The Valley of Ashes- Not the Most Pleasant of Valleys

           The valley in which Doctor T.J Eckleburg broods on over, is called the valley of ashes. The valley of ashes was 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 ash-grey men, who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (p.26). The people living in between the Eggs and the city are stuck in this place because of the social decay that has come from the careless lifestyles of the rich in the 1920’s. They helped to make New York into what it is but have no reaped the rewards of what they have worked for. 

  This valley can also represent what the cities of the 20s do to the environment due to the capitalist industrialization. The valley continues to grow as people continue to consume more things. The poor in this valley cannot escape it and are considered to be one of the lowest classes in society. Myrtle attempts to climb the social ladder through Tom but can never truly escape the valley and dies trying. This valley is meant to show how corrupt society is and how wasteful the rich truly are.