The Great Gatsby Valley Of Ashes Essay
Describe the portrayal of setting in Chapter 2 and the juxtaposition of Wilson and his wife. What do they reveal about the place?
Unlike the other settings in the book, the valley of ashes is a picture of absolute desolation and poverty. It lacks a glamorous surface and lays fallow and grey halfway between West Egg and New York. The valley of ashes symbolises the moral decay hidden by the beautiful facades of the Eggs, and suggests that beneath the adornment of West Egg and the mannered charm of East Egg lies the same ugliness as in the valley. The valley is created by industrial dumping and is therefore a by-product of capitalism. It is the home to the only poor characters in the novel.
The undefined significance of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg's monstrous, bespectacled eyes gazing down from their billboard makes them troubling to the reader: in this chapter, Fitzgerald preserves their mystery, giving them no fixed symbolic value. Mysteriously, the eyes simply "brood on over the solemn dumping ground." Perhaps the most persuasive reading of the eyes at this point in the novel is that they represent the eyes of God, staring down at the moral decay of the 1920s. The faded paint of the eyes can be seen as symbolizing the extent to which humanity has lost its connection to God. This reading, however, is merely suggested by the arrangement of the novel's symbols; Nick does not …show more content…
directly explain the symbol in this way, leaving the reader to interpret it.
The fourth and final setting of the novel, New York City, is in every way the opposite of the valley of ashesit is loud, garish, abundant, and glittering.
To Nick, New York is simultaneously fascinating and repulsive, thrillingly fast-paced and dazzling to look at but lacking a moral centre. While Tom is forced to keep his affair with Myrtle relatively discreet in the valley of the ashes, in New York he can appear with her in public, even among his acquaintances, without causing a scandal. Even Nick, despite being Daisy's cousin, seems not to mind that Tom parades his infidelity in
public.
The sequences of events leading up to and occurring at the party define and contrast the various characters in The Great Gatsby. Nick's reserved nature and indecisiveness show in the fact that though he feels morally repelled by the vulgarity and tastelessness of the party, he is too fascinated by it to leave. This contradiction suggests the ambivalence that he feels toward the Buchanans, Gatsby, and the East Coast in general. The party also underscores Tom's hypocrisy and lack of restraint: he feels no guilt for betraying Daisy with Myrtle, but he feels compelled to keep Myrtle in her place, made evident when he breaks her nose with his open hand'. Tom emerges in this section as a boorish bully who uses his social status and physical strength to dominate those around himhe subtly taunts Wilson while having an affair with his wife, experiences no guilt for his immoral behaviour, and does not hesitate to lash out violently in order to preserve his authority over Myrtle. Wilson stands in stark contrast, a handsome and morally upright man who lacks money, privilege, and vitality.
This contrast is again made evident when his garage/home is described as bare', a clear distinction between that of Tom's which is a palatial colonial' mansion, evoking the thought that Wilson is less of a man than Tom as in the 1920's material possessions defined who you were or where you stood in the social ladder.
Not only is Wilson different from the stereotypical man of the time; Wilson is also a contrast to the ideal husband. This is made evident when he gives a gleam of hope' on seeing Tom, symbolising his desperation as he may finally gat some business but also his fear that not being able to provide for his wife will eventually lead to her unhappiness, a situation which has already occurred. Being depicted as a spiritless man' judgements of him being weak are made before the reader meets him. This is only further emphasised when his sensuously' clad Myrtle is introduced, juxtaposing both partners as she is the strong one in the relationship and he is the weaker half. The fact she blocks out the light' when she enters the garage could be symbolic of her being corruptive and dishonest, as the pure light, which could connote Wilson's honest way's, are snubbed out by Myrtle bold pose. The thoughts of her being unfaithful and deceitful are only reinforced later on in the chapter when we learn it was Myrtle who instigated the relationship between her and Tom.
Myrtles body language not only undermines Wilson's authority as the man as her language does also. The use of imperative verbs such as get' again evoke the thought that she is the dominant one in the marriage, a thought which would have been unheard of at the time as any honourable man would know how to keep his wife in check. His' hurried' response just emphasising the role reversal.
Overall, the use of imagery in the opening of chapter two connote not only to the deceitful and dishonest actions of the characters but also the emotional confusion being felt by Nick about what to do in the situation he is. However, underneath the expressive turmoil I think Fitzgerald uses the setting to portray the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced in the cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure. The repetition of the word ash', evoking the thought of death and foreboding: the death of the American dream. The decadent parties and wild jazz music had resulted ultimately in the corruption of the American dream, as the desire for money and pleasure surpassed more noble goals. When World War I ended in 1918, the generation of young Americans who had fought the war became intensely disillusioned. Nick and Gatsby, both of whom fought in it, show the newfound cosmopolitanism and cynicism that resulted from it. The various social climbers and ambitious spenders (Tom, Myrtle, Daisy and Miss Baker) represent the greedy scramble for wealth. The clash between "old money" and "new money" manifests itself in the chapter's geography: East Egg representing the established upper classes, West Egg the self-made rich.
