In the story, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there is a major symbol apparent throughout the story: a billboard with a pair of eyes that represent Dr. T.J. Eckleburg’s eye doctor business. This billboard is situated in the Valley of Ashes between the “Eggs” and New York. As the story progresses, a few of the book’s characters give insight about the possibilities of what the billboard might represent; the billboard symbolizes God, moral decay, and the death of the American dream. One of the symbols shown through the billboard of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg is God, when the characters of this book behave without thinking about others or regard of what is right or wrong. There is a lack of religion throughout this book- nobody shows interest
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Many people in this story showed a lack of morals and did as they pleased without any regards of their actions. The billboard of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg looks down and watches the lack of everyone’s morality. Jordan Baker, a professional golfer and a friend of Tom and Daisy Buchanan, was one of the first people to display dishonesty; she often cheated and lied about her performance on each hole. Another example of immorality would be Tom and Myrtle’s affair. Tom Buchanan used the excuse of Daisy being a catholic as an excuse for not divorcing her because in Catholic religion, the act of divorce is morally wrong. Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship was also another example of immorality. Gatsby was a bootlegger and this illegal profession helped him earn his wealth. Mr.Wolfsheim, directly linked with Gatsby’s riches, was a member of the mob and had people killed. The worst case of this book showing immorality is the fact that two people were murdered and one committed suicide. “‘It ripped her open-’ ‘Don’t tell me, old sport.’ He winced. ‘Anyhow- Daisy stepped on it. I tried to make her stop, but she couldn’t, so I pulled on the emergency brake. Then she fell over into my lap and I drove home’”(Fitzgerald 144). This quote shows how a person was murdered and the people that killed her barely cared about the …show more content…
The billboard of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg expresses this idea because of where the billboard is located- in the Valley of Ashes above Mr. Wilson’s house. Mr. Wilson is an example of a person who has been working hard in his garage and still can’t make enough money to completely support his family. The truth is that for every Buchanan family there is a thousand Wilson families that can barely support themselves. The American dream also appears dead when Jay Gatsby tells Nick about how Mr. Wolfsheim and he made all of their money illegally and did not care how anyone else was affected. Another glimpse of the American dream being dead was when Gatsby told Nick about his youth and how he worked for Dan Cody. Gatsby had been working for Dan Cody for several years. When Cody, mysteriously died, Gatsby was left a significant amount of money but didn’t receive any of the inheritance. “And it was from Cody that he inherited money- a legacy of twenty-five thousand dollars. He didn’t get it. He never understood the legal device that was used against him, but what remained of the millions went intact to Ella Kaye” (Fitzgerald 100). This quote represents people that work hard, might not end up with anything in the long
Many people in this story showed a lack of morals and did as they pleased without any regards of their actions. The billboard of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg looks down and watches the lack of everyone’s morality. Jordan Baker, a professional golfer and a friend of Tom and Daisy Buchanan, was one of the first people to display dishonesty; she often cheated and lied about her performance on each hole. Another example of immorality would be Tom and Myrtle’s affair. Tom Buchanan used the excuse of Daisy being a catholic as an excuse for not divorcing her because in Catholic religion, the act of divorce is morally wrong. Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship was also another example of immorality. Gatsby was a bootlegger and this illegal profession helped him earn his wealth. Mr.Wolfsheim, directly linked with Gatsby’s riches, was a member of the mob and had people killed. The worst case of this book showing immorality is the fact that two people were murdered and one committed suicide. “‘It ripped her open-’ ‘Don’t tell me, old sport.’ He winced. ‘Anyhow- Daisy stepped on it. I tried to make her stop, but she couldn’t, so I pulled on the emergency brake. Then she fell over into my lap and I drove home’”(Fitzgerald 144). This quote shows how a person was murdered and the people that killed her barely cared about the …show more content…
The billboard of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg expresses this idea because of where the billboard is located- in the Valley of Ashes above Mr. Wilson’s house. Mr. Wilson is an example of a person who has been working hard in his garage and still can’t make enough money to completely support his family. The truth is that for every Buchanan family there is a thousand Wilson families that can barely support themselves. The American dream also appears dead when Jay Gatsby tells Nick about how Mr. Wolfsheim and he made all of their money illegally and did not care how anyone else was affected. Another glimpse of the American dream being dead was when Gatsby told Nick about his youth and how he worked for Dan Cody. Gatsby had been working for Dan Cody for several years. When Cody, mysteriously died, Gatsby was left a significant amount of money but didn’t receive any of the inheritance. “And it was from Cody that he inherited money- a legacy of twenty-five thousand dollars. He didn’t get it. He never understood the legal device that was used against him, but what remained of the millions went intact to Ella Kaye” (Fitzgerald 100). This quote represents people that work hard, might not end up with anything in the long