Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

One of the first symbols Fitzgerald use is The Valley of Ashes “This is a valley of ashe’s a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take farms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally with transcendent effort of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (Fitzgerald 23). The Valley of Ashes is described in such great detail because it shows how beauty can be destroyed by greed. “Fitzgerald’s valley of ashes has been frequently compared to Eliot’s “Waste Land,” but the difference are more instructive than the similarities. Eliot’s waste and land is not, in terms of its imagery and mythology specifically Christian”(Elmore 433). The Valley of Ashes is a dead land that has a board over it that looks as if it is the eyes of God that sees all things.

The tragic and coincidental events that occur in the Valley of Ashes are viewed through the eyes of Dr. T.

T.J. Eckleburg. During the second time seeing the eyes, they are presented as a warning for Nick. This is seen when the group is on their way to Manhattan and they stop for gas and the narrator says, “Then as Doctor T.J. Eckleburg's faded eyes came into sight down the road, I remembered Gatsby's caution about gasoline” (Fitzgerald, 99). In this they end up stopping at Wilsons garage to fill up on gas and he talks about how he has found out that Myrtle is having an affair. Myrtle sees Tom in the yellow car and assumes it is his, so the next time she sees it she goes to run out to it to stop it but gets hit and dies. The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg are believed to be the eyes of God or watchful presence by some of the characters. This is seen when Wilson is looking out his window to the billboard and says to Michaelis, “God knows what you've been doing, everything you've been doing. You may fool me but you can't fool God!” (Fitzgerald, 131). It means Myrtles lies could have gone past him without any consequences but when “God” figured this out she could not have gone unpunished which is the reason Wilson believes she was murdered. Therefore, the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg bring out a deeper meaning throughout The Great

Gatsby is a symbolic figure created by Jay Gatz. An idea of who he wanted to become to please himself and fill his incompleteness. Freud said the symbolic was an “idea of the self that depends on an idea of the loss of the self because we cannot recognize selfhood unless we compare it to its absence” (Parker. 140). Jay Gatz absences come primarily from his low self-steam, insecurities, and regression.

“The Great Gatsby” written by F. Scott Fitzgerald takes place during the roaring 20’s, an especially great time for the wealthy. Symbolism is used thoroughly throughout the book to allow us to see how differently people see things and how we are affected by certain things that are out of our control. The color green is used to make us aware of money, wealth, even the future such as the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. Here it symbolizes the future that Gatsby hopes to resume with Daisy. The Valley of Ashes symbolizes the desperation of the lower class, and the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleberg, the eyes of “God”, symbolizes the fact that there is someone watching and judging all that happens. It was a very desperate time.

In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, he uses an abundance of symbolism to convey the theme of not being able to repeat the past. Some primary examples of symbolism used are the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock, the rain just before Gatsby meets Daisy for the first time in five years, and the clock that Gatsby knocks over while meeting Daisy. The three of these things are all concrete objects that represent the central idea of what’s in the past is stuck there. They all function together to support this central theme by working toward the purpose that there is only one direction in life: forward. The symbols in The Great Gatsby assist the theme of leaving the past in the past by showing that no matter how hard one person tries to regain what they once had, it is simply impossible.

Through the Eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg Throughout the iconic American novel of the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg to show the influence of God observing all the chaos amongst The Valley of the Ashes. These eyes are cast upon an old worn out billboard overlooking the valley as numerous “sinful” events occur. For instance when the eyes are first introduced described as, “The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic... But his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days under sun and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping ground” (Fitzgerald 28). When used, “brood” describes one when they are unhappy or concerned towards those they are observing.

Topic 2: The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are gigantic and blue, painted on an old billboard over the valley of ashes, this gigantic pair of eyes are clearly

The “Eyes of T.J. Eckleburg” are a pair of fading, eyeglasses painted on an old advertising billboard over the valley of ashes are found in chapter 2. Some say the glasses represent God judging America society as a moral wasteland and the valley of ashes under the billboard may be symbolic of the poor, like George Wilson. The connection of the eyes and God

In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the story is told from the first person point of view through Nick Carraway, retelling the accounts of the protagonist, Jay Gatsby. Throughout this novel, Jay Gatsby strives to be with his so called "true love", Daisy, but soon finds out that she married another man, which creates conflict between many of the characters. The Great Gatsby has an abundance of symbols throughout the text, including the Valley of Ashes representing the moral and social decay of society in the 1920s, the green light which symbolizes Gatsby 's desire to have Daisy as well as the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg representing God piercing down upon and judging the American society of this era.

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

Among the ash heaps, the dark bridge, and the eyes of Dr. Eckleburg, there is no greater sense of religion. In this purgatory of New York, however, where sins bite and consciences nag, "the giant eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg [keep] their vigil" (131). He watches, as God does, as the worlds of George Wilson and Myrtle, Gatsby, Daisy and Tom collide and dissolve, leaving the tangled mess that had arisen shattered and dead among the debris of his universe.

First, the valley of ashes represents the moral and social decay that results from the uninhibited pursuit of wealth. This is because the rich indulge themselves with regard for nothing but their own pleasure, the plight of the poor, like George Wilson, who live among the dirty ashes and are abused by it. Then this Valley is left to the outside world because of its status and no one cares about what goes on there unless it direct affects the rich or if that person lives there. This place is watched by Doctor T. J. Eckleburg’s eyes which is a later symbol but both are intertwined due to how close the two are and due to meaning given to the eyes by some of the novels characters. Then in other critical essays the valley has been said as, ““This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat … and ash-gray men swarm. …” Here, instead of God observing the actions of the humans involved in the impending tragedy, an occultist’s giant advertisement looks down and ‘broods on

Eckleburg in the valley of ashes represent the eyes of god. Above the gray, the billboard adds a little color with its “[blue irises that look out of yellow spectacles]” (Fitzgerald C2). The color seperates the billboard from the gray in the valley of ashes, making it noticeable from a distance and an important symbol. Nick describes the eyes as “[brooding] on over the solemn dumping ground,” which is how George Wilson thinks of it too. This is evidenced when he looks at the billboard and tells Michaelis that god was watching Myrtle closely and that “[Myrtle] cannot fool god!” (Fitzgerald C8). Even though Myrtle cheated on Wilson, this did not stop him from loving her and he took to the fact that the person who ran over Myrtle did not go undetected by

The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald focuses on class aspirations in America, most importantly, Long Island, New York, which is split into three sections, West Egg, East Egg and the Valley of Ashes. Above the Valley of Ashes are a pair of hazy eyes that belongs to Doctor T.J. Eckleburg illustrated on a billboard. The eyes are representative of the eyes of God. They look down upon the people who pass through the valley and judge them. It seems as though this God simply watches over the people and maybe even protects them, but near the end of the novel, that idea appears to be the opposite of what the God really does.