The Valley ultimately symbolizes moral, and physical, decay that the rich have caused when trying to reach an socially acceptable level of wealth that was caused by greed and hollowness. In “Religious Languages and Symbolism in The Great Gatsby’s Valley of Ashes”, Robert C. Hauhart emphasizes just how useless those living in the Valley are perceived by the rich: “…the ash heaps in Gatsby…suggest a casual disposal of detritus without regard for the environment; that is, a form of carelessness that is...one of the moral lapses of human action to be decried,” (202). The way in which the author describes human beings as being disposed of in such a casual manner shows just how little the poor are regarded of. The association between the Valley
