How Does Fitzgerald Tell the Story in Chapter 2 of the Great Gatsby?

Tom’s mistress, Myrtle, lives in a garage in the valley of ashes, with her husband, George Wilson. Described to be gray, the valley of ashes appears to be an area of poverty and moral decay. This could mean that Tom comes to the valley of ashes and because there are no morals, he acts freely with whomever he desires. Nick narrates that the

One of the ways in which Fitzgerald tells the story in Chapter 1 is through the characterisation aspect of narrative, using symbolism in order to better exenterate character features. One of the ways Fitzgerald uses characterisation is through description of character appearance, as seen with the description of Daisy whom wears a white dress.

Chapter 7 mirrors chapter 1 in setting and structure, of the travelling to New York and the necessity to pass through ‘The Valley of the Ashes’ symbolic of the mythological River Styx and “The Waste Land” by T.S. Elliot. Also, the many separated sections in chapter 7 are reminiscent of the structure of chapter 1, used as a key way for Fitzgerald to effectively and emotively convey the story, by framing the two chapters together. The tragic events in chapter 7; the climactic revelation of Daisy and Gatsby’s affair and Myrtle’s death; come to light. The theme of mistaken identity is crucial in chapter 7, from the first half of the chapter where the prolonged

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a novel that highlights the stark contrast between the rich elites of East Egg and the dirt-poor ashen people of the Valley of Ashes through the reckless power that the wealthy of this world can exert on the unfortunate. As concluded by Nick in the novel, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness [...] and let other people clean up the mess they had made” (Fitzgerald, 179). By thoroughly examining the thoughtless actions of Daisy and Tom Buchanan and their consequences, Baz Luhrmann's rendition of The Great Gatsby portrays the carelessness of the elites more effectively than the novel. Through the inclusion of additional scenes and the omission of some, Baz Luhrmann conveys the utter disregard that Tom and Daisy posses towards other characters in the novel.

Tom pursues Myrtle Wilson, a poor woman living in the industrialized ‘Valley of Ashes’ with her struggling mechanic husband. Myrtle, dissatisfied with her position in society, gladly spends Tom’s money and follows him wherever he goes. Following an attempt by Myrtle to rebel by saying Daisy’s name, Tom punches her in the face to prove that he has control. Myrtle is resigned to accept this abuse in order to get what she wants out of the relationship because she knows that anyone could easily take her place. In addition, Daisy begins seeing her former flame Jay Gatsby once she rediscovers his existence in West Egg. Gatsby, absolutely enamored with Daisy, claims to have earned all of his money and risen to the top just for her. Despite Daisy’s renewed interest in Gatsby, she dislikes his extravagant parties and West Egg, disgusted by ‘the too obtrusive fate that herded its inhabitants along a short cut from nothing to nothing’ (114). Daisy’s distaste for the ‘new money’ crowd sends Gatsby into a panic, and he immediately attempts to rectify his ‘mistake’ by eliminating the parties entirely, proving that Daisy is able to control him by her pretentious whims

Characteristics of Tom stood out to the reader during Nick’s first ever party in New York. While Nick was spending the day with Tom, Tom picked up his mistress, Myrtle, and threw a party in their apartment in New York. A couple other people attended this party. They knew both Tom and Myrtle were married, but they did not seem awkward about it. Myrtle’s sister, Catherine, believed Tom and Myrtle should get married. “‘... why go on living with them if they can’t

It’s called the Valley of Ashes because it is a polluted place where all the coal factories and other industries dump their waste. It is also where the lower class lives, including George and Myrtle. The bleakness of the area symbolizes Wilson’s attempt and failure to achieve the American Dream as is suggested in this quote, "Oh, sure," agreed Wilson hurriedly and went toward the little office, mingling immediately with the cement color of the walls. A white ashen dust veiled his dark suit and his pale hair as it veiled everything in the vicinity--except his wife, who moved close to

The author presents the Valley of Ashes in chapter two, in which readers also meet Myrtle, Tom’s mistress. Myrtle's physical appearance reveals the sensuous and the impureness of her character and foreshadows her future death. Fitzgerald introduces Myrtle

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, similarities and differences arise between two fascinating characters, Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan. These main characters seem like two completely different characters but similarities are present. Daisy, “the golden girl” (Fitzgerald 120), is a key factor into what makes these men so similar. While discussing these similar traits, the reader may question why Daisy chooses Tom over Gatsby. In the novel, the men’s love and wealth help the audience understand Daisy’s decision.

