... '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

... 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

... 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

... 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

... 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

... 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

... 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

... 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...

• Word Count: 702
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... 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 ...

• Word Count: 1091
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• 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...

• Word Count: 1111
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... '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 ...

• Word Count: 741
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... the lower class at the time. The upper class was described in manner of bright and pretty colors. The color grey is described as being dull and unattractive. Valley of Ashes is a little town which is practically all grey. Lower class people lived in this part of the town. Valley of ... Ashes is kind of like the wasteland of the city. The town is covered with grey ashes everywhere. Myrtle lived in the Valley of Ashes with her husband George Wilson. The color grey was used to describe George Wilson. After the death of Myrtle ... was represented by the color white because of her calmness ...

• Word Count: 559
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... light seen at the end of Daisy's dock, the wild and illustrious parties thrown by Gatsby, and the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckelburg. Fitzgerald uses these symbols to represent his true, literary voice. In the text Gatsby is a newly wealthy World War I veteran who has settled in "West Egg" after acquiring a large sum of money after the war. We later learn that ... class. One symbol in witch this is shown is that of the "Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckelburg". They in actuality are two eyes painted on a faded billboard in the valley of ashes overlooking the wealthy society. These eyes come to repre...

• Word Count: 619
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... centers of commerce, where people drank bootleg liquor, drove Model-T's, went to sporting events, and attended live jazz concerts. This rebellious time in our country's history bred change in the literary world. Writers such as Edith Wharton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Henry James brought a realist revolution upon American literature. Authors, experimenting with realism, freed up their language and wrote about themes, such ... own life and illustrates in "The Great Gatsby," excessive wealth often leads to moral corruption and rocky lifestyles. Fitzgerald uses a stark contrast between the ...

• Word Count: 938
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... does not have any mean intentions and does never mean to cause harm as long as it does not affect her status. The Valley of Ashes is a large area of waist land and made up of industrial ashes that had been dumped there. This symbolizes the tremendous cost and destruction of the pursuit of wealth from the small rich population that only ... cares about themselves and nothing ells. This group of people includes Daisy, Tom, Gatsby and many other people belonging of the same social class. The Valley of Ashes also shows us how the poorer people suffer the expenses of the rich like George Wil...

• Word Count: 794
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... 1920s America. The American Dream is portrayed as corrupt through the use of setting. The divides between East Egg 'old money', West Egg 'new money' and The Valley of the Ashes 'working class' are huge and contrast to the Dream's idea of equality. The upper class or 'old money' group consider themselves to be superior to the other groups in society ... American Dream and what it stands for. The descriptive language used to describe the setting is also contrasting. East Egg's "white places... glittered" as opposed to The Valley of The Ashes which is "grotesque". The settings are symbolic...

• Word Count: 721
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... came into money live. East Egg is where the people that were born into money live. The Valley of Ashes is where the people that have very little money live. The towns of West Egg, East Egg, and The Valley of Ashes separate the physically separate the social classes of The Great Gatsby. One example of the separation of social classes is ... how Myrtle Wilson was in a low social class (Valley of Ashes) but she wanted to move up to East Egg. Myrtle and Tom were having an affair together. Myrtle thought that if she did so then she would be able to ... ...

• Word Count: 525
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School