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What Does The Valley Of Ashes Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

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The Great Gatsby is a book written by F. Scott Fitzgerald this book contains a lot of symbols and deeper meanings. In this book some of the symbols are the green light and the valley of ashes .There are also a lot of deeper meanings in the characters’, like Daisy, Nick and Jay. So, theses symbols and deeper meanings really added to the book. They added to the book by making the motives of the characters more clear by providing more insight into the characters goals. The green light at the end of Tom’s dock really affected Jay. The green light was Jay’s future and his goals in his life.”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.” (F. Scott Fitzgerald). In this part of the the book nick is looking at the green light and wondered when he saw it. Jay dreams felt so close that he could see it and almost touch it. This green light also corresponded with daisy and how she was so close to him and how all he had to do was cross the water. The green light also guided him toward his goals and also caused his demise. The valley of the ashes is the area between West Egg and New York. In this part of New York it is dirty and poor and is filled with ash from all of the industries. This symbolizes the leftover of the …show more content…

Jay represented F. Scott Fitzgerald’s best personalities Jay and all around a loyal and trustworthy man. He also represented himself to Tom by giving Tom his Bad personalities such as not loyal and a bully. F. Scott Fitzgerald also gave Daisy characteristics of his wife Zelda, Daisy is materialistic and all in it for the money. He also gives Nick some of he’s characteristics, a quiet man from the west (SparkNotes Editor). Knowing all of these things, paints a clearer picture showing that theses characters are mostly taken from F. Scott Fitzgerald

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Fitzgerald creates clear distinctions between the upper and lower classes primarily through the use of the valley of ashes. The valley of ashes is nothing but a grey wasteland where “Ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke” but it is also the home of the poor, “The only building in sight was a small block of yellow brick sitting on the edge of the waste land”. This is very much different to East Egg, where the wealth live which is described that “Across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along the water”. This distinct different between settings shows the differences of the classes but also the hollowness of the upper

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In this novel, one of the industrial sectors that is included in the vicinity of East and West Egg is described with the symbols of ashes and dust to emphasize the filthy condition that the town is in. This town is first introduced when Nick and Tom go visit Tom’s adulterer, Myrtle Wilson, in “The Valley of Ashes”(Fitzgerald 23). This symbolizes the depression in the town as extreme poverty plagues the Valley of Ashes and how most of the inhabitants are depressed as they are less fortunate than the people of East and West Egg. Another example of a place that is being indirectly characterized by the symbol of grey, ashes, and dust is during Nick’s first party at Gatsby’s house. They were both reminiscing about World War 1 as both Nick and Gatsby served, talking about various “wet, grey little villages in France” (Fitzgerald 47).

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Ava Bowman Ms. Doyle Honors English American Voices 26/May/2024 The Great Gatsby Theme, Motifs, and Symbols The Great Gatsby is a novel about Nick Carraway discussing his experience with millionaire Jay Gatsby. The novel discusses the wealth of the 1920s, the love affairs, and the hopes for the American dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald novel The Great Gatsby demonstrates themes such as the hollowness of the upper class, motifs of the weather, and symbolism of the valley of ashes.

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Two important symbols in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby are the green light and the valley of ashes. Both symbols connect to the novel’s main theme of how the unchecked, unbridled pursuit of wealth leads to destruction. The green light appears early in the novel as a symbol of what Gatsby longs and strives for. Nick, the narrator, describes Gatsby standing alone and content, though he thinks “he was trembling,” to stare across the water at the light: “I involuntarily glanced seaward--and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock.”

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Symbolism is a very important factor in The Great Gatsby. It adds significant depth to the novel especially through the symbols of the valley of ashes, the green light on Daisy’s dock, and Dr. T. J. Eckleburg’s eyes. The valley of ashes is a long piece of land between West Egg and New York City that consists of industrial ashes. The ashes represent the moral decay that develops from the desire of wealth among the people. In addition, the valley also symbolizes the troubles of the poor who live in the dirty ashes that lose their spirit as a result from living there.

