What Does The Valley Of Ashes Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

Frequently the American Dream is advertised as work hard to get wealth and a good life, but It shows the hollowness of the American dream and how money and materialism drives everyone. Fitzgerald displays the darker side of the American Dream. The by-product of the industrial age, specifically the coal ash left from coal-burning factories. The valley of ashes in Gatsby lies between the rich refuge of the Eggs and the busy excitement of Manhattan, signifying the human misery. Think of the Wilsons and environmental cost of the machinery that creates fantastic wealth for a few people like Tom and Daisy but hardships for all the working class. In The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald the valley of ashes symbolizes how the damage that the upper class characters such as Daisy and Tom can inflict on society and the impossibility to achieve the American Dream because of materialism and loss of morals. …show more content…
It is a dumping ground left behind by the wealthy as they pursue the American Dream. This is the result of capitalism. It Becomes a hopeless landscape of the working class. “And if you feel that way about it, maybe I’d better sell it somewhere else after all” (p25). This shows the difference between the rich and the poor. The valley also is a Waste and neglection left behind by those seeking wealth. Tom makes fun of Wilson when he says, “He thinks she goes to see her sister in New York. He’s dumb he doesn’t know he’s alive” (p26). This confrontation of Tom and George shows how the rich look down on the poor because of the difference in their social status. It represents the moral and social decay hidden by the West, and East