Have you ever been through an impoverished area of a city? In the passage this is exactly what Fitzgerald is doing. He gives the reader the setting of the valley of ashes that can be seen in major cities today. He further describes many of the side effects that come with this decay. Therefore, In this passage in The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses various literary elements to demonstrate the side effects that come with decay of an area. To begin, Fitzgerald uses imagery to demonstrate the economic decay of the valley. This passage first introduces the valley of ashes. He writes, “Ashes take forms 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, 27). This quote gives the reader a …show more content…
Fitzgerald intentionally uses the valley to display the side effects of decay in an area. The ash that covers everything represents the economic decay of an area. Nobody that lives there can afford to fix it. Later on in the passage , it further describes the way the valley looks, “The grey land and spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it… Brood on over the solemn dumping ground”(27-28). This quote gives the reader a good look as to what the valley is like. The economic standing of the valley is continuing to decay, no one that is living there can afford to fix any of the issues. Imagery is used here to demonstrate the economic decay of the valley of ashes. It gives a clear description of what the valley of ashes is like. Therefore, imagery is used to display the economic decay of the valley of ashes in this passage.
The author introduces the desolate land known as the valley of ashes, which is far from the lavish lives lived in the Eggs’. When introducing this dark and eerie slice of land, Fitzgerald incorporates imagery in helping develop his theme relating to the Roaring 20’s and the American Dream. Nick begins to explain the valley of ashes in discrete detail. “This is the 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…” ( 23). In this excerpt from the text, not only does Fitzgerald use many forms of imagery, but he incorporates diction that helps develop his theme as well as a simile.
The Valley of Ashes is the industrial area between the two and it is described as depressing. It is depressing in the way that everything there is grey and covered in smoke. “This is the 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” (Fitzgerald 23). When describing the area Nick describes the buildings and the land surrounding them as if they were built from ashes rather than covered in them. Nick’s description implies that the valley was not created by accident rather it was created by the higher class that surrounded it who do not pay any attention to the people without as much money.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, many symbols and themes are implemented throughout the story. These symbols help portray ideas to the reader. One of the symbols that Fitzgerald uses is the valley of ashes. This symbol stands for the underclass who work so the rich can prosper. Many of the people that live there are factory workers.
Fitzgerald vividly portrays the excessive parties and glamorous lifestyles of the characters, which are often accompanied by scenes of destruction and disregard for the environment. This can be seen in the infamous valley of ashes, where the industrial waste dumps leave a bleak and desolate landscape. The characters in the novel are so consumed with their own desires and pursuits that they turn a blind eye to the destruction of the natural world around them. This indifference towards nature reflects Wordsworth's critique of society's neglect of the environment, further emphasizing the parallel message between the poem and the
Satire in The Great Gatsby Is Fitzgerald's novel a love story that exposes the American ideals, or may it be a satire that highlights troubles throughout the American Society in the twenties? The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald uses satire to comment on the American society during the roaring twenties. Satire is visible through the contrast between Jay Gatsby and George Wilson, but most importantly through the Valley of Ashes and Gatsby’s parties. Using these characters and places, Fitzgerald shows the American dream has died and been replaced with the pursuit of money, rather than happiness.
1. The Valley of Ashes is the farm land or almost like a wasteland filled with ashes that separates the wealth of the East and West Egg Village. 2. “The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic — their irises are one yard high. They look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent nose” (Fitzgerald 23).
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
Those who solely focus on wealth may have completely empty lives. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald highlights the fact that wealthy people have meaningless lives. He does this by using rhetoric that shows the carelessness, materialism, and ironies in their lives. In order to show this, Fitzgerald implements rhetoric and stylistic devices that show the emptiness of the characters throughout his novel that reinforces his theme that if materialism, not God, drives one, one’s dreams and hopes will eventually implode. To support his theme of emptiness, Fitzgerald facilitates ironic rhetoric to show the characters’ emptiness, weakness, and eventual destruction.
Fitzgerald uses myriad symbols such as a valley of ashes, a billboard, and a green light across the bay from Gatsby’s mansion, to convey his themes and influence the plot. A valley of ashes is used to convey the theme of the inequality of wealth that was so widespread in the 1920s. Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband, and Nick Carroway go on a drive to visit Tom’s mistress. Myrtle lives in an apartment above her husband’s workshop, in the coal and ash covered mining town on the outskirts of New York City. Fitzgerald, in narrator Nick
This is accomplished through the use of symbols such as the Valley of Ashes, The Eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, and The Green Light. These 3 symbols play a huge roll in the novel for each of them are massively important in their own ways. Mid-way between New York City and West Egg, lies the Valley of Ashes. The Valley of Ashes is a dreary place symbolizing the moral descent of society. As described in the novel it is, “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.”
Throughout the story, Fitzgerald uses three vastly different geographical areas to show the separation between classes. The Valley of Ashes, where the poor live, is described as a “desolate area of land ... [where] spasms of bleak dust drift endlessly” (Fitzgerald 23). The poor people are trapped here, and no matter how hard they work, they can never escape this grim existence. The idea of no social mobility, and having no control over one's life, reflects the Naturalist view of society.
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).”
Fitzgerald’s portrayal of the American Dream in the novel both compares and contrasts to that of Hughes’ portrayal in the poem through the usage of the literary devices of imagery, tone, and symbolism. Through the usage of imagery, The Great Gatsby paints a bleak picture of the failure of The American Dream on a disadvantaged group, while “I Too, Sing America” portrays it as something that can be improved upon. In the novel, a stretch of desolate land created as the result of industrial waste is described as “...a valley of ashes...where ashes grow like...grotesque gardens (Fitzgerald 23)”. This powerful imagery described the valley of ashes as a wasteland and a failure of the American Dream. The
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.