Corruption In The Great Gatsby

Between West Egg and Manhattan lies ‘a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat’. Home to the lower end of society, The Valley of Ashes in the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald effectively conveys the ideas that the American Dream has being corrupted by people’s greed for excessive luxuries and that the illusory nature of social mobility is limiting those in the lower classes.

Perceived by Nick to be ‘a fantastic farm where ash grows like wheat’, the juxtaposition between The Valley of Ashes and ‘a fantastic farm’ is effective in the way that it conveys to the reader the effects of consumerism has on the environment. Not only are the ‘ash grey men crumbling’, their dreams can also be seen as ‘crumbling’ in the sense that they are stuck and cannot achieve any success. While those who are privileged live glamorously on the West and East Egg, those stuck in the valley have become victims of a corrupt American Dream and have little hope of rising up the classes. This conveys the idea that the forgotten lower classes are falling victim to the

This adjective is effective in the way that it conveys the idea that the bond between The Valley of Ashes and George has deteriorated his health. He is also described by Nick to be ‘blonde, spiritless, anaemic and faintly handsome’. These adjectives all contribute to the fact that although George has the characteristics of a person who is destined to achieve success under the American Dream intended by the founding fathers, he has instead fallen victim to the corrupt version of it. ‘Hope’ is described by Nick to have ‘sprang into his eyes’ when he and Tom walks through the door, this metaphor is significant as it shows how materialistic the society has become. A lack of compassion and morality is often displayed by Tom who often regards those in lower classes as inferior, through acts displayed by Tom, Fitzgerald satirises the illusory nature of social