The_Great_Gatsby

The Great Gatsby The Significance of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg in The Great Gatsby Henry David Thoreau once said, “Men have become the tools of their tools.” This statement very closely follows the underlying meaning of the Great Gatsby. What Mr. Thoreau is saying in his statement is that men no longer have stability over what they used to control. That idea, is indirectly portrayed throughout the Great Gatsby through the symbolic character of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg. In this paper, I will be analyzing the purpose behind the character of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg and the symbolism behind him. Fitzgerald often uses the word careless in describing the characters and events in the Great Gatsby. There seems to be no fear of consequence or judgment on the part of the characters. This setting begs the question of who is doing the judgment' That is, in part, what the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg are intended to do. The eyes are always mentioned whenever Nick is there. They look over the situation, objectively, but offer a kind of judgment on the characters and their actions. They are placed near Wilson's because that is where some of the most selfish acts take place: Myrtle's death, great, gatsby, eckleburg, god, dr, color, eyes, yellow, judgment, fitzgerald, characters, wilson, blue, theme, symbolism, over, mr, guilt, even, characteristics, wrong, way, tj, through, symbolic, should, remind, relates, part, object, nose, nonexistent, michaelis, mean, look