Winter Dreams Fitzgerald

Winter Dreams Fitzgerald

Winter Dreams Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby defines the generation of young people who lived during the "Jazz Age," the Roaring Twenties. This is a time when new wealth is attained and illegal booze flows freely. In his work, Fitzgerald brings readers into the lives of restless young people of the era and clips away at the fallacy of the American Dream. The symbols in The Great Gatsby represent the illusions and failures of that dream.

One important symbol is the Valley of Ashes situated between West Egg and New York City. This desolated area, used as a dumping ground for industrial waste, represents the plight of the poor. George Wilson and Myrtle, George's wife and Tom Buchanan's mistress, live among the ashes. Myrtle's affair with Tom is emblematic of her unrealistic hope to rise above the ashes.

The wealthy, though, are so busy enjoying the fruits of their riches and seeking their own gratification that they ignore the poor, turning their heads as they pass by this desolate region. Surrounded by West Egg and New York City, the valley illustrates how the poor are not only being smothered to death by the industrial ashes but also suffocated by the encroachment of the uninterested wealthy.