Much can be learned about Wilson, as well as everyone trapped in the valley of ashes, through the brief exchange. Through the eyes the reader has an implicit call to action, reconnecting with a lost spiritual connection.Īfter Nick and Tom get off the train (notice how Tom orders Nick around and announces what it is they are going to do these are clear indicators of Tom's nature and continue to mark him as the story continues), they proceed to George Wilson's repair garage. Even though God's image may become increasingly removed from daily life (just as the face surrounding Eckleburg's enormous eyes has faded and disappeared), His eyes continue to witness all that passes. Through Doctor Eckleburg's sign, Fitzgerald indicates that although people are turning away from traditional (established) morality and rules of socially acceptable behavior, neglecting to tend to their spiritual side, the eyes of God continue to watch all that passes. The 1920s, for a certain sect of society, were characterized by an increasing freedom and recklessness - Gatsby's parties are perfect testament to the growing debauchery of the upper class. The eyes, in this sense, represent the lack of Godliness in the lives of the characters, and by extension, the society on which Fitzgerald comments. The faceless eyes hover over all that goes on in the book - a book decidedly void of traditional spirituality. They are, as George Wilson says, the eyes of God. In many regards, the mysterious eyes hovering above the valley of ashes serve as spiritual force. Eckleburg, perhaps the second most memorable image in The Great Gatsby (following closely behind the green light at the end of the dock). The ashen quality of the community is reflected in every element - including the dilapidated billboard of Doctor T.J. with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air." As the geographic midpoint between what is in effect the suburbs and the city, the valley of ashes, a dreamless, colorless place bound on one side by a putrid river, is home to the sorts of people that the wealthy citizens of the Eggs and the sophisticated people of the city are content to overlook. Nick tells us about a stretch of land lying "about half way between West Egg and New York" which is so desolate that it is merely a "valley of ashes - a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into the ridges and hills and grotesque gardens where ashes take the forms of houses. Whereas Chapter 1 ended with the mysterious Gatsby reaching out to his dream in the night, Chapter 2 opens with a striking contrast. McKee home and then heading home himself. Tom, incensed by this outburst, lashes out with his open hand and breaks Myrtle's nose in one "short deft movement." The party enters into a downward spiral and the guests take their departure. Upon mentioning Daisy's name, Myrtle becomes enraged, shouting "Daisy" at the top of her lungs. As the afternoon wears on and she becomes increasingly intoxicated, Myrtle becomes more and more outspoken about her situation in life, her marriage, her impassioned first meeting with Tom, and finally, Tom's marriage. The six people spend the afternoon in a haze of drunkenness. Once at the apartment, Myrtle phones her sister, Catherine, and her friends, the McKees, to join the party. While on their way to Tom and Myrtle's apartment, Myrtle spies a man selling dogs and insists on having one. Tom quietly informs her he wishes to see her and so she arranges to meet them shortly, leaving her husband under the pretense of visiting her sister in New York. Myrtle, a sensuous, fleshy woman in her middle thirties, joins the men. Tom chats briefly with Wilson about business matters. The two men proceed to a car repair garage owned by George Wilson, a "spiritless man" who is also Myrtle's husband. The two men are headed to New York when Tom insists they get off the train in order for Nick to "meet girl." Eckleburg, which are described as "blue and gigantic - their retinas are one yard high." It was in the valley of ashes that Nick first meets Tom's mistress, Myrtle Wilson. Depicted on the advertisement are the Eyes of Doctor T.J. In addition to its desolate feel and uniform grayness, this forlorn area is home to a decaying billboard that calls attention to itself. Chapter 2 begins with a description of the valley of ashes, a desolate and forsaken expanse of formerly developed land that marks the intersection of the city with the suburbs.
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