Motif of Eyes in the Great Gatsby

Taylor Hultquist Mr. Sudak English 11 18 March 2013 The motif of eyeball in The enceinte Gatsby eye be the gateway to the soul, or so the old saying goes. Peoples eyeball can convey their feelings their anger, excitement, or worry. Eyes can also convey subconscious emotions, revealing hidden depths that might not otherwise be apparent. In The Great Gatsby we are introduced to creationy characters whose eyeball effectively reveal their personalities. The author explores the symbolism of eyes as snick, the narrator, observes the lives and interactions of his friends on Long Is the three estates.One of his acquaintances, Daisy, is a flighty girl, married to a retired football player. Her husband, gobbler Buchanan, embodies the pure tough-white-male aura. These two and the majority of other east coast characters are eventually seen as immoral, and the authors portrayal of their eyes foreshadowed this development. finished a complex analysis of The Great Gatsby, angiotensin-co nverting enzyme can contest that eyes are used as a motif that symbolizes the loss of virtue in America. Through the eyes of our narrator, James Gatsby and turkey cock Buchanan represent the east coast American ideal.Nick con lookrs their wealth, social status, and confidence to be the level that he strives to attain. What he does not first off understand is that these qualities ultimately lead to each mans demise. Although turkey cock and Gatsby had many differences, they shared the common flaw of lost virtue. When Nick reconnects with his old friends, his first impression of Tom Buchanan is that two shining, arrogant eyes had established dominance over Toms face (9). In this passage we witness Fitzgeralds reference to eyes and his characterization of them with the adjective of arrogant. These overwhelming eyes are the first feature Nick notes, and he claims even they communicate Toms stuck-up attitude. Toms eyes make him appear to be always leaning aggressively forward (9) distinctly a negative personality trait. Virtue is defined as a quality considered morally good or desirable in a person. Referencing the quote above, one can make the inference that Toms character falls outside of this definition. This is a trend, which carries throughout this novel continuously with all of Nicks east coast friends. During the same eventide Nick notes that Daisys eyes flashed around her in a defiant way, rather like Toms, and she laughed with thrilling scorn (20). This quote is juxtaposed to an uncomplimentary insight into Daisys character, as Nick observes in the insincerity of her comments about sophistication and the falsity of his evening spent with her and Tom. Yet despite all this, he still acknowledges that Daisys character always seems to be promising gay and exciting things have already happened and are still yet to come.Daisy represents the wild side of high end New York, but we see that this lifestyle is not quite as fantabulous as everyone believes i t to be. In fact, Daisy seems to view it in quite a bittersweet manner and cries that it is not exclusively satisfying. What Fitzgerald is displaying through the two figures of Tom and Daisy is that while they want for nothing, they long for everything. In order to satisfy their desires they figure out to money and society, and still find these lacking. Nick moved from Midwestern America to the East Coast.Cities have historically been viewed as centers of depravity, while rural areas represent simplicity and thus a kind of innocence. Every term the characters travel between the Eggs and the city, they pass beneath a billboard containing the infamous eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleburg. His eyes are blue and gigantic with retinas one yard high, all rising above the grey land and spasms of bleak dust below (26). These eyes are witness as the characters venture to the city Tom for his affair, Daisy looking for fun, even Gatsby to meet the man who fixed the World Series.These fraudulent action s reveal the corrupted natures of characters, and in effect the corruption of people at large. The billboards eyes are equated to the eyes of God, eyes witnessing everything everywhere. Just as one would feel shame knowing God was watching their deceitful actions, one should feel shame being scrutinized by TJ Eckleburg. The commercialism of the billboard is additionally reflective of the increasing commercialism of America, and of its citizens growing obsession with material wealth. Tom and Daisys lifestyle is the epitome of this, as they solely charter money and fun and have no interest in their moral states of being.Yet just as this duettes lives lack true joy as displayed through Fitzgeralds apt descriptions of their eyes so will anyones who obsessively pursues the American Dream of endless wealth. Works Cited Dictionary. com. Virtue. Dictionary. com. Dictionary. com, n. d. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Australia Scribner, 1925. E-book. The Grea t Gatsby Symbols and Motifs. Eyes of T. J. Eckleburg. Blog Spot, May 2011. Web. 20 Mar. 2013. Benjamin Franklin Quotes. LibertyQuotes. Liberty-Tree. ca, 2005. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.