Who is tj eckleburg

Money and Materialism. The billboard is there in the first place as an advertisement, and thus also reflects the huge capitalist influence in everyone's lives. The real reason that there is no moral or ethical underpinning to the lives of these characters is that their world is based on a greedy, money-based notion of success. Even the object that is the closest thing to a religious figure is in reality trying to compel those who see it to buy something and make someone else richer.

The Valley of Ashes. The billboard of the eyes of T. Eckleburg is located in the middle of what Nick calls "the valley of ashes"—the industrial section of Queens that connects the rich neighborhoods of the Eggs on Long Island and the similarly booming Manhattan. That the eyes watch over this neighborhood in particular is an indictment of the way those who can't claw their way to the top get left behind in the lawless Wild East, shaming those passing through who are taking advantage of the hard work of the poor.

What makes the world of The Great Gatsby go around. Now that we've discussed the significance of the billboard advertising the oculist Doctor Eckleburg, let's figure out the best way to approach this symbol in an essay.

Here are some possible essay arguments. You can build from them as-is, argue their opposite, or use them as jumping-off points for your own interpretation. What Wilson really wants when he's staring at the eyes of Doctor T. Eckleburg is the kind of intervention that a third-person narrator would normally provide: someone to punish the bad characters and reward the good ones.

Because there's no supervising authority like that in the novel, Wilson takes justice into his own hands. The problem isn't that there aren't any moral rules in the world of the novel, but that everyone is so flawed that it would be impossible to figure out who is right and who is wrong. That's why the only appropriate God figure is an inanimate object. The eyes are placed on the road between Manhattan and West Egg rather than in one of those places because this road is a place where characters could make different choices, and where they can make the decisions that affect their lives in either one of those destinations.

Who has the most options in the novel? Who has the least? Refresh your memory of the chapters where this symbol appears : Chapter 2 , Chapter 7 , and Chapter 8. Compare and contrast Tom and George to see why they react to the billboard's unsettling eyes in such different ways. Consider the location of the billboard by reading about the valley of ashes and the other settings in the novel.

Check out all the other symbols that enrich The Great Gatsby. We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:. Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia.

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How to Write an Amazing College Essay. A Comprehensive Guide. Who believes Dr TJ eckleburg is the eyes of God? Why is the billboard not introduced as such but as the eyes of Dr TJ eckleburg? Why does Tom and Daisy leave? What happens after Gatsby is invited to dinner by Mrs Sloane? What did Gatsby ultimately want? Previous Article How does good parenting help in building good mental health?

Next Article When did Hu Yaobang die? Back To Top. Why does Gatsby arrange for Nick to have lunch with Jordan Baker? How does Tom find out about the affair between Gatsby and Daisy? How does Gatsby make his money? How are West Egg and East Egg different? What is the importance of the character Owl Eyes?

Does Daisy love Gatsby or Tom? Why does Tom insist on switching cars with Gatsby when they go to the city? Why is Nick the narrator of the story? Why does Tom bring up race so often? They look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent nose" 2. This description is only slightly less freaky once you realize that they're not actually giant disembodied eyes; they're on a billboard, an ad for an eye doctor.

Nick goes on for three sentences about these weird, disembodied eyes before actually explaining that they're on a billboard. He gives your mind time to picture eerie images, to wonder what's going on, even to form other notions of what the eyes could be. Clearly, to us, the readers, the eyes are more than just a billboard. Not long before the Tom vs. Gatsby showdown, Nick notes the eyes again keeping a "watchful vigil" 7 ; and then, George takes Myrtle to the window from which, we know, the billboard is visible and tells her she can't fool God.

Wilson makes the same connection you might be: the eyes of T. Eckleburg are always watching, and so are the eyes of God. There are a few directions you can take from here. The first is that, despite the absence of religion from the characters in this story, God is still there.