Gatsby

The valley of ashes is a place between New York and the West Egg, where the eyes of T.J. Eckleberg lie. The valley of ashes is a place in which carries many trials for each of the characters, holding their hardships while they all try to reach the common goal of the American dream. The valley of ashes isn’t a place of wealth or prosperity; however every person must first pass through it to get to a better place. In his novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the valley of ashes, the eyes of T.J. Eckleberg, and the light symbolically.

The valley of ashes is a place that is located in between New York and the West Egg. The Valley of Ashes is a very desolate plain where middle class people live and work. It is a very gray valley where New York’s ashes are dumped. There is a small foul river located on the side of the valley of ashes perhaps to symbolize the people’s bad, negative attitudes toward their own lives. Nick says in detail “The valley of ashes I bounded on one side by a small foul river, and when the drawbridge is up to let barges through, the passengers on waiting trains can stare at the dismal scene for as long as half an hour.” (28). The middle class people not only live there, but they also work there by cleaning up the ashes. Nick explains “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.” (27). Mr. George Wilson is a prime example of a middle class man who lives and works in the valley of ashes. He owns a gas station and a car shop, where he works from the early du...

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...efore us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter- tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And one fine morning---. (189)

F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the valley of ashes, the eyes of T.J. Eckleberg, and the light symbolically in The Great Gatsby. The valley of ashes represents the shallow and hollow lives of the rich people, the sad, sorrowful, and selfless lives of the middle class people, and struggles and pains that every character endures. The eyes of T.J. Eckleberg represent God and how he watches our every move, while also representing George Wilson’s love for his wife, and his drive to keep his family alive. The light is another important symbol in this novel. The light symbolizes Gatsby’s perseverance to get Daisy and also on a bright, successful future. Each symbol is critical in this novel to understand the common American dream.