However through Myrtle, Tom exposes his life to all the death and despair that her habitation

The Valley of Ashes is a place of uninterrupted desolation, and is inhabited by poorer individuals like George and Myrtle Wilson. It is a miserable place that connects Long Island with Manhattan, and Fitzgerald uses it to denote the politics of that day. It lacks the stylish suburban allure of West and East Egg, and is a barren wasteland that symbolizes the moral decay of all classes in the capitalist society of 1920s America. Moreover, the Valley of Ashes is a reflection of the destruction of morals hidden by the facades of the Eggs, and Fitzgerald uses it to indicate that beneath the garish ornamentation of West Egg, and the mannered pretense of East Egg, lies the same ugliness that is in the valley.. He depicts it as a place plagued with such

This chapter starts out with the description of another part of New York known as the “Valley of Ashes.” This is the poverty side of New York and is noticeably poor since it's referred to such a name. We are introduced to another character named George Wilson and his wife Myrtle. Tom takes Nick to George Wilson's garage, which is located in the Valley of Ashes. By this we know that George Wilson is a poor man.Tom is cheating on his wife for Wilson's wife which is pretty absurd.Tom takes a visit to a party with Catherine, and brings Daisy Nick and Myrtle along with him. (Catherine and Myrtle are sisters). The group starts gossiping about Gatsby, while getting drunk. Myrtle then begins to annoy Tom because she keeps talking about his wife Daisy. This non-stop talk about

She lives in the Valley of Ashes with her husband George Wilson. The Valley of Ashes represents the desperation of the people of the lower class to fit in. It is a poor area in which many fantasize about an extravagant lifestyle and could live their life in lavishness. The individuals who live there are constantly burning like embers, struggling to last as long as they can in the world before being flushed out. Similar to many of the individuals in the Valley of Ashes, Myrtle despises living below everyone else and wants to have fortune similar to Gatsby’s. Jay Gatsby’s mansion contains a “high gothic library, paneled with carved English oak, probably transported complete from some ruin overseas” (45) while Myrtle’s minuscule apartment possesses “a small living-room, a small dining-room, a small bedroom, and a bath” (29). She longs for a luxurious lifestyle and when she meets Tom Buchanan, an extremely wealthy man who lives in East Egg, she sees him as an opportunity to escape from the depths of her gray life. Nevertheless, her eagerness to break free from her social class ultimately leads to her demise. Later, when Wilson discovers that Myrtle is seeing Tom, he threatens to take her away to go West. Following the dispute, Myrtle rushes outside to a yellow car, thinking that it was Tom driving, but car did not stop and moments later, Myrtle

Fitzgerald portrays the valley of ashes as a grotesque place where no one would want to live and try's to symbolize it as what's beneath both of the wealthy eggs in Long Island, all though the Eggs are where the wealthy people live and are happy and live luxurious but on the inside they still aren't all happy and live immorally wrong by being corrupt, cheating and drinking their lives away which is how Fitzgerald considers them "ugly" like the valley of

The Valley of Ashes represents the socially unaccepted. The characters in the Valley of Ashes represent poverty. “This is the Valley of Dry Bones, the Waste Land, The dusty replica of modern society, where ash-grey men are crumbling, like Eliot’s hollow men” (Bicknell 98). Myrtle and George Wilson both live in a run down garage in the Valley of Ashes. Myrtle Wilson tries desperately to improve her life and get out of the Valley of Ashes. The Valley of Ashes also represents doom and death. Myrtle is found as the victim of a hit and run caused by Daisy and Gatsby. The Valley of Ashes represents the death and dreams for Jay Gatsby, Myrtle Wilson, and George Wilson. These characters die in the novel due to misconception and anger.