The “Roaring 20’S” And The “Jazz Age” Produced Great Literature.

The most important symbol to show deeper meaning in The Great Gatsby is the green light on Daisy’s dock. The green light is presented as mysterious.

F. Scott Fitzgerald includes many motifs and symbols within The Great Gatsby. One important motif is the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg. Fitzgerald ultimately uses the eyes to show disapproval and criticism of society and how God watches over everyone and everything. The eyes of Dr. Eckleburg represents the all seeing, overlooking eyes of God. The eyes of Dr. Eckleburg develops religion as the desire of wealth and social class have replaced spiritual values in American society during the 1920s.

The green light is a significant symbol closely associated with Gatsby’s dream. Readers are first introduced to the green light near the very beginning of the novel; it is located at the end of Daisy’s dock. Nick, the narrator of the novel, sees Gatsby peculiarly reaching out towards the water, so curiously, Nick goes to further observe what Gatsby is looking at and he sees "...nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock" (25). The green light is a representation of Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for his future. Gatsby’s reaching for the light represents his struggle to reach his goal, regaining Daisy as his companion. Gatsby’s mission to win Daisy becomes broadly associated with the American Dream. As long as long as Gatsby continues admiring the green light his hopes and dreams will continue to exist. As the novel progresses Nick discovers more about his neighbor Gatsby. Nick learns that Gatsby bought his particular house because it was the closest he could get to Daisy across the bay. Gatsby’s believes his luxurious mansion and his life style is an essential component to help him fulfill his dream. The symbol of the green light becomes even more distinct when Gatsby decides to show Daisy it. He says, "If it wasn't for the mist we could see your home across the bay... You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock”

Gatsby is mostly a very shrouded character in this book, as Nick is always imagining, speculating and talking about Gatsby. There never really is a clear representation of Gatsby, as his character throughout this book is a mysterious presence. This quote is interesting, because Gatsby seems to be longing for something, like the green light that he was reaching for in the end of Chapter 2, but in this quote, it represents Gatsby as a docile, peaceful man. To Nick, it seems like he favours Gatsby very much, almost as a benevolent presence with simply one smile. This quote characterises Gatsby very simply; Gatsby has an aura of being a very self-assured, confident rich man who is very sure of himself. He has built a great but mysterious career, and as a result, earned a lot of money that allows him to throw parties every Saturday for everyone except for himself. Perhaps in this quote the readers can understand that Gatsby is a thoughtful person who is omniscient. As the reader proceeds however, they realise that self-assured Gatsby is simply a facade; the real Gatsby underneath it, is more childish and

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

Eckleburg are really a billboard for an optician in Queens, however, if you start at the beginning, they mean so much more than that. We see that the setting of the novel is described as a very dismal place, lacking hope, dark and brooding, when Fitzgerald calls it 'gray land'; that 'drifts endlessly.'; Then, all of a sudden, the bright eyes of Dr. Eckleburg appear on the horizon. The blueness and the size of the eyes give the reader a sense of the sky, and heavens with God in them. The lack of a full face also gives you idea of Godliness because in society we are never really given a good description of what God looks like. Also, the color yellow in the glasses of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg gives the idea of sun, which brings us back to the idea of the sky. Only this time, we get a sense of hopefulness from the eyes to combat the sense of despair from the land surrounding them. The eyes being described as dimming over time gives the illusion of loss of hope due to the bleakness of the area. The idea of the eyes being out under the sun and rain gives lends a thought to the fact that God is watching these characters, in good times and in bad, and no matter how terrible the setting gets.

A symbol can be anything that represents something else in a story or something that has a deep effect on the story. Symbols can be an object, a character, an animal, a color, etc. Being a great writer, Fitzgerald has used symbols in a very effective manner. In Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby has been in love with Daisy for a quite long time. While he was at the war, she marries a rude yet a rich guy named Tom Buchanan. Desiring to win her back, Gatsby transmutes himself into a wealthy person. He conducts parties every weekend hoping to see her there. Finally, when she meets him, everything turns out badly. Fitzgerald, in this novel uses various symbols to make it more fascinating and these symbols mainly represents the life in America in the 1920’s and the American dream.

