... men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud, which screens their obscure operations from your sight. (Fitzgerald 27) The valley of ashes mentioned in this quote from the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald refers to a long stretch of land between West Egg and New York, ... which is soiled by the dumping of industrial ashes. The valley of ashes symbolizes the moral and social decay that results from the pursuit of wealth. The rich have misguided values and have no regard for the less ... of his cousin Daisy. The reader comes upon this knowledge when Nick m...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... to their environment. In the novel, the east is used to represent an evil area, much like the Valley of Ashes. The valley fully represents the evil and waste of the eastern United States. The valley is described as, " a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat ,"" (27) demonstrating how the bleakness contrasts with the beautiful fields of wheat in the west. This ... ...

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... down, but they also left lasting impressions on me in many different ways. The books are The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Things They Carried by Tim O"Brien and Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. I happened to read all three of these books in the last few months, and all of them shocked me with their depth, meaning and significance to my ... relationships to soldiers or people at war, it would be hard to ignore the intense emotions that a soldier expresses in this book which impacted me so deeply. The last book, Angela's Ashes, had a similar effect on me on a personal level. T...

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... she is able to accept Tom's money and even his brutality, even after he breaks her nose on the party ",tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand."(Fitzgerald 39). Beside the love of her husband, this is not enough; her fortitude to obtain what she wants causes her downfall and in the end even her death. Gatsby's yellow car ... all the characters in the novel. When you are poor like Wilson the only dream you can dream is the American dream. His dream is to leave The Valley of Ashes with Myrtle. ""I've been here too long. I want to get away. My wife and I want to go west.""(Fitzgeral...

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• Grade Level: High School

... remainder of her life. Myrtle Wilson's sister, Catherine, declares that Myrtle was "crazy about [George, her husband] for a while" (p. 39). Myrtle Wilson vehemently denies being "crazy in love" with George, but rather, that "[t]he only crazy I was was when I married him" (p. 39). Myrtle explains that George was not the person she thought he was because he was wearing a borrowed suit at the ... of Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker. For instance, Tom Buchanan has an affair with a woman named Myrtle Wilson, the wife of a gas station proprietor down in the valley of the ashes - an industrial ...

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... of the continuing growth of capitalism in the United States, there became a gigantic difference between those that were rich and those that were poor. The ashes in the Valley act as a symbol of the death of the American Dream. More specifically, they illustrate society and how what was once a pure ... turned into greed and selfishness. Consequently everything in the path of this greed became destroyed and lost. Anyone who lives in the Valley of Ashes is constantly reminded of the fact that they did not achieve the American Dream, and so now they must live in the shadows of ... society...

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... the novel helps support the differences of social class and the four main locations used by Fitzgerald; The East Egg, The West Egg, The Valley of Ashes, and New York City. In The Great Gatsby "geographical locations separate social classes" (Hoggart 204). Hoggart explains how different geographical areas have ... men" (Mulford). Myrtle and George Wilson both live in a rundown garage. Myrtle Wilson tries to desperately improve her life and get out of the ashes. This is a place that you can never leave or recover from. The Valley also represents doom and death. For instance Myrtle fell vi...

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• Grade Level: High School

... a green light at the end of a dock. The most obvious symbol in The Great Gatsby is a waste land called the Valley of Ashes, a dumping ground that lies between East and West Egg and New York City. Symbolically "the green breast of the new world" (Fitzgerald 182) becomes ... image of himself, but the image is doomed- the dream will turn to dust- and like Eckleburg, Gatsby also has occasion to brood over the ashes of the past, over the solemn dumping ground of worn out hopes" (Lehan 121). The death of Gatsby comes ironically from George Wilson's total ... misunderstanding of the world from...

