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Daniel "Dan" Randolph Jonah Humphrey is a main character in the Gossip Girl (novel series).
Novel Series[]
Summary[]
Dan is a skinny, talented, sensitive, existentialist poet who drinks liters upon liters of instant coffee every day and smokes cigarettes at a frantic pace. He lives in a run-down Upper West Side apartment with his father, Rufus Humphrey—a bohemian, beatnik editor of minor Beat Generation poets—his younger sister, Jenny, who is three years his junior, and their cat, Marx. He no longer has contact with his mother, Jeannette, an exuberant, hippie artist, since she abruptly abandoned the family home to move to Europe with a wealthy aristocrat.
Dan is a pessimist who often sees the worst in things and is fascinated by death. He is also a romantic whose imagination spirals out of control at the worst possible moments. He has an unfortunate habit of overanalyzing events and his own emotions, which leads him to accumulate a great deal of frustration, as he struggles to manage the gap between reality—so often disappointing to him—and his fantasies. He watches over the people he loves and is particularly protective of his younger sister. His best friend is Zeke Freedman, whom he has known since first grade.
During his senior year of high school, one of his poems (titled Sluts) is published in The New Yorker, which leads to him being contacted by a well-known literary agent, Rusty Klein, who then recommends him for an internship with the editor of The Red Letter, the most prestigious literary journal in the world.
The love of his life is Vanessa Abrams, though he has not always been the best boyfriend to her. He notably cheated on her with Mystery Craze, a poet with yellow teeth and an alarmingly thin frame. For a brief period—despite having no musical talent whatsoever—Dan was also the lyricist and singer of the trendy rock band The Raves, before being kicked out by his guitarist, Damian, after a pitiful performance at a concert.
Dan attends Riverside Prep (Riverside Preparatory School for Boys) with Chuck, whom he despises. At the end of high school, he receives the E.B. White Writing Award from his headmaster, a prestigious prize recognizing the outstanding creative writing achievements of a Riverside Prep student.
After graduation, Dan enrolls in the literature department at Evergreen State College but requests a transfer to Columbia University at the end of his first semester so he can return to New York to be with his girlfriend, Vanessa. He then completes his undergraduate degree there in the literature program. During this time, another of his poems—titled Serena—is published in The New Yorker. After finishing his higher education, Dan is admitted to a prestigious poetry school in Iowa.
In his senior year, he also had a brief homosexual affair with Greg, a colleague from the bookstore where he worked during the summer, before returning once again to Vanessa. By the end of the saga, Vanessa and Dan realize they still love each other and finally confess it.
Style and appearance[]
Dan is tall (one meter eighty), thin, pale-skinned, with a waxy-looking face, messy black hair, long sideburns and brown eyes.
Relationships[]
Family[]
- Rufus Humphrey (father)
- Jeanette Humphrey (mother)
- Jenny Humphrey (sister)
- Marx (pet; cat)
Romances[]
- Serena van der Woodsen (ex-girlfriend)
- Vanessa Abrams (on/off girlfriend)
- Mystery Craze (ex-hook up)
- Elise Wells (fling)
- Monique (fling, one night stand)
- Bree (ex-girlfriend)
- Greg (ex-boyfriend)
Friends[]
- Zeke Freedman (best friend)
- Vanessa Abrams (best friend)