Symbols

Question 1

The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg

Answer 1

• Symbolize the eyes of God in the novel.
• Represent the replacement of religion with consumerism and pleasure-seeking.
• Signify the corruption of morality in the story.

Question 2

The Valley of Ashes

Answer 2

• Symbolizes the corruption of the Jazz Age.
• Represents the decay and moral desolation of society.

Question 3

Friction between East and West

Answer 3

• Symbolizes the class struggle leading to Gatsby and Myrtle’s deaths.
• Reflects the social and economic tensions of the time.

Question 4

Clocks

Answer 4

• Gatsby knocks the clock off the mantlepiece, symbolizing his attempt to destroy time.
• Represents Gatsby’s desire to recreate the past and control his own destiny.
• “He was running down like an overwound clock” (Chapter 5)- This quote is a direct reference to Gatsby’s close association and obsession with time to the extent he becomes a clock. His overreliance on time is personified through his physical leaning on the mantel clock for support.

Question 5

Cars

Answer 5

• Symbolize modernity, status, and destruction.
• For Gatsby, his car completes his image of the self-made man.
• Tom uses his car to assert social superiority.
• Gatsby’s car symbolizes the recklessness of the wealthy elite.