The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg in "The Great Gatsby" symbolize many things at once. They are a pair of fading, bespectacled eyes painted on an old advertising billboard over the valley of ashes. Here are some of the interpretations of the symbol:

• The haunting waste of the past: To Nick, the eyes seem to symbolize the haunting waste of the past, which lingers on even though it is irretrievably vanished, much like Dr. Eckleburgs medical practice.

• The essential meaninglessness of the world: The eyes come to represent the essential meaninglessness of the world and the arbitrariness of the mental process by which people invest objects with meaning.

• God staring down upon and judging American society: The eyes may represent God staring down upon and judging American society as a moral wasteland, though the novel never makes this point explicitly.

• The loss of spiritual values in America: The eyes symbolize the loss of spiritual values in America.

• The characters moral failures: The eyes imply that they represent a huge, displeased watcher or the characters moral failures.

• The corruption of Americas people: The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg stare down on the main characters as they pass underneath the billboard on their way into New York, symbolizing the corruption of Americas people.

Overall, the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are a complex symbol that can be interpreted in many ways, depending on the readers perspective.