The Great Gatsby

This can be evidenced when Nick observes that “the only building in sight was a small block of yellow brick”(27). This observation is made by Nick on the day where he meets Myrtle and visits the Valley of Ashes for the first time. The building which he is describing is the building which houses George Wilson’s garage, which is also where George and Myrtle live. This quotation shows how Myrtle’s home in the Valley of Ashes is incredibly secluded, which forces her to be physically separated from others. Consequently, Myrtle’s extreme seclusion is a symbol used by Fitzgerald to both vilify women and the American Dream, as he uses her isolation to reiterate her poverty, in order to ridicule her dreams of becoming rich. Similarly, Daisy is also portrayed as emotionally isolated in her marriage to Tom. This can be evidenced in the quotation where she says “do you know why we left Chicago? I’m surprised that they didn’t treat you to the story of that little spree” (125). In this quotation, Daisy is speaking to Nick, referencing one of Tom’s affairs that he had in Chicago. She speaks this line during Tom and Gatsby’s fight in the hotel room, soon after Tom says that although he has had affairs, that he still loves

The author uses the Valley of Ashes, a small town between the West Egg and New York City, to symbolize the moral and social decay that stems from the desire to become wealthy. The 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 symbolizes a morally stripped place where materialistic and false people can live in harmony. The unfortunate events that occur in the Valley of Ashes, including Gatsby's death, the affair between Tom and Myrtle and Myrtle's accidental death, represent the severe consequences stemming from the failed attempts at achieving the American Dream. As the characters travel through the Valley of Ashes to reach elsewhere, they are forced to belittle themselves to a lower social status, as seen when Tom engages in an affair with Myrtle, a poor-stricken woman, who solely provides another form of comfort. Serving as a symbol of social and moral destruction, the Valley of Ashes also symbolizes the condition in which the poorer American society lived during the 1920s. The description of the Valley of Ashes used through color symbolism, creates a melancholy atmosphere which allows the reader to connect the importance of the "desolate strip of land" to the negative personality changes, reflective of the 1920s, within the characters.

It could be interpreted that Scott Fitzgerald had used the valley of ashes to foreshadows future events in the novel, which conclude with other people (Gatsby and Mr Wilson) having to deal with the effects caused by the rich (Tom and Daisy Buchanan).

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.

Myrtle has been affected by both socioeconomic and gender inequity. She is unhappy being trapped in the lower middle class in the valley of ashes, but she can not work hard to raise her status because she is a woman. When Myrtle first married George Wilson, she thought she was marrying a rich man, but she later realizes that this was a trick and Wilson is very poor: “‘I knew right away I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody's best suit to get married in, and never even told me about it, and the man came after it one day when he was out.’ She looked around to see who was listening. ‘Oh, is that your suit?' I said. 'This is the first I ever heard about it.' But I gave it to him and then I lay down and cried to beat the band all

The Great Gatsby is too concerned with conveying a picture of 1920s American society to have relevance to modern readers.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby he uses many characters symbols and colors to portray life in the roaring twenties. One being the valley of ashes which is looked over by Doctor T.J Eckleburg representing God watching over a moral wasteland and the brutal differences between the rich and the poor. And the color gray which represents the decay and lack of vibrance in scenes. A person we meet in the valley of ashes is George Wilson who is married to Tom's mistress Myrtle.

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.

In the novel, The Great Gatsby, Gatsby is seen as a mysterious character that’s not called great or bad. The Great Gatsby takes place in the 1920’s during the “roaring twenties” or called as the “Jazz Age”, a period ending the Great Depression and an era where jazz and dancing become trendy. Gatsby does not seem to be fit to be called “great”, instead he is fit for being called a determined man. Some may not call Gatsby “great” because of his lies and some will call him “great” because he is a man who is determined to get Daisy back from Tom or because Gatsby is a nice man who does not have much ignorance like Tom. An example why Gatsby do not deserve to be called a “great” man is because he is a liar and a “great” man does not

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.

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.

One of my favorite classic rock songs has always been “Glory Days” by Bruce Springsteen. I grew up listening to my dad’s music and this is one song that has always stuck with me. When I first found out that it was inspired by the Novel “The Great Gatsby” by F Scott. Fitzgerald I was shocked, I had never really listened to the lyrics before. After Reading the book and listening to the song a few more times, I realized that every verse is loosely based on different main characters. This gave the song new meaning for me, it now makes me picture the characters from the book and also has reminiscent sadness attached to it while still connecting to the idea of the American dream, a theme which is also very prevalent in the great Gatsby. The inspiration of characters for verses in this song makes it connects with the book on a whole new level.

Many people yearn to join a class that has existed for many generations with set criteria. This criteria is intertwined with money, power and a persons upbringing in Society. While few in society join these exclusive clubs, others try to mimic the styles in order to have the acceptance of a very prestigious section of society. Although few succeed in joining, many are crushed, broken, and embarrassed for failing to enter what very few have. The people who mimic, ultimately show why they didn’t join because they didn’t fit in by floundering their insecurities or lack of experience. The Biggest reason why people fail in joining a class in which few are in, because one must be born into it. Therefore in The Great Gatsby, by F-Scott

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is told from the perspective of one of the main characters, Nick Carraway. Nick tells the story of a man named Jay Gatsby, who is his neighbor in the West Egg. Fitzgerald portrays Gatsby as a man who everyone wants to know and copy but deep down are very envious of him. Gatsby trusts few people and those whom he trusts know his life story. To everyone else, he is a mystery. Everyone seems obsessed with Jay Gatsby. For this reason the novel revolves about rumors of Gatsby rather than the truth.

The unfortunate events that occur in the Valley of Ashes, the affair between Tom and Myrtle which ultimately led to Myrtle 's accidental death, represent the severe consequences brought about by the failed attempts at achieve the American Dream. Tom wanted everything all at the same time a concept typically associated with the 1920’s, a time full of loss of inhibitions and little self control. The Valley of Ashes also symbolizes the condition in which the poorer American society lived during the 1920s. The description of the Valley of Ashes as a "desolate strip of land" (Fitzgerald 22), allows the reader to recognize the negative personality changes, reflective of the 1920s. Fitzgerald was well known for writing in an almost satirical manner to describe his opinions of the 1920’s.