The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, sets in the 1920’s. The 1920’s were also known as the roaring twenties or the Jazz age,due to its economic and social change. F. Scott Fitzgerald sets his novel in a time of paradise and dreams where anything could happen. In his novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald describes the life of a man named Jay Gatsby, known just as Gatsby, struggling to conquer his American Dream. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald examines the rich and the downfall of the American Dream during the Roaring Twenties.
Beginning with one of the most recurring symbols in the text, the Valley of Ashes shows a stark contrast of poverty and dull lifestyles compared to the lavish and posh lives in East and West Egg. The Valley of Ashes is like the ghost to a failed American Dream. Instead of a beautiful landscape, the setting is made up of dark and depressing figures: “ashes take the forms of houses. . . men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air. . .
It now represents an unattainable dream inside of everyone that is continuously sought after. Another recurring theme in The Great Gatsby are the looming eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg. These eyes represent a higher power that is observing the immoral events that occur in the book. The Valley of Ashes symbolizes the poor lower class who suffers at the benefit of the wealthy. The Valley of Ashes could also represent the devastating effects of The American Dream.
He also used one of the simplest forms of symbolism: color. When talking about the Valley of Ashes, he mentions gray multiple times. He says that there are gray cars, gray men, and gray land. Gray is meant to symbolize a sort of nothingness or emptiness. Word choice also plays a big role in tone.
The American Dream suggests that every American citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work. One of the major ways that Fitzgerald portrays this is by alluding to outside events or works of literature specifically from that time period. Another major relationship that develops in The Great Gatsby is between Tom and Daisy. F. Scott Fitzgerald alludes to things such as the World’s Fair and “The Love Nest” to display the eventual dismantling of Tom and Daisy’s relationship. Both of these separate plots consolidate under the idea of Gatsby trying to become the epitome of the American Dream, as seen through his strive for a “perfect life.”
“You may fool me, but you can’t fool God! (Fitzgerald 159)” George Wilson said this while staring at a billboard featuring a pair of eyes that are said to be a physical representation of God in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This quote tells us all that there are irrefutable religious themes in this novel. There are several instances of spiritual imagery that are used, however, there are many more uses of symbolism that are often looked over.
The Valley of Ashes, and its description at the beginning of Chapter 2, is Fitzgerald's way of describing the poor section of the city. This immediately follows Nick's dinner party with Tom, Daisy and Miss Baker in East Egg, an upper class area. There is a stark contrast between Gatsby, Tom and Daisy's world of East Egg and George and Myrtle Wilson's poorer world, dubbed by
In the novel, the valley of ashes is symbolic of the American Dream because it represents the failures of society and mankind. When traveling back home, Nick often passes the valley of ashes and describes that, “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” (23). Even though Gatsby achieved the American Dream and became successful, his values were ultimately corrupted by his greed and wealth in order to entice Daisy. In comparison to the valley of ashes, Gatsby’s physical surroundings begin to have superficial values making him hollow similarly to the crumbling valley. The valley of ashes, also demonstrates the oppression of the poor who are forced to live in a such a world where only the wealthy thrive.
In the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald the setting tool place in the Valley of Ashes, where it is hard to breathe and people who lived in that area did not go outside that much. The Valley of Ashes is a place where it is all dusty and there is a lot of gray clouds in the sky. In the
Color is everywhere. Although color may not seem important, they might have a greater, deeper meaning. Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, is set back in the Roaring 20’s, when the economy was booming. A newly rich man named Jay Gatsby is one of the richer people in this time that enjoys his money. He throws overgenerous parties, hoping that the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan, attends.
The valley of ashes also symbolizes the difficulties of the poor, like George Wilson, who live among the dirty ashes and lose their vitality as a result. THE EYES OF DOCTOR T. J. ECKLEBURG Another dominant symbol within this novel is the billboard eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg which is in the middle of the valley of ashes, right next to Wilson’s garage staring at the waste that careless capitalism has
It also serves to portray the materialistic society that surrounds them (The Colors of Society - Camouflaged Discontent).” The characters portray such class and wealth along with fake happiness. The Valley of Ashes looks at how they feel on the inside which Daisy and Gatsby both ooze with discontent with how they’ve made decisions and how their lives did not turn out how they dreamed. Next, at one of Gatsby’s many house parties Nick makes a list of “grey names, and they will give you a better impression than [Nick’s] generalities (Fitzgerald 61).”
For the eggers, it appears to be a place you run away to for the rich, to forget about your problems. In The Valley of Ashes, there is an old billboard that is falling apart with giant eyes with glasses on it. This billboard represent how people invest objects with meaning, only to forget about it later. Gatsby tries desperately to fake status, even buying British shirts and claiming to have attended Oxford in an attempt to justify his position in society. Ultimately, the clash of the classes separate Gatsby and Daisy, and bonds her relationship with her husband, who is from the same class as she is.
Jesse Zapata 3/7/16 Ms. Pruitt Seminar Questions: The Great Gatsby 1. Fitzgerald uses setting to emphasize various aspects of his social classes in the novel. The Valley of Ashes is a dark place, and it is home to the poor, unfortunate lower class then was exploited during the 1920s. West Egg is tacky and looming, representing how many of the young millionaires (The "New Money") in the novel have found themselves suddenly rich and upper class without preparation. East Egg is just the opposite.
It symbolizes poverty, and the population of Manhattan that is not rich and self indulged in their personal lives. The Valley of Ashes is described as a dumping ground, Nick even explains how it’s “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” (27). This is completely opposite to places like West Egg, where most of the novel is taken place. Everything is luxurious and fast paced, comparing these two places opens up many symbols in the reader's mind, like poverty and the fact that not every American at that time could live as Gatsby can, for instance.
