From the first century to the roaring 20’s, mankind sees wealth as the antidote to life’s dilemmas, the true purpose of their existence; blinded by the carelessness it breeds as a byproduct. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s use of point of view, imagery and symbolism depicts the theme of wealth breeds carelessness. Through the eyes of Nick Carraway, the East is perceived as a city contagious with carelessness derived from the temptations of a wealthy lifestyle. As observed from his standpoint, “In the foreground four solemn in dress suits are walking along the sidewalk with a stretcher on which lies a drunken woman in a white evening dress. Her hand, which dangles over the side, sparkles cold with jewels. Gravely the men turn in at a house--- the wrong
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What Carraway witnesses is not only negligence possessed by the people of the East, but also the consequences of the woman’s careless decision of getting drunk and partying lavishly. Next, Fitzgerald paints the “Valley of Ashes’” as the abandoned grim reality bred from the distorted desire of wealth and materialism. Fitzgerald depicts the desolate land as ¨-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 rising smoke and finally, with transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (35). The Valley of Ashes represents an impoverished, lifeless wasteland neglected by the ignoramuses bathing in the Eastś wealth. In addition, Gatsby’s yellow automobile symbolizes the carelessness in his driving. As a result, Gatsby was pulled over by the police, “With fenders spread like wings we scattered light through half Astoria--- only half, for as we twisted among the pillars of the elevated I heard the familiar “jug-jug-spat!” of a motor cycle, and a frantic policeman rode alongside”
What Carraway witnesses is not only negligence possessed by the people of the East, but also the consequences of the woman’s careless decision of getting drunk and partying lavishly. Next, Fitzgerald paints the “Valley of Ashes’” as the abandoned grim reality bred from the distorted desire of wealth and materialism. Fitzgerald depicts the desolate land as ¨-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 rising smoke and finally, with transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (35). The Valley of Ashes represents an impoverished, lifeless wasteland neglected by the ignoramuses bathing in the Eastś wealth. In addition, Gatsby’s yellow automobile symbolizes the carelessness in his driving. As a result, Gatsby was pulled over by the police, “With fenders spread like wings we scattered light through half Astoria--- only half, for as we twisted among the pillars of the elevated I heard the familiar “jug-jug-spat!” of a motor cycle, and a frantic policeman rode alongside”