Gatsby Journal

The Valley of Ashes is half way between the wealth, riches, and fashionable glamor of East and West Egg. It is a desolate place of filthy dumping grounds and waste lands. There are a few shops, such as Wilson's garage. The people who live there, Wilson and his wife Myrtle for instance, seem very shady. The Valley of Ashes is a place of little or no morals. Tom comes here to meet his lover Myrtle, but both Tom and Myrtle are married! The way Fitzgerald describes Wilson makes him seem like a very handsome man, his life however is nothing worth holding on to. When we are introduced to him he is covered in ash and dust from the air. The dust and muck is possibly a symbol for the filth and lack of morals in his life. His wife is sneaking around his back committing adultery, and he is being almost taunted by Tom, the man who is with his wife. I feel bad for Wilson. Poor guy.

I think that the Valley of Ashes reflects the cultural and moral changes in America during the 1920's. Everything was changing in America during the "roaring" 20's. Women's fashion became more provocative and rebellious with the "flapper" style. The passing of prohibition gave gangsters a way to make money by opening illegal bars. Organized crime at this time was at it's best. Along with Prohibition came a social clash of those who opposed it and those in favor of it.

Morals were being tested at the Scopes trial. At this time more people lived in urban areas than in rural ones. Radio and television were booming. With all that excitement it is easy to see why folks were going a little mad.

Next we have, the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg. They see all. I get it....it's a billboard....great! "Their retinas are one yard high, they look out of no face, but instead from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-existent nose." What a glorious description! It was that quote that gave me the idea that the Doctor may be a symbol of some higher power, (an idea i soon found out was not as original as I had hoped). A god of some kind, looking out onto a disappointing race, brooding over the filth of a nation.

Fitzgerald has a wonderful way of writing. His descriptions are so vivid and yet he manages to keep some parts and characters very mysteriously behind the scenes. For example, the party scene in Chapter 2. People are gossiping about Gatsby, he's quite popular but no one actually knows him.