The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald - 1412 Words

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby showcases the American society during the Roaring 1920s. During this time period many longed to be rich and become a member of the upper class. It became one’s dream to obtain good social standing rather than to achieve freedom and happiness. Fitzgerald creates characters, such as Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby, who are more concerned with wealth than what truly makes them happy in life. Therefore, many perceive the theme of this novel to be achieving the American Dream; an idea that people in America, the land of opportunity, could achieve success and prosperity through hard work and perseverance. However, I believe that Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby as a warning for how†¦show more content†¦The constant staring of these large eyes represents not only God looking down on the characters but also the idea and concept of morals present in every character. The eyes continue to stare down on the charact ers because of their carefree lifestyle. Almost every character in the novel is neglecting their morals by forgetting what is truly important in life, since they are more concerned with how they can become wealthy and achieve a higher social status. â€Å"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.† (Fitzgerald 27-28). As Fitzgerald describes, this billboard has not been kept up with and appears to be rather worn down and practically disintegrating. As stated, this billboard symbolizes not only God but also the spiritual and moral values of those in society. Therefore, when it is mentioned that their society is not paying any attention to or acknowledging the advertisement, it clearly represents the characters constant dis regard of their values. If the theme of this novel were thought to be achieving the American Dream, one would consider this billboard to simply be an image of God watching over the characters and their actions