What Does The Valley Of Ashes Symbolize In The Great Gatsby
In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, many people are living the American Dream. Dancing the night away at Gatsby’s extravagant parties and lavishing themselves in loads of money. While everything may seem pleasurable and perfect for the people of West and East Egg, it is not the same for the inhabitants of the Valley of Ashes. In The Great Gatsby, the symbols of the Valley of Ashes show how the American Dream is not always such a grand dream and the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg symbolize God in a desolate place. 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. . . grey cars. . . gives out a ghastly creak” (Fitzgerald 27). Another way that shows the Valley of Ashes is the bad part of the American Dream is how instead of growing something beautiful from nature there are “. . . farm[s] where ashes grow like wheat” (27). This passage describes how nothing …show more content…
T. J. Eckleberg. The big eyes on the billboard symbolize God. In the billboard, the eyes “look out of no face but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent nose” (27). The fact that the eyes are not situated on a face indicate a similarity with God having no clearly described physical features. All anyone knows is that God is all seeing, knowing the deeds of all people as Wilson says “God knows what you’ve been doing, everything you’ve been doing. You may fool me but you can’t fool God!” (167). While Wilson says this he is looking at the billboard of Dr. T. J. Eckleberg, expressing his belief that the billboard represents
How Does The Valley Of Ashes Symbolize In The Great Gatsby
2771 Words | 12 PagesThe valley of ashes is where the ashes are dumped after large heaps of material are burned. It is a wasteland of sorts and is very dirty and unwanted. It looks similar to a fictional fallout type world. It portrays the lower class area and while in the valley of ash you notice the poverty that exist there. The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg can be seen on a billboard looking over the haunting area.
Rhetorical Analysis In The Great Gatsby
831 Words | 4 PagesThe 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.
How Does Fitzgerald Use Materialism In The Great Gatsby
683 Words | 3 PagesBoth Fitzgerald and Mary Balcazar, my mother, believe that the idea of the American Dream corrupts people in only wanting materialistic items. In The Great Gatsby, Mr.Wilson and Michaelis are both reminiscing what had happened before Myrtle's death, “And I said ‘God knows what you’ve been doing, everything you’ve been doing. You may fool me, but you can’t fool God!.... Michaelis saw with a shock that he was looking at the eyes of Doctor T.J Eckleburg. ”(Fitzgerald 159).
Application Of How To Read Literature Like A Professor In The Great Gatsby
809 Words | 4 PagesIt 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.
What Does The Valley Of Ashes Symbolize In The Great Gatsby
463 Words | 2 PagesIn 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.
What Does The Valley Of Ashes Symbolize In The Great Gatsby
596 Words | 3 PagesThe novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, displays the ultimate impossibility of achieving the “American Dream.” The “American Dream” is the idea that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work and determination. This novel clearly demonstrates the impossibility of achieving the American Dream through symbolism and characterization including the green light and the valley of ashes and Tom and Daisy Buchanan. The green light is an example of symbolism used to show the impossibility of achieving the American dream because the green light symbolizes Jay Gatsby’s American dream of getting Daisy to be his lover.
Scott Fitzgerald's Use Of Symbolism In The Great Gatsby
1052 Words | 5 PagesThe symbolism here is that as the eyes keep a "watchful vigil" (124) over the poor and dirty people in the valley they see corruption and unfaithfulness of the characters, as does God (124). Everyone in the story is sinning yet they pay no attention to their religion. The appearance of the sign is worn down, just as the faith and spirituality of the people have over time. As the story goes on, progressively the characters become more twisted and inevitably two people die. Towards the end of the book when George finds out about the affair he takes Myrtle to the window (which the billboard is visible) and says she “can’t fool God” which again reiterates that the eyes represent the eyes of God because they both look down upon them (159).
Eyes In The Great Gatsby
1198 Words | 5 PagesThe first and most prominent set of eyes are those of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, huge and depicted on a billboard in the valley of ashes. The author writes, “ They look out of no face but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent nose” (26). These eyes serve as the pinnacle eyes of God, a feature within every piece of notable American literature throughout history. The eyes lack a face, accentuating the ethereal nature of the idea of God, and the size makes him larger than life. His foreboding grandness contradicts the dry purgatory of the valley of ashes, bringing up the imagery of the world being a fallen one.
Who Is Fitzgerald's Madness In The Great Gatsby
1349 Words | 6 PagesFitzgerald continues to critique and emphasize the corrupt madness induced by the desire for wealth, and its effect on the surrounding environments. Fitzgerald creates environments that clearly mirror the corruption and craziness of wealth. Environments like The Valley of Ashes represent the corruption of wealth and lack thereof; the “valley of ashes— a fantastic farm where...ashes take the forms...of men who move dimly and already crumbling through powdery air” (27). The Valley of Ashes has become a haven, of sorts, for those who can not afford life in the city or the suburbs; it is a place for the poor who want to move up in life, but can’t. The use of the word fantastic— here, meaning nightmare-like, as in a fantasy— displays the horror of The
The Great Gatsby Satire Analysis
637 Words | 3 PagesSatire 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.
Dialectical Journal For The Great Gatsby
1258 Words | 6 Pages1. 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).
Rhetorical Analysis Of The Great Gatsby
864 Words | 4 Pages“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man 's needs, but not every man 's greed.” As humans, we work hard in order to have the greatest opportunity to succeed in life, which will fulfill our wants. F Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, utilizes effective language and punctuation in the text, which helps him accomplish his purpose: Illustrate what material goods does to a society. From a rhetorical standpoint, examining logos, ethos, and pathos, this novel serves as a social commentary on how the pursuit of “The American Dream” causes the people in society to transform into greedy and heartless individuals.
What Does The Green Light Symbolize In The Great Gatsby
930 Words | 4 PagesDescribing them as golden enhanced the extravagance of the upper class. In contrast, Fitzgerald uses the symbol of gray and colorless to allude to moral decay and corruption. Often used as a description for the Valley of Ashes, using gray portrays unimportance, bleakness, and emptiness. An introduction of the Valley of Ashes states, “Occasionally, a line of gray cars crawls along an invisible track… and immediately the ash-gray men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud” (Fitzgerald, 23). The author shows that the citizens who live in the Valley of Ashes are irrelevant and feel invisible, giving a gloomy and haunting feeling.
Values, Themes And Symbolism In The Great Gatsby
924 Words | 4 PagesThe 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
Similarities Between I Too Sing America And The Great Gatsby
504 Words | 3 PagesFitzgerald’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
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