In Chapter 2 of The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald describes The Valley of the Ashes in a gloomy tone by using ominous forms of imagery and similes. For example, he starts off by narrating that the Valley of Ashes was like “A fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens” (Fitzgerald 27). He establishes a dreary vibe in a sort of ironic fashion by contrasting the imagery of a “fantastic farm”, which is associated with the concepts of growth and freshness. The slight personification given to the ashes juxtaposes “the glittering 20s” as well. Also, Fitzgerald contrasts Dr. T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes with the dreariness of the Valley of Ashes; the character whose “eyes , dimmed a little by many paintless days under
“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”(Fitzgerald 2). Tom and Nick a driving through a place between West Egg and New York, which is an industrial zone where the lower class lives. Here alone we can see how the poor class lives their daily lives in filth, but the rich live in shiny clean houses.
Grey is a dull colour to begin with, so naturally it would make sense if Fitzgerald utilized that colour to symbolize as corruption. In The Great Gatsby is a place called The Valley of Ashes. “The ‘Valley of Ashes’…symbolizes the human situation in an age of chaos. It is ‘a certain desolate area of land’ in which ‘ash-grey men’ swarm dimly, stirring up ‘an impenetrable cloud, which screens their obscure operations from your sight.’” (Dyson 113). Nick thinks of the place to be “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills into grotesque gardens” (Fitzgerald 23). And that is exactly what it is, since it’s a barren land of human waste. In The Valley of Ashes live Wilson and his wife Myrtle. The Valley of Ashes resembles something dark and lifeless. As a result of fire ashes stand for destruction and death. Furthermore the death of Myrtle Wilson in the Valley of Ashes stands for the pain and the corruption associated with this valley and the death of Myrtle Wilson. Also...
Through these quotes, Fitzgerald believes the American dream is unattainable in the Great Gatsby because some people in the novel had advantages unlike others. A major instance of said inequality would be applied to the citizens who are living in the Valley of Ashes; representing the forgotten poor underclass with lost hopes and dreams who have failed to live up to the American dream or even got a chance to start. Therefore, the Valley of Ashes is a blatant symbol of just how “dead” Fitzgerald really believes the American dream to be, and how he wants the readers to interpret it. Fitzgerald wrote “.ashes take the form of..men who move dimly and are already crumbling through powdery air..immediately the ash-gray men swarm up with leaden spades.”. Tell’em
Within the novel of the Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses a symbolic setting to contribute to the novel's overall purpose. Right in the beginning of the great Gatsby, he introduces the idea of West Egg and East Egg. East Egg being where Tom Buchanan and Daisy reside, among other people who live lavishly off of their inherited family money,”across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along the water”(Pg.8). This part of the two eggs represents “old money,” which is the way the author calls wealth that has been passed on through generations within families.West Egg being the location where the narrator, Nick Carraway, and Jay Gatsby reside, represents “new money,”or people who are new to wealth, as opposed to people who have had it in their families,”West Egg, the—well, the less fashionable of the two”(Pg.7). Fitzgerald sets this sort of tension between the West and East Eggers. Many of the East Eggers thought the entrepreneurs living on the West were shady, “A lot of these newly rich people are just big bootleggers…”(114). Between West Egg and East Egg, there is a place the author calls the Valley of Ashes, “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like
In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick’s unreliability as a narrator is blatantly evident, as his view of Gatsby’s actions seems to arbitrarily shift between disapproval and approval. Nick is an unreliable and hypocritical narrator who disputes his own background information and subjectively depicts Gatsby as a benevolent and charismatic host while ignoring his flaws and immorality from illegal activities. He refuses to seriously contemplate Gatsby’s negative attributes because of their strong mutual friendship and he is blinded by an unrealized faith in Gatsby. Furthermore, his multitude of discrepancies damage his ethos appeal and contribute to his lack of dependability.
By exploring the physical site of the valley, followed by the inhabitants of the valley – George and Myrtle, George representing the working class and Myrtle the exception, extending this to the references of the valley to Gatsby’s humble origins, the Valley of the Ashes represents the low social mobility and the failure of the American Dream.
