Five thousand years ago lived the immoral societies of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Middle East. The people of these corrupt cities were sinners who lead luxurious lives and seemed like they had it all, even though soon they would lose everything. Their immorality and lack of awareness is what caused God to send fire from the heavens and destroy the towns as punishment. Parallels can be drawn from ancient times to the story of The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald uses the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg to symbolize God watching down and to express the theme of immorality in society and the loss of spiritual values in the American dream. Symbolism is a key part of this passage in revealing the author’s purpose. It becomes apparent that the eyes are symbols when our narrator says, “The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic-their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face, but instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-existent nose,” (24). The significance of these eyes can be noted from their first introduction. The eyes are more than just a faded picture on a billboard; underneath the eerie description lies a deeper meaning. Doctor T.J. Eckelburg’s eyes symbolize God watching down on the Valley of Ashes, judging over society and their actions. The colossal eyes are all seeing and all knowing, scrutinizing all the corrupt lifestyles and values amongst the characters in Gatsby. Fitzgerald’s use of diction in creating the mood centering around T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes supports the immorality and the carelessness seen in the community. Nick goes on to state, “But his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days under the sun and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping ground,” (24). This lin... ... middle of paper ... ...ths, which can be thought of as a punishment from God. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald instills the theme of immorality using the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg. These eyes, representing God, dispatch judgment and punishment on society. However the lives of the characters continue, because God has given them a second chance in hopes of changing their immoral ways. This gift was also given to a man named Lot, who escaped death by the grace of God five thousand years ago in the city of Sodom. Thought he wouldn’t live forever, he had a new take on life and a chance to turn his back on immorality. The same can be thought of for the characters of Gatsby-they will continue trudging on with their lives, hopefully having learned a lesson from the consequences of immorality, and if they don’t, they eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg will always be there as a constant reminder.
Stories can be interpreted many different ways when one happens to be trapped in a section of their lives. Their point of views and emotions all greatly affect the way they think and react. Especially in Fitzgerald’s book, The Great Gatsby, people commonly act in their best interest rather than thinking about the impacts of their actions. The wealthy ones can easily do whatever they like without too heavily worrying about their consequences; however, the huge gap between the poor and the rich further encourage the rich to be blindness of their actions. Throughout The Great Gatsby, the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg symbolize the failure of the American dream, God watching over mankind, and serves as a warning.
However, Fitzgerald does not write Gatsby as a bad person who embodies all that is wrong with western capitalism. Instead, Fitzgerald portrays Gatsby as a good man who was victim of the qualities ingrained in him by an imperfect ideological system. It is this distinction which makes Fitzgerald’s argument all the more potent, and his audience’s ability to mourn Gatsby as a tragic figure all the more important. Whereas Fitzgerald’s opinion of Gatsby may otherwise have been misconstrued as a negative one, the scene of Gatsby’s funeral clearly conveys the character of Gatsby as a tragic and sorrowful one. The character of Gatsby and Fitzgerald’s commentary on the logical fallacies of the American Dream are closely intertwined, which is why Fitzgerald goes to such great lengths to separate the two.
Many people like flappers went against the standard and did not listen or go by the rules. Written during the Jazz Age period, Fitzgerald wrote the novel The Great Gatsby, and ironically, it is one that explores the concept of an omnipresent God which readers can guess comes from the author’s knowledge of Catholicism and Christianity. First and foremost, the Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are representative of an omniscient God. The Great Gatsby begins chapter one with a description of “The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic – their irises are one yard high. They look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent nose” (Fitzgerald 23).
The Great Gatsby shows us the decline of civilization with the loss of thought for God and religion. God is merely mentioned at all in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, except for the eyes of T.J. Eckleberg on the billboard. This notion suggests that capitalism is above God among the rich and powerful. The rich and powerful are blind to the notion of God and religion.
