Fitzgerald incorporates the “valley of ashes” to illustrate how capitalism rids people of everything that makes them human. When the author describes the inhabitants of the valley as “ash-gray”, his diction suggests that these men are physically unhealthy because they are gray and pale(Fitzgerald 23). This diction and imagery also suggests that these inhabitants are morally unhealthy. They are lacking the two tenets that make them human, hope and the will to make one’s life better. These men walk around with “leaden spades”, which emphasizes how slow, laborious, and sluggish their movements are(Fitzgerald 23). The author’s diction also portrays that the inhabitants do not work efficiently or with determination, because they “move dimly”
