The Dark Realm of the Valley
The Dark Realm of the Valley of Ashes In the twenties, the era of glitter and gold, counterfeit wealth and artificial success obscured the vision of a disaster foreboding: The Great Depression, the Red Scare, the crash of the stock market, and many others. New York City, the "capital of the world," was the place where the dreadful sickness originated. Just beyond the glamorous displays of traffic and lights, a dark, and lonely ash heap resides at the outskirts of New York City. In the book, the ash heap is a symbol of a disease, materialism, that spreads to destroy the hopes and dreams of the ones who possess them. Fitzgerald uses the ash heap as a symbol of a disease that spreads to destroy people's dreams and passions. Fitzgerald shows how the "Valley of Ashes" is a symbol of a destroyer of hopes and dreams that pass from New York City to the East and West Egg. This ash heap is a garbage dump located just
However, until his dreams take an unexpected turn into the ash heap, reducing to residue. The dim ambiance of the valley of ashes is represented by the workers. The burning of the garbage is like burning passions, but it burns until only the residue, the desires and dreams, are left over. When desires are no longer desires anymore, they go into the trash. They remove the trash of NYC and bring it to the ash heap to burn until it turns to ashes. The comparison to gravediggers depicts that this "ash heap" is not a golden place; it reminds the reader of death and decay. The ash is what is left over after the trash has been burnt; it is residue left over after a destruction. The dark, gray, dirty facade of the valley of ashes produces the feeling of desperation that Gatsby lives, trying to reproduce the past. Jay Gatsby dreams the great American dream of being wealthy, and his hope of someday being with Daisy. It is described as "the gray land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over" (27). Occasionally, "ash-gray men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud which screens their obscure operation from your sight" (17). It's really a crude hell created by modern society. If it was not for her dream, and the "valley," Gatsby could have lived a longer life, and a happier one. The Valley of Ashes represents materialism of the modern world. The dream and desire are burnt away and there is no hope for them to be dreams and desires again.
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Acceptance Essays
