Author: Juan Anthonio Kambuno




The Valley Of Ashes In The Great Gatsby

 The valley of ashes is 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. Valley of Ashes represents absolute poverty and hopelessness.



The valley of ashes is bounded on one side by a small foul river, and, when the drawbridge is up to let barges through, the passengers on waiting for trains can stare at the dismal scene for as long as half an hour.” (Pg. 26)


The citizens in this region all want to leave but cannot. This illustrates how the American Dream is impossible to achieve. 
The valley is created through industrial dumping and, therefore, a by-product of capitalism. The people and also the environmental are suffering. Tom, Daisy, and Jordan, with their empty, worthless lives, are the characters represented as the bodies of ashes in the valley of ashes. The ashes are symbols of dead, with more self-centered and arrogant people arising from them. 
*166 words 
*made by me