Valley Of Ashes In The Great Gatsby

     The final page offers much of Fitzgerald’s perspective, and it is wonderfully summed up in the final sentence of the book.

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 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

One of the first symbols Fitzgerald use is The Valley of Ashes “This is a valley of ashe’s a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take farms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally with transcendent effort of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (Fitzgerald 23). The Valley of Ashes is described in such great detail because it shows how beauty can be destroyed by greed. “Fitzgerald’s valley of ashes has been frequently compared to Eliot’s “Waste Land,” but the difference are more instructive than the similarities. Eliot’s waste and land is not, in terms of its imagery and mythology specifically Christian”(Elmore 433). The Valley of Ashes is a dead land that has a board over it that looks as if it is the eyes of God that sees all things.

Scott Fitzgerald, richness is clearly a dominant factor in this novel, but when there’s the rich there always the poor. The valley of ashes is a significant symbol in this novel by creating a deeper meaning of where the poor live and how they are looked down upon by society. "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 ash-grey men, who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air." (page 26). To continue, this is a symbolic and literal place in this novel, it represents the poverty and despair portraying their houses as ash. New York portrays its city as mysterious and beautiful and West Egg portrays their city as classy due to people who are wealthy during the time of the roaring twenties, so the halfway point represents the in-between which would be the people who are caught in the middle of it all. It represents the noble and social decline that results from the unrestrained desire of wealth, as the rich pamper and spoil themselves with not caring about anything but themselves. The valley of ashes also symbolizes the difficulty of the poor, for example, George Wilson, he was considered a ash-grey man and as a result lost his liveliness and hope."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 Tom. (F. Scott Fitzgerald) In addition, Myrtle Wilson is clearly not the same, she is a very eager character and wants to escape her life. She is not deemed to blend in that “cement color” like George Wilson. Moreover, the valley of ashes also symbolizes the corrupt society as a whole, wealth in this novel is

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.

  At the same time the Valley of Ashes symbolizes the American Dream, representing the horrific consequences of America’s desires. Fitzgerald picked these symbols to convey an unreal nature of the American

The chapter starts off by immediately introduces us to this bland and melancholy place between West Egg and New York City called the valley of ashes. The people who live here are described as ash and burnt out, they have low social status and extremely hard-working. Above this valley is the billboard “Doctor T.J. Eckleburg” where there are two eyeballs with spectacles looking from above. Tom forcefully takes Nick on the train to see his “girl” in this valley. They arrive to an automotive shop that hasn't seen business in years and meet George B. Wilson. George asks Tom when he will sell him his car, only to be shut down by Tom. Then a sexy woman appears, almost the exact opposite of beautiful Daisy. Her name is Myrtle and is currently married

F.Scott Fitzgerald,uses symbolism to call attention to the struggles of modern American society by his representation of the valley of ashes. The valley of ashes in 'Gatsby' lies between the affluent refuge of the Eggs, signifying the human misery. Think of the Wilson's no matter how much they work or what sin they may commit they will never escape the grasp of poverty. The valley, therefore, is meant as a sobering foil to the dreamy opulence of the Eggs. That symbolizes the eternal hell that people like Myrtle and Wilson will never escape.

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.

Many times we hear of society's affect on people; society influencing the way people think and act.  Hardly mentioned is the reverse: peoples' actions and lifestyles affecting society as a whole and how it is characterized.  Thus, society is a reflection of its inhabitants and in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, it is a wasteland described as the "valley of ashes."  Since the characters of this novel make up this wasteland, aren't they the waste?  Symbolically, this waste represents the lack of ethics of the 1920's society and civilization's decay.  In The Great Gatsby, morals deficiencies such as a lack of God, selfishness, and idleness are reflective of a society as doomed as

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

Fitzgerald is depicting to readers that nature was now gone and the only thing left is ashes of the past. The valley of ashes represents the social decay of farming and how nature has now declined in a major way. The nature that was regenerate and a symbol of freedom was now nothing but ash and not nice like it has been hundreds of years before. The Dust Bowl greatly impacted nature causing nothing to prosper in nature. This was in fact one of the darkest times in American history because now nature had the image of ashes of unsuccessful people.