ipl-logo

What Does The Valley Of Ashes Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

463 Words2 Pages

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. Their work provides wealth to residents of West Egg. The valley is full of loss dreams and hopelessness. The lower class that live here also influence the underground criminal activity in the city. Another symbol Fitzgerald writes about is the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. In the story the light is a permanently lit lamp that is on the end of Tom and Daisy’s dock. The light warns boats at …show more content…

This symbol mainly relates to Gatsby and Daisy’s love. The third symbol is Gatsby’s dream of spending eternity with Daisy; also his dream consisted of the American Dream. Throughout the novel Gatsby feels like he his not wealthy enough to win over the heart of Daisy. He sets out to acquire an enormous amount of wealth so he could steal Daisy away from Tom. Daisy eventually notices his wealth even mentioning once that it makes her cry. At the end of the book Daisy admits she still loves Tom, and this makes Gatsby’s dream fall down. I believe that even though Gatsby has enormous wealth he still feels empty and that his hopes and dreams will never come true. The next symbol is eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg. This is a billboard that hangs in the city that has no face but just eyes. The narrator, Nick, feels like the eyes are watching him like he watches everyone else. The billboard represents a higher being watching over the city. It sees all the bad things that goes on in the city. It watches as Daisy kills Myrtle and the poor that work everyday for the rich. Although it’s not a living object the billboard still symbolizes a god that sees

Show More
Related

What Does The Valley Of Ashes Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

1012 Words | 5 Pages

It represents the poor lower class, poverty, and hopelessness. It symbolizes the plight of the poor and their unfortunate situations. George Wilson, for example, is a character who loses his vitality and a man who comes out of the gray world of ashy pollution and factory dust. The people of the lower class who inhibit this region all want to leave but cannot, we can see this from the fact that Myrtle was so desperate and ambitious and that she hopes Tom would be her ticket out of this miserable life.

Read More

What Does The Roaring Twenties Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

1199 Words | 5 Pages

Its physical decay in the form of ashes also assists in picturing the moral decay of characters of the time. Fitzgerald moves the decay onto the physical men as a symbol, who move “dimly”, which symbolizes the lack of decency throughout the story in each character when they act recklessly. At the time, this represents the economic inequality plaguing the time, and how men such as Buchanon and Gatsby profited off of the less fortunate for their own benefit. The valley of ashes symbolizes the moral decay of the story at its peak, however it is also important to consider the other real historical connections. In the History Channel article “8 Ways ‘The Great Gatsby’ Captured the

Read More

Does Dr. T. J Eckleburg Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

1101 Words | 5 Pages

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, the author uses the story of lost love to depict the moral decline of America during the 1920s. The story takes place over the summer of 1922 near Long Island, New York. Symbolism plays a major role throughout the novel. Although the author states the symbols only have meaning because the characters give them meaning, the green light, the eyes of Dr. T.J Eckleburg, and the Valley of the Ashes all have significant impacts on the characters. Although all the symbols are important, the eyes of Dr. T. J Eckleburg on the billboard in the Valley of the Ashes are the most important symbols in the entire book.

Read More

What Does The Valley Of Ashes Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

626 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More

Application Of How To Read Literature Like A Professor In The Great Gatsby

809 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More

What Does The Valley Of Ashes Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

648 Words | 3 Pages

Myrtle and Gatsby both exemplify this plummet back down to earth. Their bodies return to the ashes, truly becoming a part of the valley to help enforce what the valley represents: lost dreams of gold. The valley of ashes illustrates the hopelessness of achieving these dreams of gold, as they will eventually all end in ashes. By symbolizing the hopelessness of the Dream, the valley of ashes proves its

Read More

How Does The Valley Of Ashes Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

991 Words | 4 Pages

From reading The Great Gatsby and tracking the presence of the symbol with location, it has become present that through the book, all of the places/the majority of the places mentioned either symbol something with money or fulfillment. For example, West Egg is all about people who have “New Money” and made something of themselves from what they didn’t have, East Egg is all about people who have “Old Money” in which they live off of their family members’ money. Another common place mentioned in the text is the Valley of Ashes, this symbolizes the moral and social decay with people who aren’t as wealthy as other. Lastly Gatsby’s mansion which symbolizes fullness but also emptiness and his love for Daisy. So, in the novel The Great Gatsby, written

Read More

Tom Buchanan Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

790 Words | 4 Pages

One symbol is the green light. At the end of Tom and Daisy’s dock there is a green light. The green light can be seen from Gatsby’s backyard. Now to Gatsby, who lives across from them, this is his hope and dreams. He hosts these parties to see of Daisy come, to impress her.

Read More

What Does The Green Light Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

791 Words | 4 Pages

Eckleburg are symbolic in the novel The Great Gatsby. The billboard eyes are used to symbolize that someone is always looking over and judging them almost like God. The eyes are located in the valley of ashes and make the people of West Egg uncomfortable. In The Great Gatsby it says, “The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic their irises are one yard high. They lookout of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent nose.

Read More

Examples Of The Valley Of Ashes In The Great Gatsby

636 Words | 3 Pages

Next, the valley of ashes physically represents the detriment of being left on the failing side of the American dream. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, the narrator describes the valley of ashes: “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…” (Fitzgerald, PAGE #). The people living in this valley are left, figuratively and literally, in the dust by the rich. Although they put in the gruelling work the American Dream demands, they continuously fall short of these hopes.

Read More

What Does The Green Light Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

817 Words | 4 Pages

Fitzgerald deftly uses the Valley of Ashes, the billboard, and the green light in order to represent these ideas and enhance the quality of the novel. In The Great Gatsby, the Valley of

Read More

Theme Of Blindness In The Great Gatsby

429 Words | 2 Pages

During the novel these different stages and symbols were faced against manys characters in different parts of the novel. Also Gatsby used his very high top m parties as a symbol of his blindness. He would have these parties to try and get Daisy to like him more realized his worth but it didn't work that way. ‘’ a man “blinded by the glare of the headlights”. Blinded by the glare of the headlights and confused by the incessant groaning of the horns, the apparition stood swaying for a moment before he perceived the man in the

Read More

What Does The Green Light Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

725 Words | 3 Pages

Involuntarily I glanced seaward – and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away." The green light is depicted as 'minute and far away ' which conveys the impossibility of achieving the dream. This turns out to be true for Gatsby. Another thing is symbolising is the society’s needs and desires and the impossible materialistic American dream. Lastly, the colour green also signifies wealth and the old wealth in the East Egg area in Buchannan’s habitat.

Read More

How Does Jay Fitzgerald Present Greed In The Great Gatsby

773 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More

Comparing The Great Gatsby And A Streetcar Named Desire

1312 Words | 6 Pages

“The Great Gatsby” and “A Streetcar Named Desire” both focus on the common theme of pursuing goals and living the American Dream. As well as leaving behind the past and “turn a new leaf”. The main characters in each story, Blanche and Gatsby, both have dreams of wealth and great living.

Read More

More about What Does The Valley Of Ashes Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

Related Topics

Open Document