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... Wilson. The black atmosphere surrounding it represents the hopelessness of their insolvent situation. "This is the valley of ashes.../where ashes take the forms of ashes and chimneys and rising smoke"(27), the ashes represent the black and how it puts a negative burden on Wilson and restricts him from future success. Gold also has an important meaning in the story. Gold symbolizes "God, healing ... Wilson. The black atmosphere surrounding it represents the hopelessness of their insolvent situation. "This is the valley of ashes.../where ashes take the forms of ashes and chimneys and risi...

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... possibilities that make the novel more intriguing. Three of the most important symbols found several times in the novel are the green light, the valley of ashes and the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg. The green light at the end of Daisy Buchanan's dock helps build an understanding of the character of Jay ... choose to indulge themselves. They have no regard for others; they only act for their own pleasure and well being. The valley of ashes is first mentioned in Chapter II as Nick is on the way to meet Tom's mistress, Myrtle Wilson. He describes the valley as a ". . . ... symbol is th...

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... paints a vivid portrait of a land ruined by greed and wastefulness. In the novel the reader is introduced to the "Valley of Ashes." The "Valley of Ashes" is a desolate land created by the dumping of the industrial waste. Fitzgerald uses the " Valley of Ashes" to portray, the corruptiveness of wealth, it leads to a life of materialism and purposeless spending and ends in, the ugliness ... . The people of this dismal place are as used and drained up as the land surrounding them. Every aspect of the valley is decreased , the people who live amongst the ashes are slightly less human and the ...

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... . The Eyes of Dr. Eckleburg watch over this original sin. These eyes, like the eyes of God or any other higher power, watch over the sins of the Valley of Ashes. "God knows what you've been doing, everything you've been doing God sees everything." (167) And like God, Dr. Eckleburg's eyes watch over all the sins that occur in ... the dark vile, sinful Valley of Ashes. Soon after Wilson talks about God like this Doctor T.J. Eckleburg's eyes " just emerged pale and enormous from the dissolving night." (167) This appearance of Dr. Eckleburg's eyes after a statement about ... , they serve as ...

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... their money or their carelessness and let other people clean up the mess they had made." This quote shows the carelessness in the 1920's. A third symbol is the valley of ashes in between West and East Egg. This valley represents the garbage dump where the poor live. It symbolizes the moral and social decline because of everyone wanting to be rich ... don't help the poor. I think the book portrayed the Valley of Ashes better than the movie. The movie helped by showing the smoke and ashes, but the book went into detail about the conditions. "This is a valley of ashes where ashes grow like...

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... wants to kill Gatsby. This is very hypocritical because at the same time Tom is having an affair with a woman, Myrtle, from the valley of ashes, an industrial wasteland situated between West Egg and New York. There are many symbols that F. Scott Fitzgerald uses in "The Great Gatsby". The green light ... end of Daisy's dock, the giant eyes of T.J. Eckleberg, Owl Eyes, the drunk at Gatsby's parties, East and West Egg and the valley of ashes are all examples of some of these symbols. The green light at the end of Daisy's dock symbolized Gatsby's longing for Daisy, who although is right ... g...

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... are important when showing us how corrupt they can be symbolically. Corruption can be shown in the symbolic settings. 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 house and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling ... through the powdery air (27). The valley of ashes is just one of the symbolic settings that show us how corrupt society really is. The valley of ashes represents the downfall of society. It is a decay of...

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... manner. Initially, in The Great Gatsby, the symbolism begins with two cities, East Egg and West Egg, which are separated by The Valley of Ashes. Fitzgerald uses the cities and valley to represent three distinct classes of wealth. As the book opens, Nick Carraway, the narrator of the story, ... are well-known socialites of East Egg. Vastly differing from the two other cities, The Valley of Ashes, is a working-class neighborhood lying between the old and new money cities. Fitzgerald's Valley of Ashes, which could be described as a virtual dumpster for modern industrial waste, essentially ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... with nothing gained; he was only scarred from the deaths he witnessed and the grief that came with it. Now, not only did the valley of ashes symbolize death, but the Eggs and NYC were now locations of death. This location, which once represented parties full of life and glamour, now haunted Nick ... border is crossed. Viewers can also clearly see how Myrtle changes when she is with Tom, compared to with Wilson in The Valley of Ashes. When she is with Tom, she gains vitality and is opulent about Tom and his money. When she is with Wilson, she feels trapped in the ... in different environ...

