Connection Between The Eyes And God In The Great Gatsby

In the beginning of chapter two, Nick is describing the Valley of Ashes to the reader and introduces one of the key images which is the billboard with Doctor T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes. The Valley of Ashes represents the lack of morals and the social decay that is taking place in the upper during the “Gilded Age.” It also represents the struggles of the poor, specifically George and Myrtle Wilson, and the cycle that they are trapped in. The image of Eckleburg’s eyes is a reminder throughout the story that someone is always watching. They are first mentioned when Nick and Tom are on their way to see Tom’s mistress, Myrtle Wilson. “They look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-existent nose” (2.23).

The connection between the eyes and God is officially made by George Wilson in his grief at the end of the novel and shows the meaninglessness of the things that the characters believed were important. At the beginning of the novel Nick tells the reader that his father once told him, “whenever you feel like criticizing anyone…just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had” (1.1). He is looking back on this summer after he has already gone back out West. Nick’s perspective as the omniscient narrator allows him to have his judgements, but also lets him handle situations without having a bias. He is not particularly close to Daisy or Tom and he has never met Jordan Baker or Gatsby. Therefore, his opinions are constructed and only viable after these events