Throughout the Great Gatsby, the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg are used repeatedly throughout the story as a god-like figure. The eyes of this billboard look out over the Valley of Ashes and watch quietly as demoralizing events occur: “God sees everything,”
The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a novel based on Gatsby’s dream and hope. In order to enrich the story, symbols are used to emphasize what the author is saying and they create a curiosity in the reader as they are frequently used throughout the story. These three symbols – green light, valley of ashes and the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg are not connected to each other but each of them represents important things in the story.
... on waiting trains can stare at the dismal scene for as long as half an hour” (24). The symbol is important to the story because it shows that no matter how fabulous a place looks there is always a dark side. Another symbol in The Great Gatsby is the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg which symbolizes the eyes of God staring down in distaste of the corrupt city and how God has lost his connection with that city. The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are described as this, “The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic-their retinas are one yard high” (23). F. Scott Fitzgerald mentions the eyes again soon after, “I followed him over a low whitewashed railroad fence, and we walked back a hundred yards along the road under Doctor Eckleburg’s persistent stare” (24). This symbol is important to the story because it shows that the flashy cities were not approved of.
The eyes of T J Eckleburg represent the loss of moral and social values in America, the hollowness of the American Dream, and the corruption of people. T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes stare down at everyone around them, including the main characters that pass by it on their trips to New York City. In this way, the symbol of the eyes reveals the corruption of the American Dream through the people that the eyes are watching. The eyes ‘watch’ as Gatsby goes to luncheon with Nick to meet Wolfshiem, the dishonest man who helped fix the World Series. The eyes too have watched Tom go into the city...
The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are perhaps the most important symbol in The Great Gatsby. The eyes can be taken as the eyes of God or even as us, the observers. We are observing the characters in what they do and analyzing them as an example of what is wrong or what is right. In this case, we are observing Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. We are observing their conducts and deciphering whether their actions are wrong or right.
Try to imagine living life during the infamous roaring 20’s. This time was filled with lavish parties, illegal alcohol, bad morals, and really vibrant jazz music. A person living during this time would most likely be a person who deeply cared about their social status and what other people thought of them. Due to the ending of the Great War, economic prosperity for the upper class, and rapid social changes, many people throughout America began to throw away their beliefs and values for the exciting and exuberant life the 1920’s offered. There is no doubt that many people during this time were doing horrible, unmoral things and its clear to see that they believed no one was watching over them as they constantly “sinned.” In the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author shows us the loss of spiritual values throughout America, the emptiness of the American Dream, and the corruption that filled the hearts of many Americans by the use of the motif of eyes.
Symbols and Symbolism in The Great Gatsby - Symbolism and the Truth That Lies Between
Reading through the novel The Great Gatsby, it becomes evident that Dr. Eckelberg symbolizes God and oversees events that occur. The characters in the novel refer to "the eyes of Dr. Eckelberg" often. Doctor T.J. Eckleburg symbolizes three things. He symbolizes the corruption of society; his eyes represent the eyes of an omnipotent God, and he implies carelessness and mistreatment.
Symbolism in The Great Gatsby Symbolism is what makes a story complete. In "The Great Gatsby" Fitzgerald cleverly uses symbolism. Virtually anything in the novel can be taken as a symbol, from the weather, to the colors of clothing. characters wear. There are three main symbols used in The Great Gatsby, they are The East and West Egg, the green light at the end of Daisy's dock, and the eyes of Dr.T.J. Eckleburg.
In brief, the world of The Great Gatsby can seem as sordid, loveless, commercial, and dead as the ash heaps presided over by the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg. Indeed, this atmosphere is so essential that one of the alternate titles Fitzgerald considered was Among the Ash-Heaps and Millionaires. Fitzgerald using the valley of ashes, illustrates an environment where love has lost its place, which destroys hope for a family; the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg, clearly intended to represent those of God, emphasizes that this lack of love and filial piety in a sin against themselves as well as society and God.
Another pattern that is rather distinct is Fitzgerald’s suggestion that potential, life and beginnings have also been ruined. Our narrator’s last name, Caraway, is a seed, a symbol of life and beginnings. We also learn that Nick is from the West, which is where the dream originated. However, once Nick Caraway moves to the East he is soon caught up in the corruption and destruction associated with the region. Our setting, the Egg Islands, is also symbolic.