Wealth In Chapter 2 Of The Great Gatsby

Fabiana Pinto 11/28/15

First introduced in Chapter 2, the valley of ashes between West Egg and New York City consists of a long stretch of desolate land created by the dumping of industrial ashes. It represents the moral and social decay that results from the uninhibited pursuit of wealth, as the rich indulge themselves with regard for nothing but their own pleasure. The valley of ashes also symbolizes the plight of the poor, like George Wilson, who lives among the dirty ashes and lost his vitality as a result. Nick Carraway made the decision to move to the East and learn "the bond business" because "everybody I knew was in the bond business, so I supposed it could support one more single man." One of the prime goals of young men returning from fighting in World War I was to become rich, so Nick was following the pattern of most of his peers in attempting to secure a position that would allow him to

Fitzgerald wanted to make the characters in The Great Gatsby very representative of the lifestyles and attitudes of that age group in that time. The drive for wealth went along with the search for the good life as demonstrated by conspicuous consumption of alcohol, lavish parties, and hesitation to become entangled in deep and lasting relationships. The American Dream, and the search for how to achieve it, involved the pursuit of wealth. In this chapter we learn that he doesn't hold his liquor well, and that he is capable of objectivity. The Nick we met in the first chapter was quick to pass judgment; in Chapter 2 he sits back and takes the part of observer. The Valley of Ashes, and its description at the beginning of Chapter 2, is Fitzgerald's way of describing the poor section of the city. This immediately follows Nick's dinner party with Tom, Daisy and Miss Baker in East Egg, an upper class area. There is a stark contrast between Gatsby, Tom and Daisy's world of East Egg and George and Myrtle Wilson's poorer world, dubbed by