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Valley Of Ashes In The Great Gatsby

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In the novel The Great Gatsby society of the 1920’s play a huge role with characters and symbols throughout the book. In one of the first scenes of the book with Gatsby u find him staring at the green light at the end of Daisy's dock this represents the American dream and Gatsby's dream of getting Daisy back. In the novel Gatsby is saw standing in front of his mansion just staring at the dock "a single green light, minute and far away that might have been the end of dock." Gatsby longed for this relationship with Daisy and the green light gave him hope that it would happen one day. The American Dream in the 1920’s was a very strong belief especially with immigrants that came from Europe. They had this belief that in America any one can make something of themselves. With that being said society in the 1920’s was about living life to the fullest ad being able to make a lot of money. This was really the first …show more content…

The valley of ashes is located halfway between West Egg and New York City. The valley of ashes is described in the novel as "a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque; where ashes take 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." The valley of ashes symbolizes poverty and the immoral behavior of the 1920s that was pushed aside by everything great with East Egg and West Egg. The people who live here seem to have nothing in their forward that is good and barely have any lives now. Myrtle Wilson’s death happens in the valley of ashes which is caused by the immoral acts of mostly Tom Buchanan. The valley is a place where everything bad with society is just dumped. It shows how bad the the American landscape really was at the time and the destruction it caused to

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It symbolizes poverty, and the population of Manhattan that is not rich and self indulged in their personal lives. The Valley of Ashes is described as a dumping ground, Nick even explains how it’s “bounded on one side by a small foul river, and, when the drawbridge is up to let barges through, the passengers on waiting trains can stare at the dismal scene for as long as half an hour” (27). This is completely opposite to places like West Egg, where most of the novel is taken place. Everything is luxurious and fast paced, comparing these two places opens up many symbols in the reader's mind, like poverty and the fact that not every American at that time could live as Gatsby can, for instance.

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It is described as a flat, grey place, with people who are just the same (Fitzgerald, 23). As a passageway into the city, it’s as if it represents the beginning stages of the american dream, those who start with nothing and desperately want a way to leave. Yet, the people who live in The Valley of Ashes are stuck there, forgotten and left behind by the rise of the idealization of the American Dream, showing the real impossibility of reaching it. George Wilson and his wife, Myrtle Wilson’s character is based around the idea that they live in the bleak area. Similar to the dreams they had once fantasized about, their marriage had dwindled and died in the Valley of Ashes.

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Fitzgerald describes the valley as: 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 grey cars crawls along an invisible track, gives out a ghastly creak and comes to rest, and immediately the ash-grey men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud which screens their obscure operations from your sight. (Fitzgerald

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656 Words | 3 Pages

The novel takes place in New York and between the wealthy homes of West Egg and New York, there is a town called the Valley of Ashes. In the novel, the valley is described as, “— a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the

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539 Words | 3 Pages

' This is a valley of ashes, a extraordinary place 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

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Symbolism is a very important factor in The Great Gatsby. It adds significant depth to the novel especially through the symbols of the valley of ashes, the green light on Daisy’s dock, and Dr. T. J. Eckleburg’s eyes. The valley of ashes is a long piece of land between West Egg and New York City that consists of industrial ashes. The ashes represent the moral decay that develops from the desire of wealth among the people. In addition, the valley also symbolizes the troubles of the poor who live in the dirty ashes that lose their spirit as a result from living there.

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1114 Words | 5 Pages

The Valley of Ashes shows the moral and social decay that results from the socioeconomic gap caused by the immoral wealthy. The valley is between the Eggs and the city. It is a place in which the characters travel through, but give nothing except a glance. It is a place that is forgotten about. The wealthy characters fly through the valley on the way to and from the city thinking nothing of it.

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The valley of ashes represents Poverty and Hopelessness. The valley of ashes was first introduced to us in chapter 2, it is the valley between West Egg and New York City & it consists of long stretch of ravage land created by the dumping of industrial ashes. The American dream is falling apart rapidly, mostly everyone in the city of New York is living in poverty &

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1142 Words | 5 Pages

Sitting right between East and West Egg, this was the place where the nobody's lived. All of the ashes from the burning fireplaces were dumped here and no respect or attention was given to the people who lived there. It was described as “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys”(23). This was the home to George and Myrtle Wilson, the latter of whom was Tom Buchanan's secret love. The Valley of Ashes is a very symbolic place and highlights the losing side of the American dream.

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The Valley of Ashes In the story The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the narrator, Nick, talks about the valley of ashes and what it seems to represent. Nick discusses how the valley of ashes symbolizes hopelessness, the valley of ashes appears to be a dirty and unruly place, and how the level of poverty in the area is high and the people of this place thrive to get out of their current way of life. The valley of ashes is an area between East and West Egg.

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767 Words | 4 Pages

It lies between the city of Manhattan and the West Egg. "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... the ash-gray men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud..." This melancholy place represents the death of the American dream.

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668 Words | 3 Pages

Nick describes it in a way that shows its harshness and unwelcoming nature when he first describes it as, “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens." (p. 23) Characters like George and Myrtle Wilson are closely linked to the valley, reflecting the challenges of the working class and the harmful effects of relentless ambition. Myrtle's affair with Tom Buchanan, a wealthy man from East Egg, demonstrates her desperate effort to escape the poverty of the valley, ultimately leading to her tragic end. Through the symbol of the valley of ashes, Fitzgerald criticizes the social inequalities of the Jazz Age and cautions against the damaging outcomes of pursuing wealth without considering ethical

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1047 Words | 5 Pages

George and Myrtle Wilson both live in the Valley of Ashes. George’s character reflects the Valley of Ashes because he is desperate and empty. George continues to acquire Tom about the car he is planning to sale. George asks Tom, “When are you going to sell me that car?” (Fitzgerald 25).

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1032 Words | 5 Pages

When Fitzgerald refers to the Valley of Ashes as “a waste land”, this is a direct allusion to Eliot’s poem. This place Fitzgerald describes is a place where certain key events happen. This is where the dishonest and unethical choices and disasters take place. The Valley of Ashes is where Myrtle’s husband has his shop and therefore is the location that she is locked up in. The place she is locked up in also is the place she was killed.

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924 Words | 4 Pages

The valley of ashes also symbolizes the difficulties of the poor, like George Wilson, who live among the dirty ashes and lose their vitality as a result. THE EYES OF DOCTOR T. J. ECKLEBURG Another dominant symbol within this novel is the billboard eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg which is in the middle of the valley of ashes, right next to Wilson’s garage staring at the waste that careless capitalism has

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