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Foremost, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses characters to symbolize the diabolical traits within a person. For instance, Daisy 's husband, Tom represented pride. Tom was a despicable character throughout the book, he was conceited and arrogant to everyone around him. For example, Tom tells Nick that he is more masculine then he is and parades his house around boasting about his accomplishments and wealth (Ch 1. Pg 7).

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This story leads you down the path of narrator Nick Carraway’s life after moving to a fictional town in Long Island, New York. He meets a variety of new people who play a dramatic role in his life. Through Nick’s encounters with both people and places, F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author, is able to insert multiple symbols. By using symbols such as the green light, the billboard, and the valley of ashes F. Scott Fitzgerald is able to advance his plot and enhance the quality of The Great Gatsby.

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The valley of ashes is located halfway between West Egg and New York City. The valley of ashes is described in the novel as "a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque; where ashes take forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air."  The valley of ashes symbolizes poverty and the immoral behavior of the 1920s that was pushed aside by everything great with East Egg and West Egg. The people who live here seem to have nothing in their forward that is good and barely have any lives now. Myrtle Wilson’s death happens in the valley of ashes which is caused by the immoral acts of mostly Tom Buchanan.

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Throughout the story Nick tells the readers about life during the 1920’s. Fitzgerald uses symbols such as the green light, valley of ashes, and Gatsby himself to represent that the American dream is unattainable.     To begin the first time Nick sees Gatsby  is when he is extending his arms out towards a green (21). To many in the 1920’s the color green stood for money, growth, or the future. To Gatsby the color green is his American dream.

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The Blind Desire Like Holly Black once said, “Once someone’s hurt you, it’s harder to relax around them, harder to think of them as safe to love. But it doesn’t stop you from wanting them”. Gatsby, a self-made millionaire, envisions this life of endless luxuries and his beloved Daisy. Suddenly, his dreams turn into dust in front of his eyes; he ends up losing his life and everything he ever wanted.

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The valley of ashes is also very lifeless and symbolizes the harshness in the world and also the hardship of poverty. The author also says “immediately the ash-gray men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud, which screens their obscure operations from your sight”, this means the valley of ashes is

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453 Words | 2 Pages

We also learn about Nick from his descriptions. To conclude the feel of this novel, Fitzgerald introduces the theme of the pursuit of wealth so early in the story because it’s important to understand how it connects with the American Dream. The valley of ashes is a desolate land between West Egg and New York City that consists of dumping of industrial ashes. This place is literal and symbolic in one, it symbolizes poverty and hopelesness in such a way. These characters are helpless, they are suffering just like the environmental is.

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196 Words | 1 Pages

Fitzgerald goes into detail in invoking the grotesque scene of America into the mind of the reader. By putting forth the metaphor that “this is a valley of ashes- a fantastic farm” (2), he besets the idea of this is where the detestable conditions spout. The valley of ashes is simply the wasteland of American industry; accordingly, it may sound odd to describe a wasteland as a farm. Any discrepancies of that disappear on further analysis of the comparison, however. Clarity and obviousness arise as you consider the meaning of the statement.

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529 Words | 3 Pages

The green light is represented as Gatsby's ideal goals for his life. The light also serves as a guide such as a marker for Gatsby. Gatsby's dream was to be able to marry Daisy and live happily ever after. The green light can also be a symbol for the American Dream, which was the idea that everyone could come to America, work hard, and become rich and wealthy. The Valley of the Ashes is an area that divides the two parts of New York, the East Egg and West Egg.

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1611 Words | 7 Pages

Scott Fitzgerald utilizes characterizations to explore and critique the decadence and moral decay of the era. Through the characterization of Jay Gatsby, Fitzgerald highlights the disillusionment of the American Dream and the emptiness of wealth and materialism. Through the characterization of Daisy Buchanan, Fitzgerald critiques the moral decay of the era, and through the characterization of Tom Buchanan, Fitzgerald represents the decadence of the era through his boisterous and bullish personality. Finally, through the narration of Nick Carraway, Fitzgerald provides the reader with a unique perspective and a voice of reason and morality. The effectiveness of the characterizations in The Great Gatsby is evident in the way Fitzgerald's characters are still discussed and analyzed today, nearly a century after the publication of the novel.

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