Symbolism is used throughout the course of this novel. Fitzgerald uses many good symbols including the green light and the eyes of T.J. Eckleberg. This book was written in a time when Americans were living very well, but their lives were to be decaying shortly. This played an important role in determining how these symbols were used, and Fitzgerald did a very good job of displaying that.
             The biggest symbol in The Great Gatsby was the green light at the end of the dock. This is the light that is positioned at the end of Daisy's dock in East Egg, while Gatsby lives in West Egg. This light symbolizes Gatsby's hopes and dreams for the future and also for Daisy. In chapter 1 Gatsby is seen standing in his yard reaching out towards the green light. "...He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way..."(Gatsby 25) This light is very important, and it serves as Gatsby's guide through life.
             Another important symbol in the story is the eyes of T. J. Eckleburg. The eyes are a pair of fading eyes painted on an old billboard overlooking part of the area. In one way they represent the eyes of God because they are omniscient. They also stand for an all-seeing narrator because the eyes act like they know everything that is occurring in the story, and they are watching over everybody when they do it. "But his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days under sun and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping ground." (Gatsby 28) With the eyes on this billboard, everybody's life is being watched all the time.
             One other symbol is the "valley of ashes." This is an area between West Egg and New York where there is an area of desolate land. This area symbolizes the decay of America in result from the pursuit of wealth, when the rich people involve themselves in everything without any regard for others. "This is a valley of ashes – a fantastic farm w
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