Desolation In George Wilson's The Valley Of Ashes

Myrtle is married to a man named George Wilson who is a car mechanist. She lives in the Valley of Ashes which is described to be, “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke…” It is basically a poor part of the town. When Nick Carraway first sees her, he describes her as, “…in a moment the thickish figure of a woman...” Nick Carraway also says that she was in her mid-thirties and is, “…faintly stout, but she carried her surplus flesh sensuously...” She is also described not to have a gleam of beauty in her face. Myrtle Wilson is having an affair with Tom Buchanan and met him while riding a train. She doesn’t feel bad about cheating on her husband and idolizes Tom but it seems like Tom treats her like a sexual object rather than a

Fitzgerald further complicates the story when he introduces us to Myrtle Wilson, Tom’s mistress, and her attempt to use him to climb the social ladder. Myrtle and her husband, Wilson, live in the valley of ashes, “a certain desolate area of land” (23). The valley of ashes is a particularly run down stretch of land between West Egg and New York City, mostly inhabited by people from the lower working class. Tom is good friends with Wilson, but is simultaneously having an affair with his wife. Fitzgerald shows us that Myrtle is unhappy with Wilson and seeks a better life when she cries, “The only crazy I was was when I married [Wilson]. I knew right away I made a mistake.

Imagery also played a big part in describing the Valley of the Ashes illustrated in chapter two of the book. Nick, the narrator describes The Valley of Ashes as the land that lies in between the Eggs and New York. The name “Valley of the Ashes” was given to this specify area is given due to its horrible conditions. This area was very unpleasant and is considered the dead land or the waste land. “This is a valley of ashes, a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the 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.” (Fitzgerald 23) This imagery portrays lower social class at the time period. The Valley of Ashes is very symbolic to the book as it symbolizes the plight of the poor, and characters such as George Wilson, who lives in the

She lives in the Valley of Ashes with her husband who owns a crumbling garage. She is unhappy in her marriage, so she is having an affair with Tom Buchanan. Tom is her ideal man because he is wealthy and can afford to buy her expensive things whereas her husband can barely afford to keep his garage open. Initially, Myrtle is described as being "in the middle thirties, and faintly stout" and containing "no facet or gleam of beauty." Immediately after she leaves the Valley of ashes with Tom, her character is described completely different. She is described in elegant detail similar to that of the rich because now she is immersed in the rich lifestyle. Fitzgerald describes her as wearing "a brown figured muslin, which stretched tight over her rather wide hips." The way Fitzgerald describes her also makes her seem beautiful whereas before she was described as having no "facet of beauty." Nick is even comments on Myrtle's sudden change in personality when she is around Tom. He states, "with the influence of the dress her personality had also undergone a change. The intense vitality that had been so markable in the garage was converted into impressive hauteur. Her laughter, her gestures, her assertions, became more violently affected moment by moment, and as she expanded the room grew smaller around her." The reason Myrtle was described differently and changed so drastically was all due to class distinction. Myrtle

One of the most important symbol that Fitzgerald presents is the Valley of Ashes. Introduced in chapter 2, the valley of ashes is portrayed as a dreary piece of land brimming with utter despair. It completely contradicts with the “American Dream” and West Egg, where opportunities are ubiquitous. As Nick states, “This is a valley of

The Valley of Ashes is halfway between West Egg of Long Island and New York City. When one comes upon the Valley of Ashes, it is not what they see, but what they do not see: sunshine, colors, or a settling feeling. The Valley of Ashes is nothing but a dull location, filled with unsatisfied farmers, unsuccessful gardens, billowing smoke, and mounds of ashes that are prominent below the gray skies. Nick Carraway, the narrator of The Great Gatsby, describes the Valley of Ashes as “...a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the 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” (Fitzgerald 23). Fitzgerald describes this location as unpleasant for those who enter and it is seen as a vulnerable place due to the billboard of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg looking upon the location at all times. This descriptive quote foreshadows that something bad will occur in this area during the novel.

Daisy is a Buchanan, a family with enormous hereditary wealth, where Myrtle lives in the Valley of Ashes with an auto mechanic as a husband. Their differences become striking when we compare the first bits of information about them: where they reside. Whilst Daisy's home is described as a 'cheerful red-and-white Georgian colonial mansion'. This house not only connotes to wealth but also hereditary wealth through the premodifier 'Georgian'. The Buchanans couch is compared to an 'anchored balloon', that could be suggesting that wealth 'anchors' security in the society of 1922. Contrastingly, Myrtle's home in the valley of ashes is overlooked b the eyes of T.J Eckleberg. This could be an indication of how capitalism is hampering them as a less than wealthy couple. This idea of the wealthy hampering the poor is reinforced by Carraway ignorance to the way poor people live, implied when he assumes that the 'shadow of a garage must be a blind, and that sumptuous and romantic apartments were concealed overhead'. As he struggles to believe that people live in such conditions. This difference is all more evident when we consider how when Carraway is describing the Buchanans' home he uses colours like 'red', 'white', 'rose' and 'wine'; all of which connote to luxury. Whereas in describing the Wilsons' home, colours like 'whitewashed', 'blond' and 'light blue'. Colours that a very pale and

