The Symbolic Meaning of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg's Eyes
Many writers use symbols in their works in order to show different aspects of life. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbols in his most famous book, The Great Gatsby. There is a green light that represents Jay Gatsby's hope for a future with Daisy Buchanan. He sees the light from across the bay and believes that it a sign that he should try to win back Daisy's affection. However, the most important symbol in the entire book is probably the enormous eyes painted on an advertisement billboard. First introduced on page 27, the billboard is an old advertisement for an oculist. The eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleberg, as they were named, are described as "...blue and gigantic - their retinas (pupils or irises) are one yard high" (p. 27) and "...dimmed a little by many paintless days under the sun and rain, brood over the solemn dumping ground" (p. 28). The billboard overlooks the Valley of Ashes, a wasteland where "ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills, and grotesque gardens" (p.27). People have long polluted this area with dumped ashes, garbage, and manure. The eyes are representative of the eyes of God. They look
down upon the people who pass through the valley and judge them. While they can still be thought of as the eyes of God, it may be more correct to assume that the fact that they are fading means that the God that judges morality has been abandoned and replaced by the evils of money and status. It was also a penalization for Tom, since he lost his mistress when Myrtle died. The thought that the paintings are the eyes of God could just be the angered ramblings of a troubled husband to his cheating wife. You may fool me but you can't fool God!" (p. Since these eyes watch over the people, they see all of the things that people do - good or bad. First, the fact that Daisy killed Myrtle was torturous to Gatsby because he realized that she was not the infallible creature that he remembered her being or that he wanted her to be. This could be considered Gatsby's punishment for not telling anybody the truth about Daisy or for not being honest with people when it came to his past. The actual meaning behind the enormous eyes of Dr. Gatsby did this when he believed that the green light on Daisy's dock was a sign that he should be with Daisy. Jay Gatsby was another person penalized because of Myrtle's death. Eckleberg, it could be argued that the appearance of the eyes has a completely meaning than their actual position in the Valley of Ashes. Many times, elements are read too much into and given meanings that are not really there. In reality, the light was actually just the lamp that was placed on the end of the Buchanan's dock.
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