In Chapter 2 of The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald, the narrator goes on for a whole paragraph, or two, describing the land whilst they are on a drive to Tom’s “mistress”. The narrator uses the symbols of Doctor T.J Eckleburg and the Valley of Ashes in his description.
Doctor T.J Eckleburg
The narrator tells the readers that upon the gray land, a billboard for an oculist shop is shown. The sign contains the “eyes of Doctor T.J Eckleburg. The eyes of Doctor T.J Eckleburg are blue and gigantic…” (Fitzgerald, 23) which seemed to the narrator a way for an oculist to sell his glasses. However, the narrator then mentions that “his eyes, dimmed a little by many pointless days under sun and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping ground” (Fitzgerald, 24) so as to imply that the eyes looked down upon the society as a whole. In deeper analysis, the eyes of Doctor T.J Eckleburg are the eyes of God staring down at American society as a wasteland. Moreover, the eyes may be foreshadowing things to happen later in the story and could represent a disappointment in dreams as when somebody looks down on you when they are disappointed that you did not achieve anything. However, right after the paragraph on Doctor T.J Eckleburg follows the narrators description of the Valley of Ashes (Fitzgerald, 24) which is a symbol of the line between rich and poor. Essentially, the Valley of Ashes is a wasteland for the rich and representative of the poor as the rich dump there and the poor live there. The connection between the two symbols takes me back to the point of the eyes of Doctor T.J Eckleburg being eyes of a letdown God upon American society and its’ morality. The narrator may be feeling that things will not be going well in this journey he is on with Tom Buchanan and meeting the mistress, but does not exactly mention so at this point in the novel. Instead, he reflects upon the land as they drive to what might be an inevitable/disappointing chain of events. The lines between the rich, the poor, and morality are being drawn out for the readers in what I can only imagine sets the ideas for the rest of the novel.
References:
Fitzgerald. F.Scott. The Great Gatsby. Scribner, 2004.
Interesting insight Suha,
The Valley of Ashes is a representation of the poor as you mentioned and it also acts as a counterpart to West Egg where Gatsby lives; each location represents a social class. Also, it’s interesting how the eyes of Doctor T.J Eckleburgis are only found in the Valley of Ashes (what does this imply?). You mention how his eyes represent the all-seeing eyes of God, but we can’t find him West egg. Hence, could it also be possible that since it’s only found in the Valley of Ashes, that it represents the constant surveillance of the government? The rich get away with nearly anything because of their financial prominence, while the poor usually don’t.
That is really interesting, I hadn’t thought of it like that either. I think the correlation between the Doctor’s eyes and the Valley of Ashes is that eyes look down on what American society has become; a tear between social classes and an excuse for creating a wasteland of it.
It could be the constant surveillance of the government too, since things go down particularly over there and how it is deemed as disappointing. I also believe that it is not found in West Egg because, like you said, the rich get away with everything, and in turn got away with being judged by “the eyes of God”. With money comes power, even the power to shut people up; a.k.a privilege. I could be wrong but that’s how I’d like to think of it. We’ll see where the rest of novel takes us on that.
In Gatsby we will read about lavish parties and other luxeries, enjoyed by the rich. The vally acts as a reminder of who pays and bears the cost of those lauxuries. This waste land represents the social and moral decy of American society, which have resulted from excessive capitalism.
Due to this, another way to look at Doctor T.J Eckleburgis eyes can be symbolic of God’s distaste for capitalism, or his sorrow for the people that it exploits. God in this scene watches over the helpless and those in need, too disgusted to look at the cities and families that are thriving from capitalism at the expense of the poor.
This novel — as a modernist text — is very interested in symbols and formal elements of writing, as well as themes of alienation and capitalism (as the commenters here are picking up on).
So thinking about the complex symbolism of Eckleburg’s eyes and the “valley of ashes” is a good idea. One good exercise is to think of the four places we’ve been introduced to in the first two chapters — East Egg, West Egg, “valley of ashes,” Manhattan. How might they be mapped — who “belongs” to each place? What are the specific words used to describe each place? What values are associated with each place?
I want to offer everyone a general caution as well — A LOT has been written about this novel. Avoid the temptation to read online (study guide) interpretations (scholarly sources are different), especially when thinking about formal elements of the novel — *if* they offer reliable or convincing interpretations at all, they close off other possibilities. Individually, you (and all of us together) can come up with more rich and diverse interpretations.
when you pointed out the metaphor of the eyes of Doctor T.J Eckleburgis as the eyes of god, this made me think of how the concept itself might also act as a metaphor for god’s lack of interference in what is happening in the valley of ashes. Maybe here, gods eyes observe the suffering that happens but chooses not to interfere, which makes me question how god and religion are discussed and portrayed in the novel.
Religion also plays apart in what Fatima already pointed out, the eyes of God only overlook the valley, which is of course hellish in its nature. This asks an important question, are the people in the valley being punished ? in particular are they being punished by society because they are poor?.
It’s really interesting that you bring out God’s role in perpetuating their suffering. This calls to question God’s loyalties, do they lie with the rich? or with the poor?
To be honest I never really thought of it like that. My understanding is that God gave us free will to decide between what it right and what it wrong. So whatever happens in society (be it fictional or not) it is our fault and our responsibility as humans to fix it, not God’s. God whatches and dules out justice on his own time, or he/she (lol God’s genderless) duels it out in ways that we cannot comprehend. I feel like to a certain degree God (the eyes) in The Great Gatsby acts more like an omniscent being than an active judge.
I think the notion of the Eyes of God acting as an “active judge” or a hands-off observer is really powerful and interesting, but maybe ultimately it is not about God or his observations, but rather his observers. In other words, I am shifting the focus from the role and gaze of God to those who observe his eyes looking down upon them.
There is power in passively watching; we know this from real life that unfolds outside of literature also. The whole idea behind the Human Rights Watch that creates accountability by seeing and recording transgressions is an example of this, and so is the panopticon. People behave differently when they know they are being watched. Having the Eyes of God stare at the American society engenders a third consciousnesses that forces a person to consider their actions from the perspective of God, and reconcile their internal motivations with the external presentation.
Whether God is a passive enablers of moral deprivation or an active judge of immoral behavior does not matter as much as His mere presence, which in and of itself causes those who see His eyes watching them to reevaluate their actions.