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What Does The Valley Of Ashes Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

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In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, a young man named Nick Carroway narrates the story and talks about his experiences living in East Egg, right next door to the popular Jay Gatsby. Fitzgerald uses several symbols to connect with the reader and to exemplify the roaring 20’s. Using the symbols he exhibits the not-so- glamorous lifestyles, lived by the wealthy and corrupted, as well as a forgotten God, and the morally deprived characters, reaching for the intensely wanted yet unachievable American Dream.
One of the first and more prominent symbols in the book is the “Valley of Ashes.” A dreary place created by the dumping of industrial waste, located halfway between West egg and New York City. It is described as being ‘bounded …show more content…

Water appears to be a foreshadowing tool used by the author to hint at the tragic events at the end. For example, a body of water physically separates Gatsby and Daisy. This begins when Gatsby and Tom begin fighting over Daisy in the hotel room. This depicts the future conflicts between the two, after they begin to drift farther apart later in the story. ‘But with every word she was drawing further and further into herself’(p.134) It is also happens to be raining heavily the day Gatsby and Daisy are reunited. Gatsby becomes drenched, and the way Nick describes him standing in the rain hints at his demise later in the story when he says, Gatsby looked as ‘pale as death… standing in a puddle of water’ (p.86). And although this particular part is not melancholy, it forebodes the tragic events that occur in the end. In addition to that when, ‘Gatsby shouldered the mattress and started for the pool’ it suggests yet another salient incident. Water also symbolizes birth. The persona of Jay Gatsby was ultimately born in water. And on the sea is where he meets Dan Cody. A wealthy man who influenced him to into configuring the false identity of Jay Gatsby. Gatsby’s life is later abruptly ended on a floaty in his swimming pool. Although water is not the root cause of all of the conflict in the story, whenever water appears, it implies a future

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457 Words | 2 Pages

The fact that it is raining when these characters reunite displays the atmosphere of their small get-together and how each of them is feeling. Typically people combine rain and sadness but in this case, it is used to describe how Gatsby is feeling nervous and contradictory about seeing Daisy again. therefore creating an awkward atmosphere where the characters it in silence. These interactions can sometimes even offer a small glimpse into the future. These glimpses into the future aren't specifically about any event though.

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912 Words | 4 Pages

Gatsby stood on the edge of his own party and by himself stayed there staring across the bay with a certain look of desperation and a yearn for something more. At this moment, I was not able to really see the reason why he was so curious about the green light at the end of the dock across the bay. I did not know him at this point in time. Despite that, after spending just a couple of weeks with him, it became obvious to me what he saw in that green light, a dream. Gatsby’s life was a collection of unfulfilled dreams that flew through his heart and the grand hallways of his house.

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1147 Words | 5 Pages

During this particular example, Daisy and Gatsby reunite for the first time in five years. As the scene unfolds, we notice there is a significant change in the weather that’s interchangeable with Gatsby’s mood and his overall feelings. When Gatsby has his first interactions with Daisy, he’s understandably nervous, embarrassed, and a bit sad that it’s been so long since he’s seen the woman he loves. While he’s feeling these strong and steady emotions, the rain is also coming down strong and steadily, enough to cause large puddles in Nick’s

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1076 Words | 5 Pages

By the end of the book Gatsby's’ lifeless body ends up in the bottom of his pool with a bullet to his chest, all of the raged that was in Wilson was unleashed on Gatsby. This scene portrays how much he loved Daisy to the point that he would take the blame for her, additionally it shows how the low class society believe that the high class society can get away with anything due how privileged they are based on the amount of money they have. In the scene at Gatsby's funeral no one but Nick and and the people who worked for him attended (164). This scene is significant because it proves to show that Jay Gatsby died an unhappy man, his reputation still remained unknown due to the fact that he did not develop special relationships with anyone, his love for Daisy was never completed and the success he yearned for was never

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725 Words | 3 Pages

The pool along with the mansion, the parties, and the fancy clothes were all part of Gatsby’s plan to seduce Daisy, never actually being enjoyed by Gatsby himself. Fitzgerald used this moment as a turning point for Gatsby, who begins to focus on himself rather than committing his life to Daisy. However, even though he tries to return to his ship, it is already too late as he has already passed the point of no return in order to chase the siren’s

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556 Words | 3 Pages

He reaches out and desperately wants the green light across the water, much like how the personified mother nature wants to keep her first green in the poem. What neither of them know is that it is already too late. Gatsby can no longer receive that love and mother nature cannot revert the leaf back into a blooming flower. Neither can bring back the innocence and perfection of youth. Although, both could be seen as powers that parallel each other because Gatsby is almost fighting mother nature.

