Gatsby: Always Watching

"'I spoke to her,' he muttered, after a long silence. 'I told her she might fool me but she couldn't fool God. I took her to the window' -- with an effort he got up and walked to the rear window and leaned with his face pressed against it -- 'and I said "God knows what you've been doing, everything you've been doing. You may fool me, but you can't fool God!"'

Standing behind him, Michaelis saw with a shock that he was looking at the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, which had just emerged, pale and enormous, from the dissolving night.

'God sees everything,' repeated Wilson" (The Great Gatsby, 159-160).

Honest to God, this part made me tear up almost as much as the last few pages of the book. In my humble opinion, Wilson is the most sympathetic character in the whole novel. Poor guy.

Back at the beginning of chapter two, I knew that the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleberg would be an important symbol. After I read page 23, I wrote in my notebook, "symbolic of being observed constantly?"

At this point, we know that the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleberg stand for God. These huge eyes witness some of the most crucial points within the story, including the death of Myrtle Wilson. These huge eyes watch the characters engage in adulterous affairs with one another. But all those eyes can do is watch -- they don't step in and interfere with the characters' free will. They're just watching -- always watching.

Reminds me of a certain character from Monsters Inc. Ah, yes: