'Motif of Eyes in the Great Gatsby\r'

'Taylor Hultquist Mr. Sudak English 11 18 March 2013 The theme of eye in The broad Gatsby eye be the gateway to the soul, or so the old saying goes. People’s eye lavatory convey their observeings †their anger, excitement, or worry. Eyes can also convey subconscious emotions, revealing vague depths that might not otherwise be appargonnt. In The Great Gatsby we be introduced to many characters whose eyeb all in all subjectively reveal their personalities. The author explores the symbolism of eyes as snick, the narrator, observes the lives and interactions of his friends on Long Island.One of his acquaintances, Daisy, is a flighty girl, get married to a retired football player. Her husband, Tom Buchanan, embodies the classic tough-white-male aura. These ii and the majority of other east rim characters are eventually seen as immoral, and the author’s limning of their eyes foreshadowed this development. Through a complex epitome of The Great Gatsby, ang iotensin-converting enzyme can argue that eyes are used as a motif that symbolizes the â€Å"loss of virtue in America. ” Through the eyes of our narrator, James Gatsby and Tom Buchanan represent the east coast American ideal.Nick considers their wealth, social status, and confidence to be the level that he strives to attain. What he does not firstly sympathize is that these qualities ultimately lead to each man’s demise. Although Tom and Gatsby had many differences, they shared the common stain of lost virtue. When Nick reconnects with his old friends, his first ideal of Tom Buchanan is that â€Å"two shining, arrogant eyes had set up dominance over [Tom’s] face” (9). In this departure we go out Fitzgerald’s reference to eyes and his characterisation of them with the adjective of â€Å"arrogant. These overwhelming eyes are the first feature Nick notes, and he claims even they pass Tom’s stuck-up attitude. Tom’s eyes make hi m appear to be â€Å" ever leaning aggressively forward” (9) †clearly 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 Tom’s character falls outside of this definition. This is a trend, which carries passim this novel continuously with all of Nick’s ‘east coast friends. During the same evening Nick notes that Daisy’s eyes â€Å"flashed around her in a defiant way, rather like Tom’s, and she laughed with stimulate scorn” (20). This quote is juxtaposed to an unflattering incursion into Daisy’s character, as Nick observes in the falseness of her comments about sophistication and the falsity of his evening fatigued with her and Tom. Yet despite all this, he belt up acknowledges that Daisy’s character always seems to be promising â€Å"gay and exciting things” have already happened and a re still yet to come.Daisy represents the wild side of high up end New York, but we see that this modus vivendi is not quite as superior as everyone believes it to be. In fact, Daisy seems to view it in quite a bittersweet manner and cries that it is not entirely satisfying. What Fitzgerald is displaying by means of with(predicate) the two figures of Tom and Daisy is that while they want for nothing, they foresighted for everything. In order to satisfy their desires they turn to funds and society, and still find these lacking. Nick moved from western America to the East Coast.Cities have historically been viewed as centers of depravity, while rural areas represent simplicity and gum olibanum a kind of innocence. Every time the characters perish between the Eggs and the city, they pass beneath a hoarding containing the infamous eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleburg. His eyes are â€Å"blue and gigantic” with â€Å"retinas one yard high,” all rising â€Å"above the grey lan d and spasms of lancinating dust” below (26). These eyes are witness as the characters venture to the city †Tom for his affair, Daisy face for ‘fun,’ even Gatsby to meet the man who fixed the knowledge base Series.These fraudulent actions reveal the corrupted natures of characters, and in effect the corruption of people at large. The billboard’s eyes are equated to the eyes of God, eyes witnessing everything everywhere. fair(a) as one would feel shame cunning 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 Daisy’s life style is the epitome of this, as they solely pursue gold and fun and have no interest in their moral states of being.Yet just as this couple’s lives lack true joy †as displayed through Fitz gerald’s apt descriptions of their eyes †so pass on anyone’s who obsessively pursues the ‘American Dream’ of without end wealth. Works Cited Dictionary. com. â€Å"Virtue. ” Dictionary. com. Dictionary. com, n. d. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Australia: Scribner, 1925. E-book. â€Å"The Great Gatsby; Symbols and Motifs. ” Eyes of T. J. Eckleburg. Blog Spot, May 2011. Web. 20 Mar. 2013. â€Å"Benjamin Franklin Quotes. ” LibertyQuotes. Liberty-Tree. ca, 2005. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.\r\n'