formed between characters, the protagonist/antagonist dichotomy appears within each character. In this internal relationship, each character is haunted by a unique conflict -- the difference between what they have, and what they want. This is a basic discontent, one that is often believed to be caused by the worship of Mammon.
When reading a work of literature it becomes apparent that individual words may be as important as entire sentences. In the Arabic language, for example, the philosophy behind individual words is considered important. Since many of the words in The Great Gatsby are about wealth and money, this forces a mental examination of the attitudes toward money found in America in general and in this book in particular. In America, it seems to be important to show how much money you have and how much power that gives you. In contrast, in the Middle East the exact opposite is true. In fact, there is a Jordanian praise, "he walks behind a wall," which is a fine compliment for a person. The phrase implies that that person keeps all elements of his life, including his wealth, a secret from society in general. This is largely because in Islam, the concept of bragging about how much money one has, or treating money too importantly, is a sin against Allah.
The existence of this pervasive God of Money in this book is suggested by Fitzgerald's description of image of Dr. Eckelburg's huge eyes (Fitzgerald 31). This image recollects many similar images and art works in the Middle East, where there are many pictures of the all-seeing eye. In Middle Eastern art, the eye of the Evil Gods (including the God of Money, called Mammon in the Bible) is often shown as looking out of a pyramid. In American culture, that eye of Mammon is everywhere -- even on the back of a one-dollar bill. Maybe Fitzgerald used that symbol of Dr. Eckelburg's eye to represent some kind of all-knowing God of Money that causes the character co...