Valley Of Ashes In The Great Gatsby

2124 Words9 Pages
“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 raising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (Fitzgerald 26). Here, “the valley of ashes” represents the place where New York City ashes are dumped and where the poor people lives. The “ashes” and “raising smoke” symbolizes the darkness in the lives of the people in poverty in the valley of ashes. In his book The Great Gatsby, the author F. Scott Fitzgerald mainly depicts the lives of the rich and their luxuries, but also shows the lives of the poor people in the valley of ashes in a small…show more content…
For instance, Mr. Wilson being depended on Tom for his survival because he was poor. When Tom went to Mr. Wilson’s place, Mr. Wilson being the owner of a car repair shop, has to be careful how to talk to Tom so that he does not get offended and cancel the deal to give him his car, Mr. Wilson shows constant fear because of his poverty (Fitzgerald 28). On the other hand, Mrs. Wilson, wife of Mr. Wilson getting into an affair with Tom, made her life enjoyable and luxurious. She got attracted to Tom because of his wealth and could easily get whatever she wanted from Tom. So, this also shows how all the major scenes actually stating from Nick going to the valley of ashes to the death of Mr. Gatsby has its roots in the valley of…show more content…
This statement is proving the failure of the “American Dream” that all the people has equal opportunity and can become successful. But the poor people, lack of self-esteem and inspiration to do something and therefore, cannot achieve the “American Dream.” The person’s life that was effected the most was Mr. Gatsby. Mr. Gatsby represents a character that shows how he became rich by doing illegal acts just to get his love back. He was, therefore, addressed as the “new rich” as he did not get his wealth from his family. His life was a struggle from the beginning and also ended with struggle. He might have been rich, but inside he was still the same waiting to revert the time and get his love Daisy back who was married to Tom Buchanan. But what ended up taking Gatsby’s life was Tom’s affair with the wife of the garage owner Mrs. Wilson and a silly misunderstanding that Mrs. Wilson was in an affair with Mr. Gatsby instead of Tom Buchanan. So, the death of the Mr. Gatsby is also the death of the “American Dream” that he hoped to
Open Document