In the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there are many important themes in the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg. The billboard was constructed to advertise a business of an oculist, symbolizing the growth of commercialism in America. The eyes watch the main characters as they pass the billboard on their way towards New York City, almost like a godly figure. At the beginning of the novel we see the setting as being described as a very terrible, grey land. As the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg appear over the hills people notice the billboard featuring a colorful blue background and the large eyes that give a sense of a godly figure in the heavens. As the eyes look down below they also see all of the lost morals and disdainful actions people do, thus symbolizing the corruption of the people. At the beginning we only see a billboard, but towards the end, the eyes mean so much more than that.
Life in America in the 1920’s is only about making money and being successful. Success at this time was categorized as how much a man is worth. It didn’t matter what you were like as a person, as long as you had a substantial amount of money. The billboard, like the religious views in America are neglected. The pre-WWI morals have somehow completely disappeared in the East, giving an appearance that God neglected America, in which Nick establishes to reconnect with, leaving with Dr. T.J. Eckleburg abaft to look at the people that abandoned their religious views in order to fulfill their goal of wealth.
The setting in the novel is described as a very dark and dismal place. As the eyes appear over the horizon, you notice the bright blue color of the billboard and the large eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, giving a sense of the sky and he...
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...s time they find out that Wilson is planning on moving Myrtle out west as he finds out about her disloyalty. On the trip back from New York, Gatsby and Daisy run into Myrtle. Tom concludes that Gatsby was the one that was driving and Gatsby confesses, even though it was Daisy. Dr. T.J. Eckleburg watches over this and many other issues, showing the corruption and carelessness in society.
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald is an extremely symbolic book with many various symbols, however the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg are the most symbolic element. F. Scott Fitzgerald never makes a point of what the eyes symbolize, however, throughout the novel, he suggests that the eyes have a different meaning to everybody and have many different embodiments. The eyes embody the growth of commercialism, God, and show the corruption of people along with their recklessness.
Loving someone is a wondrous experience, giving life light and a sense of fulfillment. But frequently the love does not last, causing deep emotional pain and a new dullness to life. In F.Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald repeatedly uses the motif and imagery of the eyes to present how much the lack of love can affect the happiness and joy in a person’s life. When people are separated and possibly reunited, their eyes seem to show the emotional turmoil that was caused by the time apart.
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.
The Great Gatsby is a novel written by Francis Scott Fitzgerald and is based throughout the ‘roaring 20’s’. Throughout the novel there are affairs and corruption, proving life lessons that the past cannot be repeated. Fitzgerald uses many forms of symbolism throughout the text some of these include; colours, the eyes of T.J Eckleburg, clocks and the East and West Eggs. The Great Gatsby is a story of love, dreams and choices witnessed by a narrator against the ridiculous wealth of the 1920’s.
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). 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
Tom knew Myrtle better than any of the main characters. He had met her on a train headed for New York. When the train reached the city, she went with him in a taxi, and their affair began. Tom never made much of an effort to keep their relationship secret. In fact, he almost paraded her around in the presence of his acquaintances. They made frequent trips into New York so that they could be together. Myrtle was Tom's escape from his own life in East Egg. While Daisy provided him with a wealthy, acceptable social image, she was not much more to him than a mere possession. His affair with Myrtle offered him a chance to defy his social expectations. Their relationship was important to him because of this opportunity to escape. When Myrtle died, it shook him deeply, especially because he believed Gatsby had been driving the yellow car. After leaving George Wilson's garage the night of the accident, he managed to drive slowly until he and Nick were out of sight. Then he slammed his foot down on the accelerator, driving much faster. He began quietly sobbing, privately mourning her death. He immediately blamed Gatsby for bringing their relationship to an abrupt halt. "That God damned coward!" he cried. "He didn't even stop his car." His feelings of anger and hurt were greatly intensified by the day spent in New York....
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 car pulled up to Wilson’s garage. Instantly, anger filled my body. Myrtle should be alive. Myrtle should be here. But instead, that man- this man- let her go and get herself killed. I knew who it was. Gatsby. He was one with the yellow car. He was the one driving. God knows, he wouldn’t let Daisy drive.
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.
The Great Gatsby does an excellent job showing the reader the neglect for spiritual values in America, and how Americans believed there was no greater power watching over them. Throughout the 1920’s by using the famous eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg. Dr. T.J. Eckleburg was an optometrist in New York. His choice of advertising is strange but extremely symbolic to the theme. In the Valley of ashes, his eyes are painted on a billboard that looks down on everyone. These eyes are constantly watching the people slowly give up their values and beliefs. It’s obvious that the eyes on the billboard are consistently watching the people toss away their values because of how the billboard is designed. Nick describes the sign like this, “The eyes are blue and gigantic- their ...
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 Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald is a literary masterpiece in the sense of symbolism. Fitzgerald is not only telling a story, but also laceing in deeper meaning which can go unrecognized until looking back and reflecting on his work. The symbolism he uses is sometimes faint and sometimes very bold making it hard to miss. Fitzgerald uses his symbolism to let the reader get a deeper meaning out of his work for his or her own benefit and understanding. His symbolism is not set in stone it is for the reader to decipher for their own meaning. This maybe relating to how they feel, think, or perceive the world. Symbolism is a wonderful literary element for writers to take advantage of because it lets the each reader interpret for themselves deeper meaning in the work. A couple examples of symbolism that may go unthought of are the eyes of the oculist’s sign and the owl-eyed man in The Great Gatsby. These
Although in the novel the reader has to decipher and figure out the importance of these symbols, in the movie these symbols are enhanced and are shown more clearly to the viewer. They show Gatsby out on the dock reaching for the green light. When Gatsby is close to finally reaching his dream the light is shown brighter. Then, later on in the movie, they show light flicker and slowly go out after Gatsby’s death, showing how he had failed to gain the one thing he desired most, Daisy. Another example is the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleberg, the movie makes it more apparent that they represent the eyes of God looking over the corruption and loss of morality in the Valley of Ashes. While reading the book is more in depth, the movie can help the reader to further understand the meanings of these
Scott Fitzgerald was a writer who desired his readers to be able to hear, feel, and see his work. He made it his goal to be able to make readers think and keep asking questions using imagery and symbolism. The Great Gatsby was not just about the changes that occurred during the Jazz Age, but it was also about America’s corrupted society which was full of betrayal and money-hungry citizens. It was the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg that overlooked all the corruption that occurred throughout the Valley of Ashes. It was the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg that serves as a symbol of higher power who witnesses everything from betrayal to chaos in Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.
A person’s eyes can give away everything a person tries to hide, including their deepest and darkest secrets. People look at other people’s eyes to see what they think and how they feel because the eyes reflect those things, but they have the potential to give away even more than just that. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s rich book The Great Gatsby, he developes the eyes of his characters to show that a person’s eyes not only hint to a person’s personality and emotions but also reflect a person’s deepest secrets and desires leading to their in inevitable discovery.