The Valley of Ashes itself possess a symbolic meaning, as it is representing a very poor region between West egg and East egg, "ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke" (23). His wife however, also living in the Valley of Ashes, is excluded from the greyness and ash covered town because she thrives to live in the colorful wealthy class. https://psjagreatgatsby.blogspot.com/2008/02/chapter-two.html The "faint dawn wind" represents Wilson's lack of faith on Myrtle. Let us look at the first time Nick and Tom enter the Valley. Unlock Content Over 83,000 lessons in … Pain Suffering Letting Go Moving On New Beginnings Death Life Hope Death And Dying Eternity Facts Lent Finance Economics Economy Drink Revenge Bad Karma Debauchery. Contrast between rich and poor (quote) The location of the valley of ashes is also significant in this context because the valley of ashes is in the middle of two rich areas. Ths represents the unavoidable doom that awaits Gatsby. Fitzgerald’s depiction of the Valley of Ashes in Chapter Two The Valley of Ashes, a landfill site solely for ashes, is painted by Fitzgerald to greaten our appreciation of American Society and the themes it generates such as social decline, moral ambiguity, the loss of hope and faith and the dominance of shallow materialism. This description tells readers that such a desolate place does not exist by mistake. The valley of ashes is a picture of absolute desolation and poverty. However, the "fantastic shapes" that the clouds form show that he is hoping for better times in the future. Her grey eyes also show that it is saddening, grieving, or depressing. When Nick and Gatsby meet, they talk about their travels in France and their experiences in war. During this time, when Daisy was still young and not yet married to Tom, she had a life of partying and carelessness; she didn't really have anything to work for or impress. This is rude and quite unacceptable, especially since the wealthy class thinks of themselves as superior and at right with everything. These gray names that Nick read are gray because they are too many of them and so few of them actually repaid Gatsby for his help. George’s evolution shows how living in such a place as the valley of ashes, made desolate and hopeless by exploiting the poor, can ruin a person’s spirit. Nick describes the valley of ashes as a place of despair whose working men "move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air." His gray beard adds on to the depressed and worn-out image that the author is trying to show. The Gatsby`s Valley of Ashes Quotes It seems ironic that the “eyes” of God would be placed in a location of such decline and decay (the valley of ashes). It is a desolate industrial wasteland, bounded on one side by "a small foul river". Nick implies that the railway was constructed to run along the valley of ashes for as short a period of time as possible so as not to bother or upset the wealthy people traveling to and from the city. Nick describes what train passengers see on the way from the luxurious communities of Long Island to the more raucous opulence of New York. The "small gray clouds" are formed by the ashes, and the dust clings to Wilson and covers his clothes like his sadness. Valley Of Ashes Quotes. They are sad people, melancholy and down-set. The night Nick spends with them quickly descends into debauchery, violence, and intoxication, all activities of which Nick does not approve. It seems that as the people age, they lose their value and become less important, which is why this man, who may have been rich in his younger years, is now being described as gray. With these fireworks he can have a little joy. https://thegreatgatsbysandm.blogspot.com/2011/05/valley-of-ashes.html It is a grim and grey place where everything is in ruins. The Valley of Ashes is the grim underside of New York, where their waste is discarded. However, this old man would seem to have no importance in society. 453 pages. The working-class Wilsons live in the “valley of ashes"—the stretch of land between West Egg and New York City, where working-class people live surrounded by industrial waste. Discuss the role played by the Valley of the Ashes. Valley of Ashes Quotes Showing 1-1 of 1 “Most days I woke up brimming with a sudden terror--that I'd forgotten to do essential things, that I'd never make friends in Colorado, that my appearance as an adult in the world was only a thin candy shell hiding a tiny, rattling center of incompetent thirteen-year-old, or worse yet, nothing at all.” The fact that he begins this story with the description of the valley of ashes and why the train has to stop there shows that he sees the valley as a symbol of not only social decay but moral depravity as well. 306 matching entries found. Gatsby's father, Mr. Gatz is a man flushed with prominent pride for his deceased son, saying that Gatsby would have been a great man had he lived longer and that he would have been up with the big ones. Gatsby's father seems to be clouded with grayness at the realization that his son is dead and even though they hardly spent time together, he will surely miss him and mourns for him. It lacks a glamorous surface and lies fallow and gray halfway between West Egg and New York. Chapter 2 Quotes. The 'valley of ashes' lies between Long Island and New York and the Wilsons live on the edge of this area. The colour grey has its own symbolism within the book as it implies the disappearance of hopes and dreams. Her days were spent aimlessly at the "gray hour of tea" because she is sadly watching everyone else around her move on in life, while she is planted to one spot, in the gray tea room. These people are working hard to escape this terrible poverty, but cannot manage to succeed, "crumbling through the powdery air" (23).… Gatsby was going through a rough time with his relationship with Daisy and dealing with his past. That is why when she met Tom, she felt like she had an initiative to do something, which helped swipe of the grayness in her life for a while. Yet, Nick still views and thinks of her as the girl of his dreams and takes this statement like the next step to their relationship. Quotes The Valley of Ashes About half-way between West Egg and New York the motor road hastily joins the railroad and runs beside it for a quarter of a mile, so as to shrink away from a certain desolate area of land. The working class has no choice because it is … This visual contrasts Myrtle’s lifestyle with that of Daisy and Jordan, who are usually described as resting in Daisy’s home, never even close to “straining” or “panting.” Just as the physical desolation of the valley of ashes is in direct contrast to the beauty of East Egg and West Egg, so are the lifestyles of those who live there. This makes is unavoidable; you need to pass through the valley of ashes to get to and from West Egg and New York. And the ashes blew towards us with the salt wind from the sea. John D. Rockefeller, a wealthy man, is being compared to a "gray old man". In The Great Gatsby, the Valley of the Ashes illustrate the inequality between its inhabitants and that of West Egg and East Egg, in terms of social standing and income, as well as the hopelessness of poverty resulting from the inability of its inhabitants to rise up the socio-economic ladder. Show more. A Valley of Ashes. "This is a valley of ashes" About half way between West Egg and New York the motor road hastily joins the railroad and runs beside it for a quarter of a mile, so as to shrink away from a … Cody, even though he was wealthy and lived a life of extravagances, died an unjust death; he also died without his will properly taken care of, in which Gatsby was to inherit money from his friend Cody. It was an unpleasant experience for both of them, and they were not yet as wealthy as they are now. The valley of ashes is described as being a dark dirty place covered in grey ash. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. 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