Corruption In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the valley of ashes separates West egg from New York, and in this dismal and desolate valley lies the eyes of Doctor E.J. Eckleburg. Although, the barren wasteland of the valley of the ashes is bleak and dismal, one cannot help but notice the eyes of Doctor E.J. Eckleburg that always watch over the people. The watchful eyes of Doctor E.J. Eckleburg silently analyze the characters in The Great Gatsby and observe their corruption and lack of morals. These eyes symbolize the eyes of God and they represent God’s presence throughout the novel, the eyes demonstrate how God is constantly watching over the characters in this novel and observing their corruption and dishonesty.

There is a lack of religion

in The Great Gatsby and it is absent in the characters’ lives, these characters live by their own moral codes and not those conveyed by their religion.

F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the eyes of Doctor E.J. Eckleburg to symbolize God but also to illustrate the presence of God even though there is a lack of religion as demonstrated in the quote “I told her she might fool me but she couldn’t fool God…‘God Knows what you’ve been doing, everything you’ve been doing. You may fool me, but you can’t fool God!’ Standing behind him, Michaelis saw with a shock that he was looking at the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, which had just emerged, pale and enormous, from the dissolving night” (Fitzgerald 159). Adultery is sin and George Wilson explains how Doctor E.J. Eckleburg’s eyes; the eyes of God, witnessed how Tom and Myrtle committed this sin by having an adulterous relationship. The eyes of God not only see the lack of morals but also the corruption of the American people; the people strive for the American Dream and the chance to be successful but their ambition blinds them and causes them to lose sight of themselves and become corrupt. This hunger for this dream causes people to go out of their way to do anything to become

successful and wealthy illustrated in the quote "Meyer Wolfsheim?

No, he's a gambler." Gatsby hesitated, then added coolly: "He's the man who fixed the World's Series back in 1919." "Fixed the World's Series?" I repeated. …"Why isn't he in jail?" "They can't get him, old sport. He's a smart man" (Fitzgerald 73). The American Dream is to make a living through hard earned work and becoming a successful person but the dream gets disoriented as people abandon their values to become successful and wealthy, people like Wolfsheim do not earn their wealth through hard earned work but by cheating and scamming others; the people of America get corrupt and lose their values as the idea of the American Dream gets disoriented. The valley of the ashes serves as “wake up call” for the people of America and it illustrates the flaws in the American Dream; the people of the valley of ashes are at the bottom of the social pyramid and they are also the poorest, these people work hard and yet their hard work does not pay off like it should, instead other people like Meyer Wolfsheim become wealthy and successful while people like the Wilsons are left with nothing. Perhaps, this is why Myrtle had an affair with Tom; Myrtle wanted a better life for herself and she wanted a better future that she thought Tom could give her. Myrtle was under the impression that Tom truly loved her and he would leave Daisy for her but that was not the case as

demonstrated in the quote “You see,”…“It’s really his wife that’s keeping them apart. She’s a Catholic and they don’t believe in divorce.” Daisy was not a Catholic, and I was a little shocked at the elaborateness of the lie” (Fitzgerald 33). This lie deliberately kept Tom apart from Myrtle because Tom did not truly love her and he never planned on leaving Daisy for her; he was just simply using her for his own pleasure and he would leave her as soon as he got bored with her. Myrtle never understood the reality of the situation or she chose not believe it but nevertheless she was blinded by her notion of a better life with Tom; she had high hopes but this hope made her lose her intuition and it ultimately became her downfall. America became consumed by capitalism and this capitalism replaced religion as it made people lose their sense of morality and they became more and more corrupt; the valley of ashes became the product of capitalism as it served as a dumping site and the eyes of Doctor E.J. Eckleburg watch the people as they become more corrupt, silently observing and analyzing their every move.
The eyes of Doctor E.J. Eckleburg loom over the valley of the ashes and although there is a lack of religion, these eyes serve as a key aspect of religion in this novel because they symbolize the eyes of God and these eyes are able to witness the corruption and dishonesty within the people of America. The condition of the valley is a result of this corruption through the hunger and greed of capitalism and it portray the lack of morals and corruption Doctor E.J Eckleburg witnesses as people pass through the valley of the ashes.