We often associate material gain with enjoyment and fulfillment, but we fail to understand the side most affected by the uninhibited pursuit of gratification. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the wealthy do just that; they climb the steps of social class by stepping over those who are poorer. In the novel, the lower-class face degradation caused by the wealthy’s often selfish desire for pleasure and satisfaction. Specifically, the Valley of Ashes symbolizes Fitzgerald’s criticism for that very inconsiderate pursuit of self-gain, which creates dire consequences for the poor.
The negative language used to analyze the Valley illustrates Fitzgerald’s disapproval of the rich’s lack of consideration for others. When Nick describes the Valley, …show more content…
He calls the Valley “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat … into … grotesque gardens” (Fitzgerald 23). Here, the use of irony and an oxymoron effectively underlines the divide between rich and poor. In calling the Valley “a farm where ashes grow like wheat,” Fitzgerald shows that wheat, a source of food and opportunity, does not exist for the lower class, who accept ash instead. The irony of a farm growing ash thus demonstrates the jarringly poor circumstances the Valley lives in. Farms usually connote a place of hope and opportunity—a source of food and growth—but the fact that the Valley grows ash demonstrates that not only are the inhabitants left void of food, but also opportunity itself. Additionally, the fact that Fitzgerald calls the farm “fantastic” demonstrates the wealthy’s blind eye towards the poor’s degrading living conditions; they accept the farm of ashes as the life the poor is entitled to. Moreover, Fitzgerald calls the Valley a “grotesque garden,” which serves as a stark contrast to Gatsby’s “blue” garden (39, 180). While “blue garden” speaks to the beauty of nature, Fitzgerald uses an oxymoron— “grotesque garden”—to call attention to the troubling disappearance of nature, replaced instead by ash and dust. Not only that, the image of the Valley, situated between New York and West Egg, evokes that of a …show more content…
New York’s ashes cover the Valley, where “ashes take the forms of houses” and “gray cars … ash-gray men” roam (23). Comparatively, West and East Egg feature ostentatious houses— “[Tom and Daisy’s] house was … a cheerful red-and-white Colonial mansion” —expensive cars—Gatsby’s Rolls Royce—and well-dressed men (6). The unequal living conditions signify the degradation of the poor in the face of the wealthy’s extravagance as the rich enjoy luxurious material wealth while the poor metaphorically cover themselves in grey ash behind the curtains of wealth and prosperity. Additionally, the Eggs enjoy a more colorful lifestyle than the Valley does: Daisy owns a gold pencil; Gatsby’s car sports a “rich cream color, bright with nickel,” and his house “blazes with light” (104, 64, 81). The bright colors of the Eggs demonstrate that the rich indulge in “light” and “gold,” both symbols of wealth and power, but that the Valley remains left behind, totally forgotten by the upper class. Fitzgerald intentionally paints the Valley in a fading dark light to criticize the fading of the once inclusive dream of prosperity. By comparing the Valley and the Eggs with light and dark, he shows the limited dream of reaching success, one that occurs mostly in the upper class; the wealthy get wealthier, but the poor remain poor, forgotten and left