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World War I brought new views on religion to the United States, it ended just before the 1920s so these views were carried over. Some turned to god, while others turned away. Morals were changing in that people spent their time and money on completely different things now. Religion had been the basis of many people’s lives before this, making this way of thinking and acting brand new. In The Great Gatsby, Doctor T. J. Eckleburg’s eyes symbolize god and how traditional religion and morality are sinking away from everyday life. Eckleburg’s eyes first appear at the beginning of chapter two. These eyes “dimmed a little by many paintless days under the sun and rain,” (28) watch over the valley of ashes. In this valley, the grey men work all day and do not pay as much attention to god and religion. Therefore, god is set aside in people’s lives and fades instead of being the focus, like an old favorite toy that has grown boring, set aside to collect dust. The eyes which symbolize god, a higher power, show up on a billboard. Advertisements are the primary use of billboards, telling us that...
In American society, love, social class, and ambition are in the present life of Americans. Both books "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald and "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Hurston, are examples of Gatsby and Janie and their strive to reach the American dream. Both Gatsby and Janie are searching for love. Gatsby has found his love for Daisy, but he can’t have her because of there differences between social classes. On the other hand, Janie spends her journey searching for sense of herself and someone who treats her as equal. Despite the beginning of their past life they both reach the appearance of wealth and fortune. For Gatsby, his character is a delusion created by those who spread rumors just by seeing him throw the lavish parties. Gatsby's wealth is only a front because he was given the house from wealth and illegal dealings with Meyer Wolfsheim. Janie's character changes throughout the story in search of her identity. Janie inherited money from the death of her second husband. But the money doesn’t mean much to her ever since she met Tea Cake but still uses her money to provide for the both of them. Gatsby and Janie faced challenges on the search for their American Dream. In
Near the beginning of George Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara, Mr. Undershaft exclaims in retort of another's question, "well, I am a millionaire, and that is my religion" (Shaw 103). Many people look toward the heavens in search of the power to enable them to live in the world. Others, like Shaw's Mr. Undershaft, look toward more earthly subjects to obtain their power and symbolize their status. Often these subjects, such as money, wealth, or physical beauty and ability, give their owners an overbearing sense of power and ability in all of that they do. Some people become so obsessed with their materialistic power that it becomes their religion and leads them in everything that they do. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the character of Tom Buchanan is introduced and portrayed as someone who has allowed his physical abilities, money, and wealth, become his religion and lead him in his actions, perceived thoughts and beliefs, and speech.
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.
Fitzgerald describes the eyes of T. J. Eckleburg as if they are big and nobody can miss them. The enormous yellow spectacles let the readers know that Eckleburg has glasses and that his vision is clear. During the time period this novel was written, many people believed that religion was not a big thing, but I agree that God sees everything and he knows everything. Works Cited for: Dilworth, Thomas.
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.
... 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.
Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is renowned for having many hidden messages and themes throughout the novel, and it’s clear the author had an exceptionally soft spot for Christianity. Many times biblical echoes could be found, way more than is listed in this report. It is this search, this wonder of mystery that is caused by these hidden messages that make Gatsby one of the greatest works of American Fiction.
Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby, there is a constant theme present: social class. Fitzgerald makes a connection between the theme of social class, and the settings in the novel for example The Valley of Ashes which is described as a “desolate area of land” (p.21) and a “solemn dumping ground” (p.21) which is where the poor people live. The Valley of Ashes is situated between West Egg and New York, West Egg being the place where the aspiring classes are situated, which is the “less fashionable of the two” (p.8), this is where Gatsby lives. West Egg is the place of ‘new money’, Fitzgerald shows this by the idea of the main character Jay Gatsby, rumoured to be selling illegal alcohol (prohibition) which means he is quickly making vast amounts of money.” Who is this Gatsby anyhow? Some big bootlegger?”(p.86) Gatsby shows off the amount of wealth he has by his fabulous parties and oversized mansion. “There was music from my neighbour's house through those summer nights. In his enchanted gardens, men and girls came and went like moths, among the whispering and the champagne and the stars.”(p.33) Fitzgerald uses the word ‘enchanted’ to paint a visual picture of what the house and the scene looks like, a magical and enchanted castle, with elegant furniture. This is in comparison to East Egg where Tom and Daisy Buchanan live, in a house where “The windows were ajar and gleaming white against the fresh grass outside” (p.10). East Egg being the place of ‘old money’ which is made from the inheritance of their past generations, the people who live it East Egg are mainly well educated, historically wealthy and live quite elegantly, but they are also quite ‘snobbish’. Gatsby’s background does not fit into the social standards of East Egg...
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.
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.
The word visually stunning could be used to describe the 2013 Baz Luhrman directed adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s timeless novel The Great Gatsby. Speaking of the director, I enjoyed his portrayal of the lavish lifestyle and carefree party like attitude in such a beautiful visual experience. The way in which the party scenes were filmed in the movie made perfect sense compared to the source material and were something I have never seen done by any other directors in a live action film. Another positive for me about this film was the soundtrack. When I first started watching the film I expected to hear old time music prevalent in the 20s. I however was pleasantly surprised when I learned the soundtrack was compiled by Jay-Z and featured many tracks I enjoyed featuring him either alone or accompanied by another musical guest. While Jay-Z is not exactly an accurate representation of the music of the 20s, the soundtrack adds a modern flavour over the previously mentioned beautiful backgrounds and architecture. The story however is where the movie at times falls flat. When stripped down to basics it is nothing more than a generic love story with a few twists added in for extra kick. The characters in the same vain can be very bland and not make you care much for them due to their backstories not being deeply explored. The only character that I found to be interesting was Jay Gatsby because of the mystical aura that surrounds his character at the beginning of the movie that leads you to want to uncover more of this ever mysterious man. All in all the visuals clearly outpace
The 1920’s were a time of social and technological change. After World War II, the Victorian values were disregarded, there was an increase in alcohol consumption, and the Modernist Era was brought about. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a perfect presentation of the decaying morals of the Roaring Twenties. Fitzgerald uses the characters in the novel--specifically the Buchanans, Jordan Baker, and Gatsby’s partygoers--to represent the theme of the moral decay of society.
Most self respecting people have ethics and morals they try to abide by. They create standards that they live life by and construct their own philosophy with. In the novel The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, morals and ethics are a scarce practice. Jay Gatsby lives his life by the over bearing morals and values of devotion, corruption, and his will to control.