The Valley of Ashes

For some reason I have never been a fan of The Great Gatsby. Part of this may stem from the fact that it was repeatedly taught to me in high school and college, but interestingly, those like me that are not very big fans of the book tend not to be American. I think GG epitomizes the American novel, and for an outsider almost seems too cliche or specific. What I mean is, GG is grounded in American values and ideologies, and if you have not grown with these, it is hard to identify with the book at all.

One aspect of the book that often did gain my attention, however, were the descriptions of the Valley of Ashes. I thought the descriptions to be really quite beautiful, and daunting at the same time. As Fitzgerald writes, "This is a valley of ashes--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 and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air." There is something quite mesmerizing in the valley of ashes, perhaps because it seems ghost-like, surreal.

The valley serves as a stark contrast to East and West Egg, both of which are doused in luxury. In the valley of ashes, however, poverty and ruin are extremely visible, representing the social decay of America.

I find it interesting that in the description of the valley, Fitzgerald uses the second person pronoun to invoke the reader: "Occasionally a line of gray cars crawls along an invisible track, gives out a ghastly creak, and comes to rest, and immediately the ash-gray men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud, which screens their obscure operations from your sight."
The cars here are not flashy and yellow like Gatby's and the residents are not as musical and alive. Rather, the valley seems to be a completely different pace, almost asleep. That Fitzgerald uses "you" physically places the reader there too and in this way the smoke blinds us as well. Our vision is momentarily blurred and we become implemented in the story: it is easy to see the overt wealth of the upper class, but easy to overlook those that are completely outside of it.