Unlike the other settings in the book, the valley of ashes is a picture of absolute desolation and poverty. It lacks a glamorous surface and lays fallow and grey halfway between West Egg and New York. The valley of ashes symbolises the moral decay hidden by the beautiful facades of the Eggs, and suggests that beneath the adornment of West Egg and the mannered charm of East Egg lies the same ugliness as in the valley. The valley is created by industrial dumping and is therefore a by-product of capitalism. It is the home to the only poor characters in the novel.
The undefined significance of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg's monstrous, bespectacled eyes gazing down from their billboard makes them troubling to the reader: in this chapter, Fitzgerald preserves their mystery, giving them no fixed symbolic value. Mysteriously, the eyes simply "brood on over the solemn dumping ground." Perhaps the most persuasive reading of the eyes at this point in the novel is that they represent the eyes of God, staring down at the moral decay of the 1920s. The faded paint of the eyes can be seen as symbolizing the extent to which humanity has lost its connection to God. This reading, however, is merely suggested by the arrangement of the novel's symbols; Nick does not …show more content…
directly explain the symbol in this way, leaving the reader to interpret it.
The fourth and final setting of the novel, New York City, is in every way the opposite of the valley of ashesit is loud, garish, abundant, and glittering.
To Nick, New York is simultaneously fascinating and repulsive, thrillingly fast-paced and dazzling to look at but lacking a moral centre. While Tom is forced to keep his affair with Myrtle relatively discreet in the valley of the ashes, in New York he can appear with her in public, even among his acquaintances, without causing a scandal. Even Nick, despite being Daisy's cousin, seems not to mind that Tom parades his infidelity in
public.
The sequences of events leading up to and occurring at the party define and contrast the various characters in The Great Gatsby. Nick's reserved nature and indecisiveness show in the fact that though he feels morally repelled by the vulgarity and tastelessness of the party, he is too fascinated by it to leave. This contradiction suggests the ambivalence that he feels toward the Buchanans, Gatsby, and the East Coast in general. The party also underscores Tom's hypocrisy and lack of restraint: he feels no guilt for betraying Daisy with Myrtle, but he feels compelled to keep Myrtle in her place, made evident when he breaks her nose with his open hand'. Tom emerges in this section as a boorish bully who uses his social status and physical strength to dominate those around himhe subtly taunts Wilson while having an affair with his wife, experiences no guilt for his immoral behaviour, and does not hesitate to lash out violently in order to preserve his authority over Myrtle. Wilson stands in stark contrast, a handsome and morally upright man who lacks money, privilege, and vitality.
This contrast is again made evident when his garage/home is described as bare', a clear distinction between that of Tom's which is a palatial colonial' mansion, evoking the thought that Wilson is less of a man than Tom as in the 1920's material possessions defined who you were or where you stood in the social ladder.
Not only is Wilson different from the stereotypical man of the time; Wilson is also a contrast to the ideal husband. This is made evident when he gives a gleam of hope' on seeing Tom, symbolising his desperation as he may finally gat some business but also his fear that not being able to provide for his wife will eventually lead to her unhappiness, a situation which has already occurred. Being depicted as a spiritless man' judgements of him being weak are made before the reader meets him. This is only further emphasised when his sensuously' clad Myrtle is introduced, juxtaposing both partners as she is the strong one in the relationship and he is the weaker half. The fact she blocks out the light' when she enters the garage could be symbolic of her being corruptive and dishonest, as the pure light, which could connote Wilson's honest way's, are snubbed out by Myrtle bold pose. The thoughts of her being unfaithful and deceitful are only reinforced later on in the chapter when we learn it was Myrtle who instigated the relationship between her and Tom.
Myrtles body language not only undermines Wilson's authority as the man as her language does also. The use of imperative verbs such as get' again evoke the thought that she is the dominant one in the marriage, a thought which would have been unheard of at the time as any honourable man would know how to keep his wife in check. His' hurried' response just emphasising the role reversal.
Overall, the use of imagery in the opening of chapter two connote not only to the deceitful and dishonest actions of the characters but also the emotional confusion being felt by Nick about what to do in the situation he is. However, underneath the expressive turmoil I think Fitzgerald uses the setting to portray the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced in the cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure. The repetition of the word ash', evoking the thought of death and foreboding: the death of the American dream. The decadent parties and wild jazz music had resulted ultimately in the corruption of the American dream, as the desire for money and pleasure surpassed more noble goals. When World War I ended in 1918, the generation of young Americans who had fought the war became intensely disillusioned. Nick and Gatsby, both of whom fought in it, show the newfound cosmopolitanism and cynicism that resulted from it. The various social climbers and ambitious spenders (Tom, Myrtle, Daisy and Miss Baker) represent the greedy scramble for wealth. The clash between "old money" and "new money" manifests itself in the chapter's geography: East Egg representing the established upper classes, West Egg the self-made rich.