There are various forms of symbolism in the novel The Great Gatsby, but there are three that are very important and must be understood for the reader to fully enjoy the ideas in the novel. The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckelburg, otherwise known as the “Eyes of God”, overlook the “Valley of Ashes” the eyes watch over everyone, and they see everything that goes on. The valley of ashes symbolize the decay of society, it also links back to World War One symbolizing the areas between the trenches known as “No Man’s Land”. There is a green light that shines at the end of the dock at Gatsby’s house that symbolizes his hope of him and Daisy being together. Through the symbolic ideas in this novel such as, the Eyes of God, The …show more content…
The eyes of God in reality are just a bill board but they mean so much more than that. The billboard standing there gives the people hope that it is there watching but also a feeling of nothingness because God is doing nothing to help them (Interpreting…). The hollowed empty eyes that appeared on the bill board gave the people that inhabited the Valley a sense that God no longer lived.
The Valley of Ashes symbolizes the downfall and decay of society. A lot of what happens in the valley is mostly made up of greed, crime, and corruption. The valley also symbolizes the area between the trenches in World War One known as No Man’s Land (Shmoop). This area is tore up and littered with shrapnel and dead human bodies. The valley overall symbolizes a bad place where everything that happens here is negative and corrupt. The Green light at the end of Gatsby’s dock symbolizes the hope that he had for Daisy to come back (Ashley). Throughout the entirety of the novel Gatsby is trying to get Daisy back with him because she is the love of his life. The light shining every night was to show her that he was there waiting for her whenever she decided to return that he would be there. Although the green light also could have symbolized money showing Daisy that he was no longer poor and that he could give her everything that her heart