
