Symbols in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Essay

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F. Scott Fitzgerald uses imagery and symbolism to represent bigger ideas in his stories. For his novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald was able to do something most authors aren’t. He was able to approve of the cover of his book. The cover selected was a painting of a nightly city, being watched over by celestial eyes. The eyes stand out in juxtaposition of the rest of the dark blue sky due to their sickly yellow color as a teal tear travels down from the left. However, a closer look at the eyes in the cover show that they irises are blue, and inside the eyes are two women. The surreal art piece has as much symbolism in it as the pages it protects, especially the eyes in which the painting is named for. The women within the eyes on the cover

The first symbol we see appears at the end of Chapter one. It is a

Another symbol that Fitzgerald uses in The Great Gatsby is the bill board with T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes. “But above the gray land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it, you perceive, after a moment, the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg. The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue gigantic-their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent nose. Evidently some wild wag of an oculist set them there to fatten his practice in the borough of Queens, and then sank down himself into eternal blindness, or forgot them and moved away. But his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days under sun and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping ground.”(Fitzgerald 23-24). Fitzgerald uses T.J. Eckleburg's as a symbol to represent God’s

Fitzgerald uses the image of T.K Eckelburg’s eyes to symbolize a godlike figure who happens to see everything going on within their lives. George Wilson stated, "I spoke to her, I told her she might fool me but she couldn't fool God. I took her to the window--and I said 'God knows what you've been doing, everything you've been doing. You may fool me but you can't fool God!... God sees everything"

Dr. T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes stood on a billboard right above the Valley of Ashes,serving as a godly figure watching over the society. The billboard was created as an advertisement for an eye doctor while symbolizing God’s surveillance over the people in the book. These eyes are vividly described as “[. . .] blue and gigantic-their retinas are one yard high. The look out of no face but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-existent nose...his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days under sun and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping ground [. . .]” (23). Fitzgerald portrays the large blue eyes, resembling God’s eyes, as being shaded by the yellow spectacles. The color yellow is seen throughout the novel, representing turmoil and corruption (Gatsby’s car). The color blue, showing the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg, are disrupted by the yellow spectacles, left to see the corrupted society go astray.

“The Great Gatsby” written by F. Scott Fitzgerald takes place during the roaring 20’s, an especially great time for the wealthy. Symbolism is used thoroughly throughout the book to allow us to see how differently people see things and how we are affected by certain things that are out of our control. The color green is used to make us aware of money, wealth, even the future such as the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. Here it symbolizes the future that Gatsby hopes to resume with Daisy. The Valley of Ashes symbolizes the desperation of the lower class, and the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleberg, the eyes of “God”, symbolizes the fact that there is someone watching and judging all that happens. It was a very desperate time.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of The Great Gatsby, includes many symbolic elements in his novel that represent certain themes throughout the book. One of these themes is the struggle to achieve one's dreams. Many characters in this novel each have their own American Dream, but something gets in the way that prevents them from fulfilling their dreams. The theme of not achieving one’s dream is depicted throughout the novel by the green light, the Valley of Ashes, Gatsby's letter to Daisy, the broken clock, and the fruit rinds and dead flowers.

Another symbol used in The Great Gatsby is the Valley of Ashes. The Valley of Ashes is located between West Egg and New York City, and all it is, is land with the dumping of industrial ashes all over it. It represents the moral and social decay that results from wealth, as the rich enjoy nothing but their own pleasure. It also symbolizes the poor who live among the dirty ashes and lose their strength as a result. “This is a valley of ashes-a fantastic farm where ashes grown like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens, where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powder air.”(27) Looking over the valley of ashes are the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg. “The Eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic…they look out of no face, but instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles.”(27) The Eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg could represent God staring down on the American society. They’re just a pair of fading eyes painted on an old billboard over the valley of ashes. Fitzgerald uses the eyes to suggest symbols only mean something because of the characters put meaning in them. George Wilson makes the connection of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes symbolizing God. They could also represent the meaninglessness of the

In The Great Gatsby, the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg is a representation of God, a pure and holy figure, watching the sea of corruption. This is represented through the billboard’s location, high above a monotone land known as the Valley of Ashes. “But above the gray land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it, you perceive, after a moment, the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg” (23). Depicted as striking an blue, the eyes embody the idea that God is always watching. Because the eyes are also decorated with a pair of yellow spectacles, this is a representation of God carefully examining the world, since glasses are used to see more clearly.

Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are very important symbols in the novel but there are many other symbols used in

In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald displays numerous symbols spread throughout the story that improves the reader’s understanding of the story. Such symbols that Fitzgerald uses hold explicit meaning that shed light on the events throughout the novel. The Great Gatsby contains a cavalcade of symbols. This becomes evident when the story begins with Gatsby reaching for a green light to even the characters themselves who are representative of abstract concepts like racism, adultery, etc, which can be seen with the actions of the characters.

Writers incorporate symbolism through colors to enhance the deeper meaning and message of their literature. Fitzgerald is one author that integrates multiple symbols in his work to reveal the truth about wealth, success, happiness, and overall the American dream in his book, The Great Gatsby. In this novel Nick Carraway who goes to New York in the 1920’s to pursue his career in the bond business. During his time in New York, he becomes drawn to the captivating world of wealth and materialism through his neighbor, Jay Gatsby, his cousin, Daisy and her husband Tom Buchanan. Nick witnesses all the deceit and corruption in the world of wealth. He watches as his friends are consumed by their own illusions and impossible love and dreams. Fitzgerald denounces the idea that the American dream is impeccable and illusory through the use of colors of objects and characters in the novel.

The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg looking down upon the Valley of Ashes represent the lower class during the 1920’s. Connecting East and West Egg to New York City, the Valley of Ashes is the hub of the poverty-stricken working class. The eyes seem to be watching the actions of the people. When they need assistance, they look up to him for advice. Eckleburg’s eyes tend to, “brood on over the sulking ground,” (Fitzgerald 28). The Valley of Ashes is a rundown, poor atmosphere that houses crime and other dangerous activities. Eckleburg is believed to be a ‘God-like figure’ who watches over the lower class in order to keep them safe. He knows of all the corruption within society which is why his eyes are dark and sulking. His eyes religiously symbolize that God is disgusted with society, pitying those left behind by the economy boom of the 1920’s. This figure hates high society and what they

Happiness can only truly be acquired through the fantastical idea of dreams, and it is well known that money cannot. But in the 1920s, this idea changed as it became into a desire for wealth by whatever means; mistaken that money will bring happiness in one’s life. This conception leads to the end of true morality and turned a person into someone very selfish. F.Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates this notion through the use of a variety of symbols and themes.One of the dominant ideas within this novel is wealth which is supported through the symbol: eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg.The eyes symbolize the loss of spiritual values and growing commercialism in America. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, the theme wealth creates a pathway to the corruption of morals is evident through the decisions and thoughts of the Buchanans and Gatsby who are indirectly influenced by the symbol Eye of T.J Eckleburg.