Great Gatsby #3

Interpretive: What do the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckelberg symbolize in the novel?

From the beginning of their mention in chapter 2, the large billboard eyes were looking down over a desolate wasteland known as the valley of ashes. To me they symbolized someone looking down upon the people and judging them. Then George Wilson compared them to the eyes of God and that belief was reinforced somewhat but in a different way. I now believe that those eyes are those of God looking down uon the valley sadly because of their dilapidated nature.

Interpretive: What does the green light symbolize?

The green light I believe is mentioned twice: once at the beginning of the novel when Gatsby is reaching towards it and at the end when Nick is describing the light and what the people that first came to the sound must have thought about it. To Gatsby the light was his one huge dream of winning Daisy back; that much is obvious. When Nick talks about it in regards to the settlers coming there, I think the green light takes on the idea of the "American dream" and striving to obtain ones dreams.

Evaluative: If this book was a commentary on how hollow the aristocracy of America is, then why have Tom Buchanan win Daisy in the end?

I understand that this book's main purpose is to show how unattainable dreams really are through the death of Gatsby; that is clearly evident. I also believed though that another theme of this book was of how shallow and ill natured the rich are through characters like Buchanan and symbols like the valley of ashes or Eckelberg. Why then doesn't Tom get what he deserves in the end? Unless he was also commenting on how the rich come out on to despite their horrid nature.

Evaluative: How effective is it that the protagonist in the story (Nick) doesn't benefit at all from Gatsby and winds up depressed and alone at the story's end in communicating the messages of the book? Does it affect the story at all? I think it is interesting that Fitzgerald would have the person who reserved all judgements and would have feelings similar to those of the audience in such a poor state by the story's end. While Nick contributes almost none to the story's main themes, I think it says something of Fitzgerald's ideas about us if the character who is supposed to represent us is worn by life at the novel's end.