The Valley Of Ashes In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

“The Great Gatsby”, a tragic novel written by American novelist and short story writer F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925, nowadays considered a classic of American literature. The story is set in 1920s America, with four major settings: New York City, East Egg, West Egg and the Valley of Ashes. Despite the narrator being a man named Nick Carraway, the main focus lies on his next door neighbour Jay Gatsby and his relationship with his dream girl, Daisy Buchanan. On the surface, the plot seems to be a usual story of broken hopes and the love between two individuals. However, upon taking a closer look at this novel, one can recognize a number of social issues such as the inconsistency of the American dream, the ruinous power of money and the vanity

Comprising a long stretch of desolate land created by decades of pollution and the dumping of industrial ashes, everyone travelling by car from East and West Egg must cross it if they wish to get to New York. Ashes are the leftovers of anything that has been consumed by fire. It is symbolic of the life of the deprived and the have-nots, as well as the moral leprosy attributed to the uncurbed pursuit of wealth, as the rich indulge themselves with regard for nothing but their own contentment. The valley of ashes also represents the plight of the poor, such as George and Myrtle Wilson, who live amid the smouldering filth, causing them to be colourless, pale and as if they were merely background

It is through the clock that the readers are reminded that time is fleeting and cannot be retrieved or rewinded between Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan. The clock is used to symbolise the incompatibility between the two lovers. Despite their irreconcilable differences, Gatsby relentlessly persists in walking down the same path. He wishes to fossilise the moment. It's almost as if he is oblivious to the fact that time will trudge on, rain or shine. Down to the smallest detail, he keeps trying to pick up where he left off with Daisy. One of these details are illustrated in the novel's climax, in which Gatsby feels it isn't enough that Daisy simply says she loves him. He needs her to affirm that she has never felt any sort of affection towards Tom. He needs to restore the purity and rectitude of their first meeting. Rather than moving on, he feels the need to reclaim and assert himself over the past. However, Tom and Daisy have a daughter together, insinuating that their relationship probably was not as shallow as he had imagined, completely shattering Gatsby’s deluded little