In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald details the American society during the Roaring Twenties. Fitzgerald uses symbolism of T.J. Eckleburg 's eyes to convey the loss of spiritual values in America in order to show how society lost their religion and ethics during the Roaring Twenties. In addition, Fitzgerald entails the corruption of society, the eyes of an omnipotent God, and implies the carelessness and mistreatment of people towards each other through T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes. To begin with, Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby are both corrupt individuals. Tom Buchanan’s personality represents the higher social class of America in the 1920s. Notably, when Nick Carraway goes to visit the Buchanan family, Tom bluntly explains to Nick, “I’ve got a nice place here, showing off his opulent estate”(7). Tom is …show more content…
In The Great Gatsby the valley of ashes can represent the abandonment of the population in the city, and in turn the billboard symbolizes Thomas Jefferson looking down into the remains of the agriculture in society. The valley of ashes represents the poor life Gatsby left behind and by choosing not to return he has sealed his fate. Altogether, the eyes witness Myrtle’s affair with Tom Buchanan and her death when Daisy runs over Myrtle. The billboard’s eyes are linked symbolically with the eyes of a judging God who sees all sinners. After Myrtle’s death Wilson hints that while people may think their evil deeds go unnoticed, God is always watching. In addition, the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg is symbolic of Nick Carraway, throughout the novel he is judging each character though his father told him to reserve all judgements to himself. In conclusion, the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg represent the the corruption of society, the eyes of an omnipotent God, and implies the carelessness and mistreatment of people towards each
“The Great Gatsby”, is a popular book of impossible love, dreams, and tragedy. It takes place in the roaring twenties, following the life of members of the wealthy class; Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway, Daisy Buchanan, and Tom Buchanan. The point of view is from a man, in search of achieving his dream to become an author. This soon to be writer, is stuck in the middle of intense drama amongst the opposing sides of the bay. “The Great Gatsby” explores themes of social upheaval, and the overwhelming obsession with wealth. In this time era, wealth, social status and the society itself made everyone a subject to change, in villainous ways, but of all characters, i saw the most vile attributes in Tom Buchanan. Tom was caught in a web of lies, he cheated
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.
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 eyes are a one-way street to a person’s soul. Throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby, there are many connections between eyes and a greater symbol, which symbol lies deep within the story. The reader is given small hints through the story on how the character truly is, based on descriptions of the character’s eyes. Throughout The Great Gatsby, the eyes of various characters are used as a symbol, from the symbol of being able to reveal true personalities to being an all mighty figure.
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.
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald reveals to us our narrator Gatsby’s neighbor and cousin of the lovely, but shallow Daisy Buchanan, Nick Carraway, who construes to us about the infamous and mysterious Jay Gatsby. From the lavish parties, living in the fictional West Egg, and symbolic yellow car, who is Jay Gatsby? Jay Gatsby is a man blinded by his own greed and imagination. All he wants in life is money and love and the only way he affords his lavish lifestyle is by participating in crime. The era that this story takes place in, which is the 20’s, an era of economic prosperity, reflects greatly on the action...
... 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 Great Gatsby is set during the Jazz Age of the 1920's. This era was a time of partying, drinking, and enjoying life. The Jazz Age of prosperity encouraged many to become rich and a part of the upper class. For many people, this dream remained unachievable unless they were born into wealthy families. Although some people accomplished their desired rise to the top, they still were lacking true happiness. F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby demonstrates the corruption of the American Dream through the unquenchable desire for wealth.
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.
...rom the elite rich, who possess old money. Tom also claims that Gatsby “threw dust into your eyes just like he did in Daisy’s”, (142) and can be said to be using his false wealth to mislead and confuse Daisy and Nick into thinking he is someone of their standards, which shows that Gatsby is not recognised as one of their class. This undercuts the glamorous wealth associated with Gatsby, and the ideal of equality in the American Dream.
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: Unfaithfulness and Greed. The love described in the novel, The Great Gatsby, contains "violence and egoism not tenderness and affection." The author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, writes on wealth, love, and corruption. Two coupes, Tom and Daisy Buchanan and George and Myrtle Wilson, match perfectly with these categories. Both couples are different in the way they choose to live together, but are similar in a few ways. Unfaithfulness and greed are the only similarities the couples shared.
Hugh Hefner once said, “I looked back on the roaring Twenties, with its jazz, 'Great Gatsby' and the pre-Code films as a party I had somehow managed to miss.” The parties of the Roaring Twenties were used to symbolize wealth and power in a society that was focused more on materialism and gossip than the important things in life, like family, security, and friends. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, portrays the characters of Tom and Daisy Buchanan as the epitome of the era. The reader sees these characters acting selfishly and trying to meddle with others’ lives. On the other hand, Nick Carraway, the narrator, acts more to help others and act honestly. Initially the reader sees Carraway’s views towards Jay Gatsby as negative as Gatsby’s actions are perceived as being like the Buchanan’s. As the novel moves forward, the reader notices a change in Carraway’s attitude towards Gatsby. Carraway sees Gatsby for whom he truly is, and that is a loving person who only became rich to win Daisy’s heart. But in this the reader also sees how corrupt and hurtful Gatsby’s actions were to the love of his life. Gatsby’s relationship with Daisy reveals that just as Gatsby’s dream of wooing Daisy is corrupted by illegalities and dishonesty, the “American Dream” of friendship and individualism has disintegrated into the simple pursuit of wealth, power, and pleasure.
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.