The green light first emerges before we even meet Gatsby, but is important to him because Nick can see him as “he stretched out his arms toward… a single green light, minute and far away, that may have been at the end of a dock” (21). The light represents Daisy and his wanting for her, as well as Gatsby attempting to reach his dream, which Daisy later becomes a part of. The green light appears again at the end of the book when Nick has “thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock” The light also represented Gatsby’s dream of being successful and “his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it” (180). The light has always illustrated Daisy and Gatsby would look for it to feel close to her. He also uses it as a guide for his dream, but now that Gatsby is dead, it is just a green light Nick sees as a reminder of the friend he loses

Through the repetition of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes, it becomes clear that the motif is more than the superficial meaning. Fitzgerald’s choice of setting is in the Roaring Twenties, where people fixate on their materialistic desire and in the process, neglect their spiritual values. In New York City, where wealth and fame are valued over all others, human moral slowly diminishes. As a reminder, Fitzgerald used Doctor T.J Eckleburg to represent that all unethical acts cannot escape God’s eyes. Nick is punctilious in noticing the strangeness of those gigantic eyes that overlook the entire city, yet his feeling is unspeakable. Nick recounts, “But his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days under sun and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping ground” (Fitzgerald 24). As time goes by, the eyes witness more and more defunct humanity leading to the dimming of the eyes, symbolizing God’s dwindling faith toward mankind. To add to this disapproving tone, Fitzgerald portrays the road to New York City as sullen through phrases like “valley of ashes” and “small foul river”. The “valley of ashes” also symbolizes the moral decay from the continuously pursuit of wealth and the deteriorating beauty of nature due to industrialization. From the pessimistic introduction, it foreshadows the later downfall of the plot. Starting from the first encounter, Nick has an indescribable feeling derived from the cogent stare. For example, as Nick and Tom slowly “walked back a hundred yards along the road under Doctor Eckleburg's persistent

Soon after this, George moves Myrtle to where the eyes can see them and tells her that she “can’t fool God” (Fitzgerald 159). This quote is important because it proves that the billboard of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg's eyes are meant to represent God. Fitzgerald makes this even more clear by placing George and Myrtle by the window where the billboard can clearly see

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

Symbolism provides an imagery that helps facilitate a deeper understanding. Taking place in the 1920’s, The Great Gatsby, is set during a time when society both put up facades while also striving to achieve wealth and high social status. The classic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald cleverly uses multiple symbols throughout the novel to expose the issues with society at that time. The ultimate goal of this novel is to elaborate the class struggles and illustrate the goal to achieve of American dream. The Great Gatsby, The author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, uses the infamous green light, the metaphor of an egg, and pearls to show and support the overall theme of the American Dream.

The Great Gatsby is one of the most read pieces of literature throughout the current modern Western world. High school kids all across the globe must learn and read it as part of their curriculum. One of the aspects that makes this novel so notable is that Fitzgerald, at no point in the story, needs to convey to his audience the theme of his novel directly. The main points of his novel are brought out by the powerful symbols he infuses in the book. Not only does he use them to convey his theme, but also ties them in to the rest of the story. Every aspect of this book is affected by the presence of one of his symbols. Through the use of the green light, the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, and the Valley of the Ashes as symbols,

At the end of Daisy’s dock, there is a green light. The green light symbolizes Gatsby’s hopes and dreams of being with Daisy. The detachment among the two characters is represented with the green light. The light also signifies Gatsby’s desire for money since that is the only way he can win Daisy.

J. Eckleburg” he describes them in a way that is somewhat eerie, they are described as “blue and gigantic” and that “They look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent nose" Nick goes on giving a descriptive acknowledgment of these eyes until finally explaining the eyes in fact belong to an unkempt billboard. This is symbolism as the billboard is unkempt and forgotten about much like everything else in the Valley. It is as though Fitzgerald wrote this purposely to give your mind, ominous imagery to perhaps give the reader their own personal idea of what the eyes could be. It seems the billboard is placed ironically, as people don’t generally like to waste their sights on the valley, but the billboards eyes “brood” over the valley. This perhaps could be seen as a godlike figure in the book, as even though the “yellow spectacles”are placed on a “non-existent nose, ” they still see and witness all that goes on; much like the ‘all seeing