The Great Gatsby
Prompt #21 · The Great Gatsby
Symbol/Motif Essay Prompt
Prompt Type: Symbol/Motif
The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg watch over the valley of ashes throughout the novel. Analyze how Fitzgerald uses this symbol to explore themes of moral judgment and spiritual emptiness in modern America. Explain how it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Suggested Quotes
Quote 1
Chapter 8
Argument
This quote shows Wilson's misinterpretation of the eyes as a divine presence, highlighting the spiritual emptiness of the modern world where advertisements are conflated with religious symbols.
Quote 2
“Standing behind him, Michaelis saw with a shock that he was looking at the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, which had just emerged, pale and enormous, from the dissolving night.”
Chapter 8
Argument
This quote demonstrates the eyes' haunting presence emerging from darkness, symbolizing the inescapable moral judgment looming over the characters' corrupt actions.
Quote 3
“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 and 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.”
Chapter 2
Argument
This quote establishes the eyes as a grotesque, disembodied symbol of surveillance, representing both the absence of true moral authority and the judgmental gaze of a society obsessed with appearances.