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Valley Of Ashes Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

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In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the symbol of the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg first mentioned in Chapter 2 are eyes that look down at the valley of ashes that is the working class of New York. The eyes symbolize the presence of God or some great being that is watching and frowning upon the valley of ashes because working and making money has become more important to these people than their faith in God. It is then revealed that these eyes are not entirely figurative nor disembodied, they are actually there, in the form of a billboard. Therefore, although these eyes do take on a symbolic meaning in that they are “watching over” the people in the valley of ashes, they are truly always there because they are stuck on an advertisement. This

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