The Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg
You can fool me, but you can't fool God! -George Wilson
As one of the most iconic and most mentioned pictures in The Great Gatsby, the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg surely become one of the most identifiable and important symbols in the novel.
Seen throughout the novel from the valley of ashes, Nick describes how the eyes, "dimmed a little by many painless days under sun and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping ground," (24). Nick also goes on to reference these eyes multiple times throughout the novel. The Eyes of T.J. Eckleburg, The Great Gatsby (2013) |
Throughout the Novel...
"The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic—their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-existent nose." (23)
"[W]e walked back a hundred yards along the road under Doctor Eckleburg's persistent stare." (24)
"Over the ashheaps the giant eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg kept their vigil…" (124)
“I spoke to her,” he muttered, after a long silence. “I told her she might fool me but she couldn’t fool God. I took her to the window”— with an effort he got up and walked to the rear window and leaned with his face pressed against it -- "and I said ‘God knows what you’ve been doing, everything you’ve been doing. You may fool me, but you can’t fool God!’”
Standing behind him, Michaelis saw with a shock that he was looking at the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, which had just emerged, pale and enormous, from the dissolving night.
“God sees everything,” repeated Wilson.
“That’s an advertisement,” Michaelis assured him. Something made him turn away from the window and look back into the room. But Wilson stood there a long time, his face close to the window pane, nodding into the twilight. (159-160)
"[W]e walked back a hundred yards along the road under Doctor Eckleburg's persistent stare." (24)
"Over the ashheaps the giant eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg kept their vigil…" (124)
“I spoke to her,” he muttered, after a long silence. “I told her she might fool me but she couldn’t fool God. I took her to the window”— with an effort he got up and walked to the rear window and leaned with his face pressed against it -- "and I said ‘God knows what you’ve been doing, everything you’ve been doing. You may fool me, but you can’t fool God!’”
Standing behind him, Michaelis saw with a shock that he was looking at the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, which had just emerged, pale and enormous, from the dissolving night.
“God sees everything,” repeated Wilson.
“That’s an advertisement,” Michaelis assured him. Something made him turn away from the window and look back into the room. But Wilson stood there a long time, his face close to the window pane, nodding into the twilight. (159-160)
Relevance
The symbol of "the eyes of God" is important in the story as a reminder for the characters. As George Wilson says, "you can't fool God," the eyes know the truth of the events. In the midst of gossip and lies told by characters, the eyes are seen by virtually every point in the valley of ashes. When the Eggs appear to be away from the sight lines of the billboard, the valley of ashes are directly there. The eyes look over a raw area of human activity, examining the good and the evil. When people are deceptive with each other, the eyes know all. Though they do not directly interfere with people's activities, the eyes catch Nick's attention in a fashion that reveals that no matter what lies or rumors circulate, someone is always watching. Rumors cannot hide everything. It further heightens the characters' dishonesty and attempts at façade.
Reference (Pre-1925)
As the symbol of Eckleburg's eyes are seen as the "eyes of God," the literal image of "the eyes of God" are seen in the Bible, Proverbs 15:3: "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good."