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Gat is by definition an outsider. He is fatherless, he is unrelated to the Sinclairs, he is Indian, he has dark skin, and he doesn’t understand the rules by which the Sinclairs play. He becomes the symbol of the older Sinclairs’s racial privilege, as they move to exclude him from the family gatherings. But he also reveals Cadence’s own privileged stance when juxtaposed against him. In the fairytale sections that Cadence invents, Gat is depicted as an animal, a mouse or sometimes an actual beast. Gat becomes a vehicle for the author to demonstrate the ways in which Cadence understands her status and heritage within the Sinclair family, not merely through her familial bonds, but through her thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors.
Although Mirren and Johnny tease Cadence, Gat is the only one who actually confronts her over her privilege and self-pity. He tries to help her and the other Liars see the world’s injustices, including those perpetrated by their family. In this, his true nature as an outsider is highlighted, as summarized in his motto, “Do not accept an evil you can change.” Gat understands that the world is an imperfect place, and he wants to improve upon it. However, he has sufficient maturity and grace to let others, even in their flaws, be themselves, whereas the Sinclair family insists on perfection. Gat believes people have a moral responsibility to make the world a better place, but he doesn’t take the all-or-nothing approach the Sinclairs do, which is ultimately another form of privilege. Gat represents the slow, piecemeal work it takes to make meaningful change in the world, contrasting it with the dramatic, but fruitless impulse Cadence embodies through the fire she convinces the others to help her set.