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181 Words | 1 Pages

During Chapters 8 and 9, there seems to be a lot of symbolism due to it being the end of the book. Throughout the book we know that Fitzgerald uses seasons and weather to describe the atmosphere of what is happening in the book. Right now, the season of summer is coming to an end, just as Gatsby’s life is. The gardener also comes to empty out the pool, but Gatsby does not want him to so he can get a swim in before it is too late. This can be interpreted as Gatsby not wanting to let go of daisy since he does tell one of his workers to bring the phone down by the pool in hopes that he will get a call from Daisy.

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516 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author uses many differnt retorical devices to add a personal flare to his work. He uses diction, symbolism, and irony to adress many different themes. These themes include Materialism, The American Dream, and includes a sharp and biting ridicule on American society in the 1920’s. The main point of Fitzgerald, arguement is one where he sharply criticizes the Society of the time.

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306 Words | 2 Pages

significant underlying theme in The Great Gatsby is the use of water as a means of portraying separation and challenge. It embodies Gatsby’s struggles as he yearns to reunite with Daisy. Fitzgerald employs this motif in various points of the novel to bring about this idea as well as an underlying element between the two. Right off from the beginning, an expanse of water divides the two major peninsulas, West Egg and East Egg. It serves the role of representing the goal Gatsby is reaching for; in fact, he “stretched out his hands toward the dark water” as to note his aims toward Daisy in East Egg (Fitzgerald 12).

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737 Words | 3 Pages

This quote can also resemble a sense of time that can be seen in a way of moving forward or being stuck. These themes build intensity throughout the course of The Great Gatsby. Gatsby thrives on the motion or flowing of water and needs it to be able to live his life and move forward, just how living things need blood flowing to thrive and survive. At 16 he ran away from home to find something more.

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683 Words | 3 Pages

From day one of Nick Carraway’s arrival, to the tragic ending of the Gatsby story, the weather continues to play a big part in predicting what’s to come. While reading, the weather might seem to be of little importance, but looking back, it’s hard to miss its meaning. The weather in The Great Gatsby, foreshadows character behaviors and gives insight on certain events and people in the novel. Fitzgerald uses the theme of weather through a combination of temperature and wind, rain storms, and hot summer days all while intertwining it into the character’s lives.

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453 Words | 2 Pages

Tatiana Martinez 10/15/15 English 4 (period 8) ISA #3 Writing Some of the symbols in the novel “The Great Gatsby” connect with the valley of ashes that is introduced in chapter 2. The valley of ashes symbolize poverty, hopelessness and the lost hopes and dreams of people who have failed to live up to the American Dream.

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924 Words | 4 Pages

Gatsby associates it with Daisy, and in Chapter 1 he reaches toward it in the darkness as a guiding light to lead him to his goal. Because Gatsby’s quest for Daisy is broadly associated with the American dream, the green light also symbolizes that more generalized ideal. In Chapter 9, Nick compares the green light to how America, rising out of the ocean, must have looked to early settlers of the new nation. THE VALLEY OF ASHES 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 dissolute pursuit of wealth, as the rich indulge themselves with regard for nothing but their own pleasure.

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1558 Words | 7 Pages

The American dream states that any individual can achieve success regardless of family history, race, and/or religion simply by working hard. The 1920’s were a time of corruption and demise of moral values in society. The first World War had passed, and people were reveling in the materialism that came at the end of it, such as advanced technology and innovative inventions. The novel The Great Gatsby exploits the theme of the American Dream as it takes place in a corrupt period in history. Although the American Dream seemed more attainable than ever in the 1920’s, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby demonstrates how materialism and the demise of moral values in society leads to the corruption and impossibility of the American Dream.

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437 Words | 2 Pages

Fitzgerald uses color to add mod and symbolize different things throughout the novel. The novel uses many different colors to provide imagery for the readers to understand and to live as if they are truly in the novel. The color blue represents Gatsby’s illusions his deeply romantic dreams of unreality. He’ had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”

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