The scenery choices for the film matched up well to what was expected from the book, but some choices contrasted greatly. The Valley of Ashes was well portrayed in the film. The Valley is “…a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens…” (Fitzgerald 27). This shows that the Valley of Ashes is not a pleasant place to be in and is looked down upon. In the film, the interpretation on the Valley is spot on. It shows a dirty, sad little town, filled with depressed people. A second scenery choice that is well depicted in the film is the Buchannan’s home. It is described to be very elegant and grand filled with beautiful furniture. Throughout the scenes in the Buchannan’s house, the “grandness” is well represented through the furniture, landscaping and exterior chosen for the house. The exterior of Gatsby’s house does not match up to its description in the book. “The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard—it was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side…” is how Gatsby’s house is described (Fitz...
A. The Valley of Ashes – Valley of Ashes represent indigence and a sense of misery. “There is always a halt there of at least a minute, and it was because of this that I first met Tom Buchanan mistress.” (Page 24)
How does an understanding of metaphor and symbolism help us to appreciate the significance of cars in ‘The Great Gatsby’?
Scott employed to explain his opinion about the 1920s is the bright, colorful, and inviting city that lays at the bottom of the picture. From a distance, the city gives the impression of being an inviting place that look, of sorts, like a carnival. A carnival that is entertaining and full of pleasure. However, when looking at it closer, the faults and defects stand out. The picture is not really of a city, but rather a cluster of undefined lines and splashes of distinct colors blurred together to resemble a city, such as New York City. On the surface, the 1920s was categorized by prosperity, the expansion of wealth, and the increased ability to obtain more luxurious items. However, below the surface, the amount of organized crime paved the way for a large amount of wealth that existed during this time period. Even though the concepts are being discussed independently and by parts, the face and the picture of city coexist to makeup one picture. Rather than being two entirely separate picture, the idea was to keep them together has one continuous picture. The sadness in the eyes in a sense, the pair of eyes are overlooking the city, like Dr. T. J Eckleburg did over the valley of ashes in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book, The Great Gatsby. Since the grime eyes extend over the
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel with underlying themes of social class, wealth, and the rise and fall of the American Dream. Fitzgerald conveys these themes +through symbolism. One of the symbols used in The Great Gatsby to represent the American Dream is the Valley of Ashes. The Valley of Ashes is located between West Egg and New York City and is described as a dreary, gray, and depressing home to the lower class, such as the Wilson family. The people inhabiting The Valley of Ashes are hopeless people who struggle through poverty while those who inhabit West Egg live luxurious lifestyles. The inhabitants of The Valley of Ashes are victims of the American Dream and of the wealthy that used them to pursue their own desires. The Valley of Ashes symbolizes the failure of the American Dream and the moral and social decay inflicted by the desire of wealth.
him saying "if personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures then there was something
In brief, the world of The Great Gatsby can seem as sordid, loveless, commercial, and dead as the ash heaps presided over by the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg. Indeed, this atmosphere is so essential that one of the alternate titles Fitzgerald considered was Among the Ash-Heaps and Millionaires. Fitzgerald using the valley of ashes, illustrates an environment where love has lost its place, which destroys hope for a family; the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg, clearly intended to represent those of God, emphasizes that this lack of love and filial piety in a sin against themselves as well as society and God.
This passage is from the great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It tells a story, specifically the history which Gatsby and Daisy had. Daisy promised to wait for Gatsby until the war ended. But as it is Daisy’s youth and need for love and attention has made her insecure to stay alone for so long. Soon she attended parties and dances. At one of them she met the safe and strong Tom Buchanan. Despite the fact that she loved Jay, he was not there, so she married Tom.
The Valley of Ashes was shown to be an immensely symbolic feature of the novel and was also shown to be symbolic in the movie as well. Fitzgerald described the setting as a "fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat...". As the characters, Nick and Tom, drove by the area,