Valley In The Great Gatsby

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The only way to climb steps is to step on them. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s the Great Gatsby, the upper class does just that: it climbs the steps of social class by stepping over those who are poorer. The lower class face degradation and downfall caused by the wealthy’s selfish pursuit of pleasure and satisfaction. In the Great Gatsby, the Valley of Ashes symbolizes Fitzgerald’s criticism towards the wealthy’s sole regard for self gain, which creates dire consequences for the poor.
Fitzgerald uses specific language to describe the Valley to ultimately condemn the wealthy’s pursuit of self-growth. Fitzgerald calls the Valley “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat … into … grotesque gardens” (Fitzgerald 23). Here, Fitzgerald’s use of irony …show more content…
When Nick describes the Valley, he labels it a “desolate area of land,” a “solemn dumping ground,” and a “dismal scene” (23, 24). The use of “desolate,” solemn,” and “dismal,” all of which connote a depressing and grim tone, signifies Fitzgerald’s intention to emphasize his criticism towards the inequality that the Valley faces. When Nick and Gatsby go on a ride towards New York, Nick notes that “[New York] seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and beauty in the world” (68). Nick approaches New York from the Valley, and in calling the first sight of New York the “first wild promise of all the mystery and beauty of the world,” he calls for a direct comparison. He describes New York as the paragon of a better life--a place not “desolate,” “solemn,” or “dismal,” but rather a place with a “promise of beauty.” Even the image that New York seen from the bridge “is always the city seen for the first time” illustrates the parallel between the two places: Nick calls New York a “city,” but the Valley a “solemn dumping ground.” Through his use of language, Fitzgerald criticizes the wealthy, living blindly to inequality, flooding themselves in “the racy, adventurous feel of [the city] at night” …show more content…
New York’s ashes cover the Valley, where “ashes take the forms of houses” and “gray cars … ash-gray men” live (23). Comparatively, West and East Egg feature ostentatious houses-- “[Tom and Daisy’s] house was … a cheerful red-and-white Colonial mansion”--expensive cars--Gatsby’s Rolls Royce--and well-dressed men (6). Almost everything in the Eggs are completely different from those in the Valley. While the color scheme of the Valley remains dark and grey, the Eggs have a more colorful lifestyle: Tom and Daisy’s houses are “a cheerful red-and-white”; Gatsby’s car is a “rich cream color, bright with nickel,” and his house “blazes with light” (64, 81). The stark contrast in color and brightness reveals the degradation of the poor created by the upper class’s selfish stride to more wealth and power. While the wealthy live flashy lives with expensive material goods, the poor live in the dark, covered by the dust of the rich. Fitzgerald paints the Valley in a fading dark light to criticize the fading of society’s once inclusive American Dream. He shows the reader that the American Dream shifted into an individualized dream, one achieved by putting down the poor and leaving them in the
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