How Does The Valley Of Ashes Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

These quotes describe two of maybe three important symbols in the book. The Valley of Ashes signifies the open road ahead which civilization is going for, yet the ashes symbolize the decay of society, where the pursuit for wealth leaves behind a mark. This mark could be considered a mark of poorness that the non-pursuers have to deal with. The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg signify the watchful eyes of God upon what America did in the 1920s. The American's blindness of the time resulted in industrial problems throughout the country.

In life everyone strives to get rich, but is having an abundance of money always good? Sometimes people use money for personal benefits, sometimes it's for the benefit of others, but at times people with money use it to create their social status. In The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the idea of wealth is seen throughout. Jay Gatsby, who lives next door to Nick Carraway; the Narrator of the story, wants to be with his dream girl Daisy. Gatsby is wealthy and throws parties to impress Daisy. Daisy however, is married to another man Tom Buchanan. Throughout the story the people with money use it to create their social status. In The Great Gatsby F.Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism to convey, wealth causes people to assert

The Valley of Ashes symbolizes the graveyard of American dreams and morality. In the book, it is described as “a certain desolate area of land” located “halfway between West Egg and New York” (Fitzgerald 23). In this corrupted area, “ash-gray men swarm with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud, which screens their obscure operations from your sight” (Fitzgerald 23).

People in America love to have a great deal of money. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby always wants to have money, and he finally gets it. Gatsby has parties to try to get Daisy to come to his house. Gatsby tell Nick to tell Daisy to come to Nick’s house without her husband. Gatsby finallys shows his big house off to Daisy and thinks he will win her love back again just because he has money. Gatsby’s plan do not work out. Fitzgerald uses symbols in The Great Gatsby to show how things are going wrong in America.

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.

5. The Valley of Ash is described as a gray wasteland where the ashes of New York are dumped. There are men who come to shovel away at the ashes. The symbolic aspect in the Valley of Ashes is the pair of eyes that look over the city in the form of an advertisement. “But his eyes… brood on over the solemn dumping ground” (page 24).

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

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).

ideas or concepts. For example, a dove is usually used to represent peace. In the novel The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald uses a lot of symbolism to connect the characters with each other or to other objects. Fitzgerald’s use of symbolism helps advance his thematic interest in his novel of The Great Gatsby. In the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses various colors, objects, and gestures as symbols to portray the lack of moral and spiritual values of people and the different aspects of society in the 1920's.

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

First, the valley of ashes represents the moral and social decay that results from the uninhibited pursuit of wealth. This is because the rich indulge themselves with regard for nothing but their own pleasure, the plight of the poor, like George Wilson, who live among the dirty ashes and are abused by it. Then this Valley is left to the outside world because of its status and no one cares about what goes on there unless it direct affects the rich or if that person lives there. This place is watched by Doctor T. J. Eckleburg’s eyes which is a later symbol but both are intertwined due to how close the two are and due to meaning given to the eyes by some of the novels characters. Then in other critical essays the valley has been said as, ““This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat … and ash-gray men swarm. …” Here, instead of God observing the actions of the humans involved in the impending tragedy, an occultist’s giant advertisement looks down and ‘broods on

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.

The Great Gatsby is filled with symbols and symbolism, which try to convey Fitzgerald's ideas to the reader. The symbols are uniquely involved in the plot of the story, which makes their implications more real. There are three major symbols that serve very important significance in the symbolism of the novel. They are "the valley of the ashes," the reality that represents the corruption in the world, the green light of Daisy's lap that Gatsby sees across the bay and lastly, the symbolism of the East Egg and West Egg or more important the east and the west of the country.

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.

The location of the eyes of T.J Eckleburg is possibly their most interesting facet. The eyes lay in the valley of ashes, a failed industrial portion of the city that fosters the poor. The valley of ashes really brings the uninhibited quest for fortune by the upper class to the forefront of our vision. It becomes obvious that the rich have no regard for anyone except themselves. The poor are left in a wasteland with no one that cares. Yet, the main road runs through the valley of ashes, and the eyes of T.J Eckleburg lay on the trail. Scott describes the valley of ashes as “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens.”(23) This quite directs no positive light on the valley of ashes. It further emphasizes