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What Does The Valley Of Ashes Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

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There are numerous repetitive symbols that are used in The Great Gatsby to bind the theme and plot together. Dr. T.J Eckleburg's eyes, The valley of ashes, and the Green Light are a few examples of repetitive symbols that are used in this novel. Fitzgerald uses Dr. T.J Eckleburg's eyes to represent the eyes of God and the judgment on the amoral American lifestyle which ties into the valley of ashes. The valley of ashes represents moral and social decay as a consequence of the pursuit of wealth, and the dangers of the rich indulging themselves with selfish pleasure without regard for anyone or any things well-being. Though these symbols are a major segment of the book, they are not as crucial to the story as the Green Light, which is an illustration …show more content…

Though some may argue that a more important symbol in The Great Gatsby is The Valley of Ashes because of its symbolism of the moral apathy of the American lifestyle, however, it doesn't quite cover the fullness of the story. The Valley of Ashes strictly deals with moral apathy, which is represented with a physical ashy gray and woeful gap between East Egg and West Egg. The Green light, however, deals with hope, despair, longing, and even the hypocrisy of the American Dream. The color green is often associated with money or materialistic items, envy, hope, new- beginnings, and greed. Fitzgerald uses these common associations to enhance the plot of the book, and the reader's understanding of the theme of finding fulfillment in materialistic items, the unrealisticness of the …show more content…

Fitzgerald writes “If it wasn’t for the mist we could see your home across the bay,’ said Gatsby. ‘You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock… Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever.(Fitzgerald Chapter 5). When Daisy visits Gatsby, she marveled at being able to see her own house from his pier, which was immediately across the lake from her residence. Gatsby used to stand at the end of Daisy's pier and grasp for the green light, which was visible even in the mist, in the hopes that Daisy would see him. This represents how the American Dream has

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