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Judgment In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

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The basis of all judgment is built on the perception of right and wrong. Through different perspectives and beliefs, convictions become truth, and a standard is established for those around us. In our novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ this idea is explored through the lens of a moral decree. Taking place during the Jazz Age of the 1920s, our setting showcases themes of prospering wealth, empty pleasures, and lax morals. Throughout the novel, we tour the indulgent lifestyles of the period. The influences of the storyteller, Nick Carraway, and the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, work to shape our understanding of the fast-changing ideals. Paired in contrast is the symbolism counteracting these perspectives. The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg. Characters and readers alike engage with the eyes through its representation of the righteousness we criticize …show more content…

Throughout the book the eyes are referred to periodically, personified by the characters Nick, Tom, and Wilson. Through their respective perceptions, we are given insight into their views and judgments. Perceived through the eyes of Nick, a look at hedonism in the 1920s is shown to cultivate a moral decline. At the party in the Valley of Ashes, Nick condemns the debauchery of the time. At the beginning of his story, he comments “When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever” When Nick looks at the billboard he sees a critic of the world around him. In the case of Tom “...exchanging a frown with Doctor Eckleburg.” His perception of the eyes condemns the people who live ‘beneath’ him. If the eyes were God, why does Tom feel exempt from the judgment, when he is partaking in sin too? But when viewed by Wilson, after Myrtle’s death, the advert does become God in that moment “I said ‘God knows what you’ve been doing, everything you’ve been doing. You may fool me, but you can’t fool

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Eckleberg's eyes witness some of the novels largest ethical collapses. The first of these is evidenced in Fitzgerald's quote “But above the gray land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessy over it, you percieve, after a moment, the eyes of T.J. Eckleberg”(23). Nick refers to this area as “the valley of ashes”(Fitzgerald 23). The site of the billboard doubles as a representation for the poverty and class system that persisted in the time period, accompanied by the hypocrisy of the country's wealth boasting attitude. In the most literal sense, Eckleberg's eyes are an advertisement, which eludes to the harsh effects of capitalisim on the people who were unable to make it big.

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