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... to revealing the characters and their behavior. Fitzgerald divides the world of the characters in the novel into three major settings: East Egg/West Egg, Valley of Ashes and New York City. Each of these settings, both reflects and determines the value of people who live and/or work there. Just like the settings, the ... an extravagant yellow Rolls Royce and throws lavish parties at his home in an attempt to get noticed by just the right people. The dreadful Valley of Ashes is in major contrast to both Egg's in that this is where the poor people live, those that are victims of the wealthy...

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... three symbols to prove this; they are the green light at the end of the Buchanan's dock, the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg, and the valley of ashes. At the end of the Buchanan's dock was a "single green light" that Gatsby reached toward (26). Green is a color that represents promise, hope, and renewal ... looked over "the grey land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it" (27). They were over a vast wasteland of the valley of ashes. The eyes are "blue and gigantic" and they are looking over everything and seeing everything that goes on (27). The eyes look over each situ...

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... 's huge blue eyes, and the green light on the Buchanan dock which Jay Gatsby idolizes. The valley of ashes 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 ... . His eyes make Wilson, the husband ofTom's mistress, kill himself because he thinks that God is actually looking at him in shame for murdering Gatsby. When in the valley of ashes, the eyes of the doctor are also ...

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... of the other scenes in The Great Gatsby is the site of the Valley of Ashes. Running close to the train tracks and to the road into New York, the Valley of Ashes is "a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens, where ashes take the form of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent ... and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping ground (28). Here, another man's, Dr. J. T. Eckelburg's, American dream is presented. The only color mentioned in the whole of the Valley of Ashes is the blue of the Dr. Eckelburg's eyes and t...

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... depicts. The weather in The Great Gatsby dependably matches the emotional and narrative tone of the story. Some symbols are the green light, the valley of ashes, and the eyes of Doctor T.J. Ekleburg. Nick Carraway: The novel's narrator, Nick Carraway comes from a wealthy Minnesota family. He traveled to New ... Jordan is beautiful, but also dishonest. Myrtle Wilson: Tom's lover, which has a lifeless husband (George) that owns a run-down garage in the valley of ashes. Tom treats her as a simple object of his desire. Myrtle is incredibly jealous of Daisy. After with a fight with her husban...

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... associates him to Daisy, because his dream is to be with Daisy. As well as the green light Fitzgerald drops other symbols like the valley of ashes. The valley of ashes represents societies moral and social decadence. These decreases are generally and mainly caused as a result of their unrestrainment to wealth. The eyes of Doctor T.J ... Eckleburg on a billboard in the valley of ashes represents some sort of God or superior being or power looking down upon American society. The biggest symbol is the rise and fall of Gatsby's and Daisy's ... the green light is just a light at the end of Da...

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... . Another way in which Fitzgerald casts doubt on the American Dream is through his use of the Valley of Ashes, a place that lacks life, colour, spirit or hope. "A fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens, where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys of ash- grey men, who move dimly and already crumbling through the ... powdery air." This quotation highlights that the Valley of Ashes has arisen due to the City's waste production, and is progressing. "Ash-grey men" depicts them as barely living; there is such pitiable quality of life. This...

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... 's dream and presiding over the harrowing spectacle of Gatsby's funeral, Nick realizes that the fast life on the East Coast is a cover for the moral emptiness that the valley of ashes symbolizes. Having gained the maturity that this insight teaches, he returns to Minnesota in search of a quieter life structured by stronger and more traditional moral values. His ideals and stature ... mimic that of the average middle class person of the 1920's. In The Great Gatsby, the Valley of Ashes between West Egg and New York City consists of a long stretch of desolate land created by the dumping of ...

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• Grade Level: High School