The Great Gatsby -The Valley of Ashes versus Toms House :: essays research papers

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is, at first sight, a novel about wealth, idealism, and social class. However it soon reveals its author’s true intensions and ideals. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism to produce immense emotion. He not only uses it on the characters but on the places and even objects found in the novel. Two example of symbolism and what they truly represent are, The Valley of Ashes and Tom and Daisy’s house. The Valley of Ashes was first introduced in Chapter II, its located between West Egg and New York City, it consists of a long stretch of desolate land created by the dumping of industrial ashes. It represents the moral and social decay that results from being part of the lower class, as the rich only worry for their pleasures. The Valley of Ashes also symbolizes the unfortunate conditions of the lower class, like George and Myrtle Wilson, who live among the dirty ashes and lose their durability as a result. In other words, The Valley of ashes can also be referred to as â€Å"the symbol of failure of the American dream†. Tom and Daisy’s house is a fairly large and well elaborated colonial mansion, located on East Egg, the rich and prestigious side where only the people who are â€Å"truly rich† live, not the ones that have made their fortunes themselves. Tom and Daisy’s house is spacious, just like their marriage, but it has nice furniture and antiques so that it appears to be comfortable and old fashioned, and anyone would assume that a happy family lives in it. Tom and Daisy, like the house, are not really happy, or in love, but they have all the right properties and conveniences to cover up the real situation, their huge marital problems. Fitzgerald’s description of Tom Buchanan’s huge house not only symbolizes his marriage but Tom and his values. The red and white colors in the mansion represent his personality. Red in this case is an example of impurity and boldness, while white represents Tom’s superiority towards others. This huge house represents nothing but Tom and Daisy’s marital problems and Tom’s arrogant attitude. This two places and its inhabitants at first glance appear to be very