... 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...

• Word Count: 1589
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... '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 ...

• Word Count: 892
• Approx Pages: 4
• 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 ... grey area for him. Gatsby seems not to recognize people who are partially' evil as having cruel intentions. This quasi-evil includes all characters in this story, including Gatsby himself. Analysis of Gatsby's behavior rev...

• Word Count: 1642
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... the novel. He represents the 1920s as an age of decayed social and virtuous values, by showing sarcasm, greediness, and bare search of desire. In this novel, Fitzgerald produces many literary devices. One of the device he used is characterization. The main characters of this novel are Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, Tom Buchanan and Jordan Baker. Nick Carraway is ... ...

• Word Count: 1547
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... 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...

• Word Count: 948
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... what is known as the American Dream at that period in time. Fitzgerald shows this through several different examples of literary devices and elements of fiction, but the three that made his portrayal of the concept stand out the most were symbolism, motifs, and setting ... Chapter 2, Nick describes the place that is between West Egg and New York: "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 mo...

• Word Count: 1146
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... narrates in both first and third person, just talking about what he observes. Nick gives his own interpretations of the story's meaning. Fitzgerald uses literary devices such as motifs and symbols. The motifs are used in geography as well as in the weather. Throughout the novel, places and settings ... 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. H...

• Word Count: 1619
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... calling Gatsby's car a "circus wagon" (128). The social flaw of being new money imprisoned Gatsby on an emotional island. The novel uses a major literary theme to show hidden meaning. The technique of symbolism is included into the novel. The author uses symbolism by showing how the American dream can be corrupted ... 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 ...

• Word Count: 1127
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... be given to the arts and entertainment of this volatile period in time. F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, is perhaps the most recognized of authors associated with the literary flowering of the 1920's in America. The concern of most authors during this time was of the materialism that had suddenly swept the country. Credit was easy, interest rates were ... 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 ridg...

• Word Count: 1190
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... the novel describes everything the film was exactly the same for the most part except for the color of gatsby's car. Symbols are often used in literary works and motion pictures in order to send the reader or audience a message. Symbols are used to represent something else by association, resemblance, or ... 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 unrestrai...

• Word Count: 1186
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

One of the literary devices that F. Scott Fitzgerald uses throughout "The Great Gatsby," is symbolism. He uses an abundance of symbols to subtly express his intended concepts and underlying themes ... to death. The hotness of the green leather seats is foreshadowing the death to come because hotness symbolizes hell. The billboard looming over the valley of ashes is plastered with Dr. T.J. Eckleberg face contains very large eyes with spectacles that appear to be watching over the valley of ... ashes. Fitzgerald places the billboard in the valley of ashes with a double meaning. The face belongi...

• Word Count: 1080
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... aims to present the hidden things and thoughts under phenomena. Fitzgerald himself had the experiences, from an obscure poor to a new talent in the literary world, from over night success to excessive hedonism. So he could vividly depict the mysterious and desirous wealth of Gatsby and unfolded before our eyes ... dresses which are essentially void and empty despite their purity and beauty.The preclude of the second chapter offers an impressive picture of "a valley of ashes" located between East Egg and West Egg. The color gray occupied the whole scene, showing a "trash valley" with no ...

• Word Count: 1437
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... 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...

• Word Count: 858
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• 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 ...

• Word Count: 2520
• Approx Pages: 10
• 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...

• Word Count: 1504
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... 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...

• Word Count: 816
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... 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...

• Word Count: 1611
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... 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...

• Word Count: 760
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... 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 ...

• Word Count: 453
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

In the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the settings of East and West eggs, The Valley of Ashes, and New York City to assist the actions of the main characters. The East Egg is more of the upscale region of the setting. People that ... them."(9) Lavery 2 Halfway between West Egg and New York City sprawls a deserted plain; a gray valley called The Valley of Ashes. The Valley of Ashes is a symbol of absolute unhappiness and poverty. George Wilson owns a garage in the Valley of Ashes. He is a glum, poor man. His life matches perfectly with where he lives. He's life practically ends when he...

• Word Count: 547
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... . 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 ...

• Word Count: 463
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... light. One must sometimes wonder why people create dreams and images of false hope which almost never come true. But it's no surprise why the people of the Valley of Ashes disillusion themselves in this gloomy town. The narrator, Nick, first introduces the Eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg in the beginning of chapter two. At this point in the novel the eyes ... is of course brilliant and its historical position as one of the earliest American novels to attempt twentieth century techniques guarantees it a major position in our literary hierarchy." To Scrimgeour, Fitzgerald's technique isn't hi...

• Word Count: 1284
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... of self-decency and honesty; but through deceit and criminal operations. The other argument, however is that Gatsby is the ideal follower and achiever of the American Dream. In an analysis of the character of Jay Gatsby at www.novelguide.com suggests, this is possibly how the author sees the route to achieving the goals of the American Dream: "The idealism ... theme that I am going to look at is that of the eyes of T. J. Eckleburg. George Wilson compares them to the eyes of God looking down over the Valley of the Ashes. "His eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days, under sun and ra...

• Word Count: 2257
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... 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...

• Word Count: 509
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... 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...

• Word Count: 867
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School