Bertrand Russell believes that "The observer, when he seems to himself to be observing a stone, is really, if physics is to be believed, observing the effects of the stone upon himself." In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses Owl Eyes, Nick Carraway, and T. J. Eckleburg to serve as once single motif, the observers, which help strengthen the novel as a whole. These characters bring multiple cases of insight to the story because of their relation to the Observer archetype.
In Jungian theory, the Observer archetype has been categorized under Enneagram Five. Theory describes the archetype as withdrawed and refraining from outward judgement until they are sure of what they have discovered. Observers thrive on what they are able to contribute to the world, what they are able to teach people, and what they are able to see first. Observers may not speak outwardly until they have realized that they are capable of providing a concrete explanation for the manner in which things are. In many cases, the observer will become a social ghost, being unable to maintain relationships because of cynicism. Therefore, it is said that observers usually have problems with isolation and maintaining multiple deep relationships.
Throughout the novel, Owl Eyes appears as a character who poses as a clear observer. He manages to observe Gatsby, giving Nick insight into the title character. During Gatsby's first party, Owl Eyes, although very drunk, does not mingle among the party guests. Nick finds Owl Eyes alone in Gatsby's library. He appears very excited to explain to Nick and Jordan that he knew Gatsby was a fraud, and now he has proof. He had discovered that the pages of the books in Gatsby's library were uncut, and therefore, Gatsby had never read any of the books. He then murmurs to himself, giving more depth to Gatsby's character, stating that "if one brick was removed the whole library was liable to collapse" (50). Gatsby had the library made as an elaborate show. This provides insight on Gatsby's facade which helps develop his character. Later on, at Gatsby's funeral, Owl Eyes has his last line where he calls Gatsby a poor son-of-a-bitch, again making a clear observation about the state of Gatsby's character, and how he died nearly alone. In comparison to the other members of the upper class, Owl Eyes provides a contrast to show multiple elements of the narrative, such as Gatsby's facade, and the rich's apathy towards everything.
T. J. Eckleburg is a billboard, alluded to be a symbol of God, that watches over the Valley of Ashes. This symbol of eyes relates greatly to the watchers, serving the purpose to illustrate and help develop the clear corruption of the rich. The advertisement follows the archetype because it watches, just like Owl Eyes and Nick watch, and refrains from judgement. However, the billboard can only watch over the people in and passing through the Valley of Ashes. Everything in the valley is covered in dust, unable to escape the terrible, poor lifestyle they live in, while the rich casually pass through, not paying any attention to the people struggling to climb out of their social class. Since the eyes never move, the billboard has seen the affair of Tom and Myrtle, Gatsby's travelling to meet Meyer Wolfshiem, and Daisy having an affair with Gatsby. All in all, the eyes have seen cases of the immorality and infidelity of the rich, and failure of the poor.
Nick begins the novel stating that he was raised to refrain from judgement, and for most of the novel he does that, and instead, he remains a watcher. Nick comes to the East, seeking excitement, and once he is there he mostly sits back and watches the scene around him unfold. Nick, just like an observer, is isolated from the crowd he a part of. He does not fit in during the parties that he attends, because he simply is not rich nor of their social class. During the first party he attends, he mentions that no one seemed to do anything about Tom's affair, when his instinct "was to telephone immediately for the police" (19). However, the moment for Nick is when he realizes his ability to refrain from judgement broke, and he "[came] to the admission that it has a limit" (2). This moment for Nick is likely the night when Myrtle is killed, and everyone else in his group wants to continue on partying. Nick's isolation from and later his "unaffected scorn" (2) for the rich develop the theme of corruption in the upper class.
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