Doctor T. Eckleburg Symbolism

The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, symbolic of a higher power, loom over the Valley of Ashes, ever-present and watchful, passing judgment on not only the immorality of individual characters, but also on the East as a whole. When Nick first notices the painted eyes, he comments, “above the gray land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it, you perceive, after a moment, the eyes of Doctor T.J.

Another symbol that Fitzgerald uses in The Great Gatsby is the bill board with T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes. “But above the gray land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it, you perceive, after a moment, the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg. The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue 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 nonexistent nose. Evidently some wild wag of an oculist set them there to fatten his practice in the borough of Queens, and then sank down himself into eternal blindness, or forgot them and moved away. But his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days under sun and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping ground.”(Fitzgerald 23-24). Fitzgerald uses T.J. Eckleburg's as a symbol to represent God’s

The eyes of T.J. Eckleburg can be seen as if someone is looking over you which is described as, “above the grey land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it, you perceive, after a moment, the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg” (Fitzgerald 23). You can see his eyes in the sky and above land. His eyes are gigantic and he does not have a nose. The eyes do not look out of a face, but out of glasses. T.J. Eckleburg's eyes can be symbolic to God. They are always looking over you like God is. His eyes see everything, as you are constantly being watched. When you look out you can see Eckleburg's eyes just like how you know God is the man above you. Eckleburg's eyes are symbolic to God watching over you.

One of the most significant associations between religion and this world renown novel is the connection between the ‘eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg’ and God himself. The ‘eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg’ are first introduced in chapter two, and the literal presentation of this symbol is that it is a billboard of an oculist (eye doctor), and its purpose is to serve as an advertisement to this doctor's business, “But above the gray land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it, you perceive, after a moment, the eyes of Doctor T.J Eckleburg”. (Fitzgerald 23) In chapter eight, Mr. Wilson is talking to his neighbor, Michaelis, about the events that occurred right before Myrtle's death, ““I spoke to her," he muttered, after a long silence. "I told her she might fool me but she couldn’t fool God. I took her to the window"..."and I said ‘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.” (Fitzgerald 160) Wilson had found out that Myrtle has been having an affair with another man, (Tom) and explains that the eyes on

Eckleburg. Since the billboard is placed in a poor area that has no hope of good health, the true meaning of the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg can be interpreted as the symbol for the eyes of god, the god of the spoiled American dream that encourages people to forget about everyone else and everything else and just focus on their “dream” to be super rich. The only image that represents the God are the eyes of Dr. J. L. Eckleburg that are looking at everyone from the billboard advertising glasses. These eyes serve as a symbol of hope for the wretched people of the valley of ashes who aspire to become wealthy with the progress of the “American Dream”. These previously hopeless people of the valley, instead of looking up to the sky for god’s light, would only be met with the gaze coming from this deity on the billboard. The eyes allude to being the eyes of god of the material world because they, just like the eyes of most gods of religions, are all seeing. This omnipotent aspect is evident throughout the novel and one of the events is when George Wilson recalls his last moments with Myrtle before she died, he ends his recollection saying, “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”. The eyes are, without any

The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg mean something different to everybody in the book. To Nick, they symbolize the haunting waste of the past. He uses terms such as “Eckleburg’s persistent stare” and “haunting, unblinking eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg” (Fitzgerald 24)to explain why he thinks this. To George Wilson, the eyes represent the eyes of God, which see everything. In chapter 8, Wilson says his wife could fool him, but she couldn’t fool God, and he says “God sees everything” (Fitzgerald 160). He’s looking at the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg when he says this.

The eyes of T.J. Eckleberg are repeated several times in this novel. This was a billboard that was put up by Wilson’s garage and is significant to the one of the novel’s themes, lies and deceit in that Wilson’s wife Myrtle was having an affair

These eyes, the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, represent many things to the characters in this novel. He represents, hope, despair, and God, all while staring

In the novel, the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg are represented as the eyes of God that is occurring in different parts of the book. all of the In Chapter 8, George Wilson is in an argument with Myrtle, and scolds her

The use of symbolism is evident in the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleberg. Fitzgerald's use of Doctor T. J. Eckleberg, symbolizes the love of Gatsby for Daisy. The “blue and gigantic” (Fitzgerald 27) eyes of Eckleberg present the

Another symbol used in The Great Gatsby is the Valley of Ashes. The Valley of Ashes is located between West Egg and New York City, and all it is, is land with the dumping of industrial ashes all over it. It represents the moral and social decay that results from wealth, as the rich enjoy nothing but their own pleasure. It also symbolizes the poor who live among the dirty ashes and lose their strength as a result. “This is a valley of ashes-a fantastic farm where ashes grown like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens, where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powder air.”(27) Looking over the valley of ashes are the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg. “The Eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic…they look out of no face, but instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles.”(27) The Eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg could represent God staring down on the American society. They’re just a pair of fading eyes painted on an old billboard over the valley of ashes. Fitzgerald uses the eyes to suggest symbols only mean something because of the characters put meaning in them. George Wilson makes the connection of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes symbolizing God. They could also represent the meaninglessness of the

The eyes of T.J. Eckleburg in George Wilson mind are symbols for the eyes of God.

The eyes of T.J. Eckleberg and and Owl Eyes are used throughout the story and are both recurring. Owl Eyes is a very minor character in the grand scheme of things, but his eyes are one of the most important pairs. Before the novel has taken

J. Eckleburg just so happen to be looking down upon the garage/house of Tom Buchanan’s mistress Myrtle Wilson. Fitzgerald reveals the eyes at this specific timing due to the fact that it allows the reader to understand that someone is always watching and no secret is safe. Therefore, The Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are used to illustrate as God consistently is staring down upon the sins of the American society. In similarity, the relation between the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg and God is presented to the reader through George Wilson’s grief-stricken mind. During a private moment between George Wilson and Michaelis: “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. "God sees everything," repeated Wilson” (Fitzgerald chapter 8). This time, it is clearly stated through George Wilson that The Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg do represent God laying eyes upon the Valley of

Another major symbol in this novel is the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg. These are a pair of spectacles painted on an old billboard in the Valley of Ashes. The significant aspect is that this symbol only has meaning when other characters instill it with meaning. The eyes represent a higher power looking over the