Our citation format in this guide is (chapter.paragraph). Consider the characters of George and Myrtle Wilson to understand why he succumbs to the ash heaps and she rises above them. The valley of ashes in "The Great Gatsby" symbolizes lifelessness and darkness. The Valley of Ashes was real and was the symbol of the residue of the extravagance and excess life-styles that trumped in the Roaring 20s. The Valley of Ashes represents the decay of morality and sociality. The valley of ashes in this novel is both a literal place and a symbolic one. The Valley of Ashes itself is the embodiment of all despair in the novel; it contains the forgotten working class that sees no light for a better future. This is the 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 a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air. <3 Chapter 2, page 23. These people are working hard to escape this terrible poverty, but cannot manage to succeed, "crumbling through the powdery air" (23).… It isn't actually made out of ashes, but seems that way because of how gray and smoke-choked it is. "The picture of Oxford? On the other hand, although Wilson also tries to leave the ash heaps by moving to a different part of the state, his defeatist attitude and general weakness doom his escape attempt to failure. -AK-47 This place is nasty. George Wilson, whose garage is right in the middle of the valley. Its interior is described by Nick as "unprosperous and bare", which reflects the plight of its owner who is one of society's losers. He must have looked up at an unfamiliar sky through frightening leaves and shivered as he found what a grotesque thing a rose is and how raw the sunlight was upon the scarcely created grass. The valley of ashes symbolizes the division of classes and the hopelessness and loss of spirit in the people who live there. Then the valley of ashes opened out on both sides of us, and I had a glimpse of Mrs. Wilson straining at the garage pump with panting vitality as we went by. First, it's disturbing, as it's clearly meant to be. Gatsby hints at doing something probably illegal for the police commissioner (possibly supplying him with alcohol?) hbspt.cta.load(360031, '4efd5fbd-40d7-4b12-8674-6c4f312edd05', {}); Have any questions about this article or other topics? Also, we see that Myrtle Wilson is the only thing that isn't covered by ash. Here are some tips for how to write an essay about the role of a symbol in a novel, including the valley of ashes: Here are some possible essay arguments. 1. No telephone message arrived but the butler went without his sleep and waited for it until four o'clock--until long after there was any one to give it to if it came. On the more benign end, there is permanent traffic. A policeman lets Gatsby off the hook for speeding because of Gatsby's connections. Why, instead of simply calling it Queens, or giving it a fictional name, does Nick refer to it by the vaguely Biblical-sounding "valley of ashes"? When this color is combined with the ashes, it also stands for death, decay, and destruction (all the fun "d" words). The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points, How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer, Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests. And of course, there are frequent wrecks (as evidenced both by the drunken accident Nick sees leaving Gatsby's party, and Tom's gleeful exclamation that a wreck means more business for Wilson's garage when they are nearing the scene of Myrtle's hit-and-run). The state of this area shows what happens in a culture where getting ahead is valued above all other things: those who cannot succeed on these vicious terms have no recourse but being buried alive by pollution and misery. The way the working class is left behind, since this place is both literally burying its inhabitants in the polluted byproduct of its factories and figuratively burying those who cannot connive their way to the top to stagnate in hopelessness and despair. Read about our approach to external linking. Myrtle despises Wilson for his poverty. The final reference to the ash heaps is at the moment of the murder-suicide, as George skulks towards Gatsby floating in his pool. 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