u nderstanding the f alse e yes of “g od ”. symbol- an object or action that stands for...

UNDERSTANDING THE FALSE EYES OF “GOD”

SYMBOL- AN OBJECT OR ACTION THAT STANDS FOR SOMETHING

ELSE

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

TIMES ARE CHANGING Modernity

Literary and cultural movement Concerned itself with the present (NOT the past) Focus was shifted from reality to introspective reflection

and abstract images Industrialism

The Age of the Machine People no longer did ALL of the work Machines allowed for a better, more complex life

Religious tone of post-WWI era No longer concerned themselves with an omnipresent

being who controlled everything and everyone Moves toward self-seeking and self-reliance

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT

THE BILLBOARD?

WHAT WE KNOW Located in the Valley of Ashes

“But above the grey land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it, you perceive, after a moment, the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg” (35).

Gigantic blue eyes with yellow rimmed glasses “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 nonexistent nose” (35).

The billboard is advertising for someone of importance that has faded away “…his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days under

sun and rain, brood on over the summer dumping ground” (35).

WHAT CONCLUSIONS

CAN BE DRAWN?

SYMBOLISM The billboard represents the eyes of God in a

morally broken America The billboard watches over the very place that

Tom picks up his mistress– in a town that is so polluted with ashes from all of the factories

The billboard represents that God is still present even when people reject Him or don’t seek Him The billboard still stands even though the paint

and quality of the structure are clearly neglected Eternal Blindness

Moral decay of the time– people looking for satisfaction, but ending up broken

DR. T. J. ECKLEBURG’S BILLBOARD AND ITS EERIE

EYES ARE THE EYES OF GOD IN A POST-

INDUSTRIAL, MODERN AGE.

Do you agree with this statement?

Write a paragraph to explain your answer.