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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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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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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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