Is Dr. T. J. Eckleburg Important In The Great Gatsby

Apaar Anand
English III (A Period)
Gatsby Final Paper
November 4, 2014
Ms. Magnuson

He’s always watching The setting of the Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald takes place in the 1920s or the so-called “roaring twenties.” This pre-depression decade symbolized many idea and the themes of old money vs. new money, the jazz age, and new ways that were used when it came to making money. In the valley of ashes, the poorest part of Long Island, between the richer East and West Eggs, the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg are an apparent feature on a billboard. They represent a higher power or god that watches and judges American society for their actions such as infidelity, hollowness, and commercialism. As a symbol, the eyeglasses allow for the reader

T.J. Eckleburg, whose face is meant for an advertisement for an eye doctor or optometrist. However, it is important to note that this billboard is placed in the valley of ashes, an area that is described as poor, desolate, and dirty. The use of the descriptive word gigantic, expresses the idea of one “having an eye on you.” The sinking of “eternal blindness” that is conveyed in the passage adds to the illusion that the eyes ---. Finally in the last sentence the idea is represented that the eyes have been there for a while, but no longer care about what they see. It goes along with the idea of the new money and old, where the rich and the poor or so different. In the view of the reader, in the beginning of the book, the eyes act a higher power that judges American society at the

When George confronts Myrtle and tells her that she can’t fool god, one will realize that just like the eyes of Eckleburg see everything so does God. The only character that has any religious ties, George’s comparison to god shows his outrage at his predicament and his assertion and belief that God’s presence is non-existent, as nothing good happens to good people, like him. In his predicament, not only is his marriage in jeopardy, but also his garage is on the verge of closing down. Wilsons’s feelings go along with the idea of Eckleburg’s’ view on the hollowness of the American dream. The idea of the “American dream” is that someone who works hard over a long time can be more successful. However, there is a condescending view of the American dream, which is why the reader may believe that the American dream isn’t alive. For some like Gatsby and the Buchannans it works well, but more honest people like Wilson, this ideology fails. The idea that for many poor people their dreams fail is why the face of Eckleburg frowns on the