What is God?

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What is God?

Jon Fishman

Oct 4, 2003

ENG 3U1-04

Mr. O’brien


“People see God every day, they just don't recognize him.”

-Pearl Bailey

What determines the meaning of God? In religion, God is viewed as the originator and ruler of the universe. The origin of all life is believed to have begun from God. The Great Gatsby, by Francis Key Scott Fitzgerald, includes many themes, images and characters comparable to a God figure. The time period in which the novel is set, is a time of instability where the United States have just come out of the largest war to date. The “roaring 1920’s” as they were known, was the start of prohibition, the post-war times, a time of racism and a time of confusion. The world of media and popular culture, the world of wealth and power, and the world of romantic love, all seem to be substitutes for God.

        The nineteen-twenties were a time where Americans were very dependant on religion and culture because of the violence around the world. After World War one, the countries involved entered into a depression because of the war. In the novel, the reader is introduced to the symbol Dr. T.J. Eckleberg. “…brood on over the solemn dumping ground.” Eckleberg is a symbol in the novel that is recognized as a worshiped figure in The Valley of Ashes and throughout the story.

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…the eyes in spite of everything they survey, perhaps even because of it, serve both as a focus and an undeviating base, a single point of reference in the midst of monstrous disorder.

The appearance of Eckleberg on the billboard originated as a media advertisement and has been portrayed in a manner that suggests power and respect. Fitzgerald suggests that Eckleberg is a symbol in the story which substitutes for God. This is also suggested through popular culture in the 1920’s. Pop culture included fashion, dance, music and other representations of the culture in the era. In The Great Gatsby, ...

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