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The Valley Of Ashes Symbolism Analysis

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The color yellow symbolizes many deceitful ideas in the novel. As Nick is entering into the Valley of the Ashes, he acknowledges a billboard of an eye doctor and notes: “They look out no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles…” (23). T.J. Eckleburg is looked upon as a fake God. The billboard looks over the Valley of Ashes, implying that he is always watching. While reading, there seems to be a nonexistent reality of religion. Capitalism has taken its apparent toll in the societies of East and West Egg and God is now seen as advertisement for an eye doctor. Not only is the advertising deceitful, but all aspects of the East and West Egg societies are spurious. Upon entering the Valley of Ashes with Tom, they stop by a building and observes it’s “The only building in sight that was a small block of yellow brick sitting on the edge of the waste land” (24). This “small block of yellow brick” is Wilson’s garage. His garage, along with the rest of The Valley of Ashes symbolizes the hidden moral depravity of the East Egg society. The Valley of Ashes …show more content…

As seen, yellow gives false reality to those who have no place in society. In the beginning of chapter three, Nick describes Gatsby’s car saying: “his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains” (39). Finding out that Gatsby would pick up people to attend and leave his party, he was much like a bus driver; he is transportation for all others who have no way of getting home. It is a way for him to show off the new wealth he has accumulated and becomes flashy. He wants to be just like the higher society and tries to mirror how he sees the higher society as. Gatsby’s wealth seems to benefit all others, except for Gatsby himself. The quote represents how all other flamboyant guests have a desire to enter into the high society, like Gatsby himself, but

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991 Words | 4 Pages

From the quote, “This is a Valley of Ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air. Occasionally a line of gray cars crawls along an invisible track, gives out a ghastly creak, and comes to rest, and immediately the ash-gray men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud, which screens their obscure operations from your sight” (23), it can be seen how the Valley of Ashes is a depressing place. It represents the moral and social decay that results from the continued search of wealth and acceptance in society. Seen by how the rich provide themselves with regard for nothing but their own pleasure. The valley of ashes also symbolizes the forcefulness of the poor, like George Wilson, who live among the dirty ashes and lose their vitality as a result.

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1175 Words | 5 Pages

This quote shows how wealthy Gatsby is, how his success was becoming rich enough to own a mansion, to impress Daisy and to win her back. Daisy wanted Gatsby to become rich to impress her so he mad money illegally, this eventually led to a failure. Another example that shows

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1077 Words | 5 Pages

This shows that Gatsby is not only trying to convey the fact that he is rich, like all of his party attendants, but that he is a respectable man who should be taken for more than his face-value.

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The colors white, yellow, blue, and green shape the novel’s characters and plot, resulting in a vivid story of love and blind pursuance. As mentioned earlier, the color green is one of the most recognized colors symbolically. The color green symbolizes future, or the American dream, and is most associated with Gatsby himself. This is what Gatsby is pursuing throughout the novel until he tragically perishes, his dream never becoming a reality.

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1311 Words | 6 Pages

There is so many time yellow is used, like when Fitzgerald talks about Gatsby's yellowish white car and both of them colors together, represent Gatsby and Daisy’s love for each

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1652 Words | 7 Pages

(Page) shows how Gatsby doesn’t need to work as hard as he presumably comes from old money. Lastly, it’s shown that the rich don’t work as hard to the poor when “They had spent a year in France, for no particular reason, and then drifted here and there unrest fully wherever people played polo and were rich together.” (Page) showing that their rich and bored who are privileged people. This positions the audience to show that the rich don’t work as hard, and that they believe they are the best of people from coming from their background of old money that will help them in achieving their aspiration from their American

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854 Words | 4 Pages

“It was a rich cream color, bright with nickel, swollen here and there in its monstrous length with triumphant hatboxes and supper-boxes and tool-boxes, and terraced with a labyrinth of windshields that mirrored a dozen suns. Sitting down behind many layers of glass in a sort of green leather conservatory we started to town.” (68). The color yellow is to symbolise wealth in the novel. This describes how lavish, eye catching and extravagant Gatsby’s car is and how it is meant to catch your attention when you look at it.

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754 Words | 4 Pages

“About half way between West Egg and New York the motor road hastily joins the railroad and runs beside it for a quarter of a mile, so as to shrink away from a certain desolate area of land.” This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes

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1268 Words | 6 Pages

It also serves to portray the materialistic society that surrounds them (The Colors of Society - Camouflaged Discontent).” The characters portray such class and wealth along with fake happiness. The Valley of Ashes looks at how they feel on the inside which Daisy and Gatsby both ooze with discontent with how they’ve made decisions and how their lives did not turn out how they dreamed. Next, at one of Gatsby’s many house parties Nick makes a list of “grey names, and they will give you a better impression than [Nick’s] generalities (Fitzgerald 61).”

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1439 Words | 6 Pages

When we use wealth as our vehicle to self fulfillment, it easily distracts us from our original goal. In our efforts, it is easy to lose sight of our aims and compromise our principles to attain the wealth we desire. It is evident that even amidst his riches, Gatsby is unfulfilled. The wealth he hoped to use to strengthen his claim to honour has undermined his chances of being worthy of it. Instead of giving, wealth has stripped him of his morality and trapped him in a lifestyle that demands he only be pulled further into immorality.

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Everybody wants to be the wealthy however the poor suffer lots as a result of the by-product of the capitalistic society. The by-product during this novel is the Valley of Ashes. This shows how individuals throw out regard for others in exchange of the pursuit to be wealthy (This is incredibly immoral). This is often believed to be the American Dream. On the opposite hand you have got extravagant parties at the Gatsby house simply to impress a lady.

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This indicates that Gatsby was a man who believed in the “orgastic future” and a world that was superior to the one he found himself in. Furthermore, Gatsby 's attempt to pursue the American Dream is seen through his struggle to reach for the “green light” which symbolizes Gatsby 's dream of being with Daisy, This is demonstrated when: He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward—and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock. When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unquiet darkness (5).

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Another symbol seen often in the novel is the color green and gold. These colors symbolize wealth and greed. Gatsby is seen standing on his dock staring into a green light, which is coming from Daisy 's house. This green light symbolizes his desire for wealth and an attraction like that of moths to light. Gatsby also creates a false image of himself towards the public.

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507 Words | 3 Pages

In front of this building is also where Myrtle is killed. After Myrtle is murdered, Wilson looks at the billboard of T.J. Eckleburg, saying “God sees everything” but T.J. Eckleburg wore “a pair of enormous yellow spectacles” which gives it an ungodly and deathly presence (160; 23). Myrtle being killed by a yellow car, outside of a yellow building, while Eckleburg watches with yellow spectacles is no coincidence, it’s largely an example of death. Yellow is an artificial representation of wealth and a portrayal of corruption and death. The multiple times yellow is mentioned make the corruption of it express how terrible the events in The Great Gatsby really were.

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708 Words | 3 Pages

To begin with, the first glance we get of Gatsby is his extravagant parties. Gatsby uses parties to show off his wealth, hoping that it will grasp Daisy 's attention. " On week-ends his Rolls Royce became on omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains" (39; Ch 3). Gatsby throws extravagant parties to try to give off the illusion that he is old money.

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