In the words of Nick Carraway, “It is invariably saddening to look through new eyes at things upon which you have expended your own powers of adjustment” (Fitzgerald 104). This is especially true when looking through the typically pessimistic eyes of any modernist author. Modernism is a movement made to disillusion individuals to the shortcomings and negative aspects of the society in which they live. Many authors of the early 1900s had many similar experiences while growing up in wartime. They were sometimes referred to as the Lost Generation because they had lived through death and began to question the reliability of societal values. Their writing portrayed many common characteristics, among which were the changes in traditional morality
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Eckleburg. In the novel, the Valley of Ashes is an expanse of land between New York City and West Egg. It is the home of the poverty-stricken and underprivileged. It stands for social decay and acts as a wasteland to show the disregard of the wealthy over the destruction they cause in their pursuit of happiness. It is the location of many terrible and immoral plot events. Dr T.J. Eckleburg is an eye doctor who placed a billboard out in the valley to “fatten his practice in the borough of Queens” (24), but has since closed his business. These wary blue weather-worn eyes are next to the Wilsons’ garage. They seem to stare down onto the actions of Fitzgerald’s characters and see everything through their large yellow glasses. His yard-high eyes see Gatsby’s trips into the city, where he goes to earn his pay through illegal bootlegging. Eckleburg also is witness to Myrtle’s affair with Tom. There’s a moment when the two meet glances: “‘Terrible place, isn’t it,’ said Tom, exchanging a frown with Doctor Eckleburg” (26). He follows this with commentary about taking separate train cars because he’s afraid of soiling his reputation by being seen with Myrtle, which symbolically shows his priority of social judgment over spiritual judgment. Other events that he sees include Daisy’s affair with Gatsby, George locking Myrtle up, Myrtle’s death, and the degradation …show more content…
The text relates to present day as much as it does to the past. It demonstrated the shift from classic religion to a new world in which money seemed to be central, and where suddenly the largest following was devoted to capitalism. More importantly, the novel displays the ability to be undone by internal flaws. It removes the illusion that the only force that can destroy something, whether it be as broad as a nation or as specific as a corrupt individual, is an external one. Fitzgerald offers the notion that the worst damage can be done by not knowing where to set boundaries on
Eckleburg. In the novel, the Valley of Ashes is an expanse of land between New York City and West Egg. It is the home of the poverty-stricken and underprivileged. It stands for social decay and acts as a wasteland to show the disregard of the wealthy over the destruction they cause in their pursuit of happiness. It is the location of many terrible and immoral plot events. Dr T.J. Eckleburg is an eye doctor who placed a billboard out in the valley to “fatten his practice in the borough of Queens” (24), but has since closed his business. These wary blue weather-worn eyes are next to the Wilsons’ garage. They seem to stare down onto the actions of Fitzgerald’s characters and see everything through their large yellow glasses. His yard-high eyes see Gatsby’s trips into the city, where he goes to earn his pay through illegal bootlegging. Eckleburg also is witness to Myrtle’s affair with Tom. There’s a moment when the two meet glances: “‘Terrible place, isn’t it,’ said Tom, exchanging a frown with Doctor Eckleburg” (26). He follows this with commentary about taking separate train cars because he’s afraid of soiling his reputation by being seen with Myrtle, which symbolically shows his priority of social judgment over spiritual judgment. Other events that he sees include Daisy’s affair with Gatsby, George locking Myrtle up, Myrtle’s death, and the degradation …show more content…
The text relates to present day as much as it does to the past. It demonstrated the shift from classic religion to a new world in which money seemed to be central, and where suddenly the largest following was devoted to capitalism. More importantly, the novel displays the ability to be undone by internal flaws. It removes the illusion that the only force that can destroy something, whether it be as broad as a nation or as specific as a corrupt individual, is an external one. Fitzgerald offers the notion that the worst damage can be done by not knowing where to set boundaries on