Book review

Published on April 10, 1925, by famous author F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby has withstood the test of time as one of the most iconic pieces of American literature. It has been acclaimed by many as a reflection of the 1920s culture, showcasing the surge in wealth and joy post-World War I. 

The story follows aspiring author Nick Carraway as he spends the summer of 1922 in West Egg, Long Island. Renting a cottage near a mysterious “new money” mansion, he soon becomes friends with the aloof yet obsessive Jay Gatsby, a millionaire who, despite throwing parties each night, is as mystifying as a ghost. No one knows anything about him, about why he throws his parties, and Nick is one of the first people to ever lay eyes on him.

However, this simple friendship quickly becomes less about Nick and more about Gatsby as he attempts to reunite with his now-married, lost lover from the past, Nick’s cousin, Daisy Buchanan. The story delves into topics of wealth, romance, illusion, and letting go of the past. Many of these themes are displayed throughout the story in the form of symbolic items, such as the green light, the Valley of Ashes, and the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg. 

The Valley of Ashes

“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. Occasionally, a line of grey cars crawls along an invisible track, gives out a ghastly creek and comes to rest, and immediately the ash-grey men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud which screens their obscure operations from your sight.” -The Great Gatsby, page 26

The Valley of Ashes is a desolate wasteland located just between West Egg and New York City. This area, clothed in ash and dust, serves as the home for characters George and Myrtle Wilson, the latter of whom acts as the mistress for Daisy’s unfaithful husband, Tom Buchanan. After seeing the booming West Egg and elegant East Egg, the Valley of Ashes stands out as a stark contrast, lacking the prosperity of the Eggs and the distant city. However, this barren area is much more than a simple setting; it serves to represent the fall of the working class. The areas of New York City and West Egg are booming in wealth, with people able to afford flashy clothes, rolling cars, and, of course, booze. However, just in between them, the lower class is suffering tremendously. Their cars, alcohol, and wealth have been replaced with ash, stray trains, and poverty.

As seen through the character George Wilson, the unfortunate inhabitants of the Valley of Ashes are bleak, spiritless, and beaten to death by the conditions the wealthy have left them in. While the upper classes are thriving and prosperous, the working class is falling further and further into desolation as those above them ask more and more from them for their extravagant parties.

The wealth of the cities and the upper class is sucking the riches from those truly working to make a living without so much as a second glance. This is especially seen in the scenes where Gatsby and the other upper-class folk drive through the Valley of Ashes without much thought as to the condition of those living within it. They don’t care about what happens to them as long as they continue to build up the cities and give them more resources for their own entertainment. 

The Eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg

“But above the grey land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it, you perceive, after a moment, the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg. The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic–their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent nose…But his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days under sun and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping ground.” – The Great Gatsby, page 26

Located within the Valley of Ashes, the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg overlook the achromatic desert between West Egg and New York City. They are described above as looking out across the terrain, watching over those who live below. At the end of the story, George Wilson confuses the eyes of Eckleburg with the eyes of God, claiming that “God sees everything” while looking out at them.

This scene serves to show how Fitzgerald put the billboard in the Valley of Ashes to symbolize how God is forever watching the fall of the working class and the rise of the wealthy. Additionally, the setting of the eyes shows how Christian morals and values were quickly becoming irrelevant to the people of the 1920s.

The era was defined by a gluttonous desire for alcohol, flashy outfits that showed more skin, and a more casual attitude toward lust. Many people in this era had disregarded more Christian values due to a preference for the “flapper culture”, leaving God to those who continued to hold onto their values.

These people were often lost in the hustle and bustle of the period, left to the outskirts of society. In The Great Gatsby, this is exactly what happens. The eyes of God, Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, are left to the wasteland of the cities, the Valley of Ashes. Though no one cares, the eyes of God continue to watch the slow downfall of those who continue to hold onto their faith, while those who have embraced the styles of the 1920s rise in wealth and power.  

The Green Light

“…he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily, I glanced seaward—and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been at the end of a dock.” (pg. 24)

Perhaps the most infamous example of symbolism in The Great Gatsby, the green light serves to represent two artifacts: Daisy and the American Dream. 

For the plot of the story, the green light on Daisy’s dock represents Gatsby’s obsessive hold onto the woman of his past and the hope that she can once again love him. When we first see Gatsby, he is stretching his arms out toward this light, trembling as he reaches for something he can never obtain. The light is always there, always present, but just too far from his reach. He can never quite grasp it, no matter how hard he tries.

Similarly, throughout the story, Gatsby continues to try and grasp any threads that might connect and lead him back to his past fling with Daisy. When he finally meets her again, he convinces himself that he is the only one who can care for her properly and that he is the only one she loves, no matter how many times Daisy proves herself and her love to be unreliable and fleeting.

Gatsby continues to try and hold onto this version of Daisy that he’s made in his head, forgetting that the real Daisy, the one he’s come face-to-face with five years later, is quite different. Though she cares for him, it is obvious that she’ll only “love” the person who can provide her the most stability wealth-wise, who she believes is Tom, as his status is based on the familiarity of old money in contrast to the new money Gatsby has built himself up with. Though Gatsby continues to try and hold onto Daisy, to get him in his arms and make her his, he can never quite reach her, ultimately leading to his demise. However, even after his downfall, the light is still present, still blinking just across the bay. To Nick, who had a falling out with Daisy after she dismissed Gatsby and his death, it symbolizes how, though she is still in his life, she had put a wedge between them that will forever put her out of his reach. 

As the second symbol, the green light symbolizes the American Dream since, for each of our three main characters, they can always see it, but it can never be obtained. To Gatsby, while he has the wealth that comes with his dream life, he can never fully grasp the love he wants to go with it.

He’s so close to having it all, yet he fails to obtain the one thing that matters most to him: Daisy. To Nick, while he has the opportunity as a bond salesman to make a life for himself,  he can’t seem to find anywhere that he fits in. He attempts to fit in with the wealthy by befriending Gatsby and becoming close with Jordan Baker, a famous golfer, though he quickly becomes alienated by their lack of values.

While he is close to reaching the part of the American Dream that includes having a steady job, he can’t seem to grasp the societal connection that he desires, as his feelings of connection toward people are fleeting when faced with reality.

To Daisy, though, by her fault, she can’t grasp the true love that comes with the general idea of the American Dream. She has plenty of wealth, being Tom’s old-money bride, and has started a family with him after the birth of their daughter, Pammy. However, Tom proves himself time and time again to be unfaithful to her and, no matter how many times he claims to love her, his actions throughout the novel make the reader think otherwise. To her, the impossible part of her American Dream is real love, as she chooses to embrace the man who doesn’t love her and push away the man who does in the desire for financial stability. Though each of the main three have some aspect of the typical American Dream, they cannot grasp it in full, as something is always out of reach. 

Just like the green light, no matter how many times they reach for it, it continues to evade their grasp. Through the green light, Fitzgerald makes his point that the American Dream can never fully be obtained, as there is always some part of it that is beyond our reach. Yet, just like Gatsby, we will continue to reach for it, arms outstretched and hands trembling as our fingers grasp vainly at the rays of emerald light forever just a bit too far away.