Myrtle’s apartment is the opposite to the valley of ashes as it is garish and loud. Myrtle is cheap and from the working class, and so has no taste. This is reinforced through Scott Fitzgerald’s description of the apartment bought for her by Tom Buchanan, so that he can conduct his affair with her. Fitzgerald describes everything as small, ‘a small living-room, a small dining-room, a small bedroom’. As it’s only intended for two people, Myrtle and Tom, it should only be small, but this is also a hint from Fitzgerald that Tom doesn’t think very much of Myrtle as he don’t spend his money on her, which he was freely spending in Yale, but on himself. Nick says (through Fitzgerald) that the apartment ‘was crowded to the doors’ in the living room, with ‘a set of tapestried furniture, entirely too large for it’. This suggests that Myrtle wants to put on an act of being rich and wealthy, and so copies their styles but with no taste and so ruins the effect. She is trying to hide her social class, and her apartment is used by Fitzgerald to highlight an

The opening paragraph consists of expository dialogue that provides the setting for the region in New York known as the “Valley of Ashes”. Fitzgerald personifies the road by saying that it “hastily joins the railroad and runs beside it for a quarter of a mile so as to shrink away from a certain desolate area of land”. This allows the reader to envision how the pavement of the road sits alongside the tracks and the sharp angle that moves the road closer to the railroad. The description of the valley of ashes as “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills

If it is remembered that ashes circa the turn of the century often referred to garbage, then it is possible to interpret the "valley of ashes" as a "dumping ground." (23) The ash heaps, then, are piles of garbage, and the repeated references to "waste land," as opposed to "wasteland," now make more sense, as does George Wilson's use of "a piece of waste" to wipe his hands. (24-5) For Fitzgerald, the American dream is to get rich and become socially acceptable; Wilson, who has failed, has "wasted" his life, and is now "down in the dumps." He has been cast away by society, just like the rest of the refuse that surrounds him. This, then, seems to be the fate of middle-class dreams--despite being conceived in a land filled with opportunity, they all end up in the landfill.

Myrtle tries to satisfy her desires by seeking wealth and status in attempts of achieving her American Dream. Myrtle’s husband, George, owns a car dealership and repair shop in the industrial wasteland of the Valley of Ashes, which depict his lower class. In describing George's shop, Fitzgerald notes “The interior was unprosperous and bare; the only car visible was the dust-covered wreck of a Ford which crouched in a dim corner” (Fitzgerald 27). Although George is loyal and hardworking, Myrtle is unsatisfied with her relationship; she envies the East Eggers for living her version of the American Dream while she is stuck in the Valley of Ashes, married to a low class man. Myrtle directly disrespects her husband as she goes after Tom, a high class, wealthy, and married man, living in the East Egg.

Through dressing rooms and poolrooms, and bathrooms with sunken baths. The dresser was garnished with a toilet set of pure dull gold. P.96-97" Tom and Daisy also live in a mansion which is Georgian Colonial, which establishes their status as "old money" characters. The people living in the "valley of the ashes" depict a third class. The "valley of ashes is described as " a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat in ridges…where ashes take the form of houses and chimneys". Myrtle and George Wilson are the inhabitants in the "valley of ashes", which is depicted as a wasteland. They live in a car garage which, shows that they live a common or impoverished existence in the desolate wasteland of the "valley of ashes". The Wilson's financial and physical environment instructs their distance from characters like Tom Buchanan and Nick Carraway in every way, including their lack of education and class. In this way, Fitzgerald emphasizes major monetary differences through materialistic as well as solidifying the premise for ideological differences.

Even though Myrtle was born into a middle class family, she was trapped in the valley of ashes of many of the people are. But she always wanted a higher lifestyle and she also was in a relationship with Tom, who was a rich man since generations. Now Myrtle has no difficulty in her life, even though she is cheating her own husband, she gets a lifestyle that she wants even though it is only for while. Another aspect in their novel is that Tom, being a rich man from generations and Myrtle, staying in the valley of ashes; according to the analysis Tom’s friends

The Valley of ashes, land of the forgotten and despair. “This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the 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” (fitzgerald 23). The valley of ashes, one of the most important symbols to the theme of great gatsby. The valley of ashes gives the reader a great sense of truth in lives of most people during the roaring 20’s. It shows the hardship of the american dream as well as the struggle to achieve what so many want with the little that they have. Fitzgerald describes this place as a “desilet area” and “where ashes grow like wheat” It just goes to show the other side of the dream. A few moments after “Wilson's glazed eyes turned out to the ashheaps, where small grey clouds took on fantastic shape and scurried here and

There are many important symbols in The Great Gatsby. The author, Fitzgerald, uses symbols to indirectly refer to a theme or idea. The Valley of Ashes is one of these important symbols. This is a place where the upper class do not enjoy going through because it is dirty and polluted. The valley symbolizes a low spot that is hard to get out of and where people are getting trapped in the same lifestyle. The Valley of Ashes has many factories that are owned by “old money,” and here poor people are forgotten. Fitzgerald uses the Valley of Ashes to demonstrate how lower classes are not given much of an opportunity and are shoved aside by the rich, who do not care how their actions affect others.