Valley of Ashes

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The Valley of Ashes is a bleak, desolate industrial wasteland in *The Great Gatsby* that symbolizes moral decay, social corruption, and the emptiness beneath the glittering surface of the American Dream.

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Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf fictional location
literary symbol
symbolic setting
appearsIn The Great Gatsby
associatedWithTheme class division
materialism
moral blindness
the corruption of the American Dream
contains Wilson’s garage
contrastsWith East Egg
New York City
West Egg
countryOfOriginOfWork United States of America
surface form: United States
createdBy F. Scott Fitzgerald
describedAs bleak
desolate
industrial wasteland
firstAppearsInChapter 2
functionInNarrative to connect the worlds of the rich and the poor
to expose hidden corruption beneath wealth
hasPhysicalFeature ash heaps
dust
smoke
inhabitedBy George Wilson
Myrtle Wilson
inspiredBy the Corona Ash Dumps
languageOfWork English
literaryMovement Modernism
locatedInFiction between West Egg and New York City
medium novel
narratedBy Nick Carraway
overlookedBy Eye of Providence
surface form: the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg
relatedConcept American Dream
environmental degradation
industrialization
representsForCharacters the cost of others’ luxury
sceneOf Myrtle Wilson’s death
setInFictionalRegion Long Island
symbolizes industrial pollution
moral decay
social corruption
spiritual desolation
the consequences of wealth inequality
the emptiness beneath the American Dream
the plight of the working class
timePeriodInFiction 1922
yearOfWorkPublication 1925

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

East Egg coexistsWith Valley of Ashes
The Great Gatsby hasSymbol Valley of Ashes
George Wilson residence Valley of Ashes
Myrtle Wilson residence Valley of Ashes