Dr. Eckleburg''s Eyes
(DizzY)
Gatsby
?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. Evidently some wild wag of an
oculist set them there to fatten his practice in the
borough of Queens, and then sank down himself into eternal blindness,
or forgot them and moved away. But his eyes, dimmed a little by many
paintless days under sun and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping
ground" (Ch. 2).
In the portrait of Dr. Eckleburg?s eyes, Fitzgerald creates a sketch of
an indifferent god of the modern world. The eyes? key feature is their
?gigantic? size, which produces an image of towering dominance. The
faceless eyes lack identity, yet ?yellow spectacles? command focus to
the elusive existence. The deliberately incomplete illustration of
eyeglasses suspended over a ?non-existent? nose, are suggestive of
mystery and unidentified authority. Unlike the frail human, the eternal
eyes withstand the elements of ?sun and rain? as well as time, pointing
out man?s contrastingly mendacious and transient existence. Perpetually
overlooking the Valley of Ashes, the omniscient observer witnesses
man?s dishonesty, greed, and defects of corruption disinterestedly.
George Wilson refers to this impartial judge as God, warning Myrtle
that He is watching. The ?unblinking? eyes that preside over the
destitute Valley of Ashes are the final legacy of ?Dr. Eckleburg?, the
insignificant eye doctor who ?moved away?. The departure of the
original sign creator implies a higher authority that no longer
involves with the lives of the inconsequential individuals below.
Wilson, an inhabitant of the Valley, regards the deist authority as a
sentinel of order, justice, and faith. The moral inspiration of the
watching eyes motivates Wilson to focus myopically on completing his
ill-fated task. These vigilantly staring eyes ?brood on over the solemn
dumping ground,? offering no help or comfort to its inhabitants. The
size of the eyes, the missing face, the absence of the individual
pictured on the emblem all suggests an apathetic superior being.
Resumos Relacionados
- My Eyes Kissesd You
- 'beneath The Eyes Of Deception."
- Vision
- Face Of My Brother
- The Great Gatsby
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