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What Does The Valley Of Ashes Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

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Another important motif that has an interesting signification would be the Valley of Ashes. The Valley of Ashes is the depressing industrial area that is between the West Egg and New York City. This region is covered in dust and ash caused by the nearby factories. In the movie, Nick and other characters travels through and passes by the Valley of Ashes. While there is business and excitement in Manhattan, and there are ridiculous extravagancies in the West and East Egg, the Valley of Ashes would be a place that shows the darker side of the surrounding glamour. It represents the poor lower class, poverty, and hopelessness. It symbolizes the plight of the poor and their unfortunate situations. George Wilson, for example, is a character who loses his vitality and a man who comes out of the gray world of ashy pollution and factory dust. The people of the lower class who inhibit this region all want to leave but cannot, we can see this from the fact that Myrtle was so desperate and ambitious and that she hopes Tom would be her ticket out of this miserable life. The valley is created through industrial dumping, and the environment is suffering. The American Dream is becoming more obvious through the drastic contrast …show more content…

The first time when Nick saw Gatsby was when he saw the mysterious man standing alone and staring over the water, stretching out his arm towards the green light in the darkness as a guiding light to lead him to his goal. To Gatsby, the green light represents his dream, which is Daisy. To attain her would be completing Gatsby’s American Dream. For Gatsby at that time, the green light seemed impossible to reach, just like how in the end of the story Gatsby did not win Daisy from Tom. The green light also represents society’s desire and the seeming impossibility of achieving the materialistic American

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