What Does The Valley Of Ashes Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald emphasized the damage that industrialization brought to the society by depicting the environment. The Valley of Ashes represented the result of people’s demand of wealth. Contrast to the modern and prosperous downtown, The Valley of Ashes was full of

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).

Today, society views the lower class as unsuccessful, poor, less educated, and having low paying jobs. The use of symbolism in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates how the Valley of Ashes and the overlooking eyes (T.J Eckleford) symbolize the struggle the lower class had through poverty with hopelessness and the judgement over the lower class as well as the individual characters. In this book, the Valley of Ashes ruins relationships just like it ruined George and Myrtle’s relationship. There is conflict in the relationship between George and Myrtle because Myrtle wants the life of a rich person and George just wants to be with her. The overlooking eyes are judgemental over George and Myrtle.

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.

The story gives us a strong view of the wealthy and luxurious, but we are also given a glimpse of the economic downfall and the hopelessness of the common working man in the era as well. Complying with the theme, a strong symbol for representing the economic hopelessness in the story is the impoverished desolate Valley of Ashes, stuck between East and West Egg. Not only a place of poverty but the residents themselves live hopelessly try to survive. Likewise, this grisly place paints a sad dystopia when first introduced as, “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”(pg). The land is literally covered in ashes representing the hopelessness of how fragmented and decayed everything is. In addition, not only is the area ruined, but the spirit of the residents themselves are crushed from living in such conditions with no hope of escaping such poverty. Those all living in the ashes are the low class, everyday working people with the inability to become wealthy anymore, leaving them financially and spiritually broken. George Wilson, a resident of the Valley of Ashes, is a perfect example of how hopeless the people have become due to their economic status. Running an ash-covered automotive/convenience store, he is described as, “a

The valley of ashes also represents the American dream. In the novel, Fitzgerald vividly describes the valley of ashes as a farm, "where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens" (Fitzgerald 24). The use of the polysyndeton infers that the amount of ashes is endless. The "ash-grey men" in the valley of ashes are experiencing a tremendous agony as they "move dimly and already [crumble] through the powdery air" (Fitzgerald 24). Everyone in the valley of ashes is striving for greater; however, greater is never possible.

The Great Gatsby is one of the most read pieces of literature throughout the current modern Western world. High school kids all across the globe must learn and read it as part of their curriculum. One of the aspects that makes this novel so notable is that Fitzgerald, at no point in the story, needs to convey to his audience the theme of his novel directly. The main points of his novel are brought out by the powerful symbols he infuses in the book. Not only does he use them to convey his theme, but also ties them in to the rest of the story. Every aspect of this book is affected by the presence of one of his symbols. Through the use of the green light, the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, and the Valley of the Ashes as symbols,

    Throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, location is a critical motif. The contrasts between East and West, East Egg and West Egg, and the two Eggs and New York serve important thematic roles and provide the backdrops for the main conflict. Yet, there needs to be a middle ground between each of these sites, a buffer zone, as it were; there is the great distance that separates East from West; there is the bay that separates East Egg from West Egg; and, there is the Valley of Ashes that separates Long Island from New York. The last of these is probably the most striking. Yet, the traditional literal interpretation does not serve Fitzgerald's theme as well as a more

The Valley of Ashes citizens can even be compared to the homeless in today’s society. The homeless continuously struggle while the wealthy are living very comfortably. Even when they put in the hard work, they will always be overlooked by those above them on the social ladder because of their situation. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the forgotten characters in the Valley of Ashes are representations of the homeless in today’s society and the effect of the reckless lifestyle of the wealthy that negatively impacts the less fortunate, leaving them feeling voiceless and powerless. I couldn’t help but feel hopelessness as I stood at the door of my home in the desolate Valley of Ashes, the air was heavy with a pungent smell of smoke, and the atmosphere was covered in gray clouds (Fitzgerald 23).

The valley of ashes is described 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” (23). The valley of ashes represents all of the dreams that died in the city and were never lived out, almost a valley of regrets. “Men move dimly” (23) because they have nothing left to live for, because all of their dreams are dead, just like the ashes. The gray cars go by and stir up a cloud of hope, and the ash-men pick up “their leaden spades” (23) and carry out their “obscure operations” (23), trying to relive their dreams to get a second chance. Gatsby lost Daisy when he was very young, and that crushed

    Fitzgerald employs this section on the valley of ashes and Dr. T.J.Eckleburg?s billboard to criticize American society and values.  He is portraying the American habit of using up what is useful or has value and leaving the waste products behind.  His symbol is that the wood (valuable) was used to build a fire and then the ashes (waste products) were left behind.  The valley of ashes was once a flourishing town, but was used until it was no longer valuable and was thus abandoned (like ashes after all the wood has been burned).  Gatsby?s parties were also a form of social commentary in Fitzgerald?s The Great Gatsby.  Gatsby?s acquisition and disposal of fruit (and rinds) in such large quantities is another example of society?s using up the serviceable and leaving the superfluous behind.  The actions of Tom and Daisy also illustrate this tendency to ignore the waste products and obstacles.  ? . . . Daisy accidentally runs down and kills Myrtle Wilson.  Completely unnerved, Daisy speeds away . . . ?they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their wealth or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made . . .?? (Gallo 36-44)

Daisy, Tom, Nick, Jordan, and Gatsby all move to the east, where they move from a world of values to a moral vacuum, represented by the "valley of ashes." The valley of ashes represents a world, which is like a distorted hell created by modern industry. Factories and trains, produced in the manufacture of wealth, has polluted America with its waste. Overlooking the valley, are the sightless eyes of T.J. Ecklburg, an advertisement on a billboard, that is actually confused as

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