Chapter Two Analysis (Part One) - The Valley of Ashes & Dr T.J. Eckleburg

In this chapter, one of the most important settings in the novel is introduced; the Valley of Ashes.

The Valley of Ashes is a wasteland, a "solemn dumping ground"; Nick describes it as "desolate", "grotesque" and "foul", a "grey land" full of "ash-grey men". The cars give out "ghastly creak[s]", the men "swarm" and "spasms of bleak dust...drift endlessly." Nick uses the semantic field of grey to depict the lifelessness and misery of the Valley of Ashes, in contrast to all the vivid colours of East and West Egg, where the rich live. The repetition of the word "ashes" highlights the concept of death and sadness that seems heavily associated with this setting - perhaps linking to the fact that Myrtle is later killed here. The Valley of Ashes is symbolic of "the hot struggles of the poor*", in contrast to the vibrant and carefree lifestyle of the rich. This setting could also be Fitzgerald foreshadowing some kind of desolate aftermath for the rich; interesting as the novel was published in 1925, and the Wall Street Crash occurred four years later. Perhaps Fitzgerald could see the self-destructive nature of the upper class party lifestyle and knew it could not last.

Arguably the most significant aspect of the Valley of Ashes is the eyes of Dr T.J. Eckleburg, an old and faded advertisement billboard for some kind of optician or "oculist" that has long since been abandoned. The eyes of Eckleburg could be symbolic of countless things; however the most prominent perspective in the novel is that of George Wilson, who sees them as the eyes of God. In chapter eight, after the death of Myrtle, Wilson looks at the billboard and states "God sees everything." If the eyes are symbolic of the eyes of God, this speaks volumes of the divide between the rich and the poor in the story. The fact that 'God' is situated in the Valley of Ashes, watching over the poor, suggests that God does not care about wealth or social status, and that the poor are perhaps more moral than the rich, who have lost sight of God. Wilson says in chapter 8 "God knows what you've been doing, everything you've been doing. You may fool me, but you can't fool God!" This could be Fitzgerald suggesting that, no matter how rich, successful or popular you are in life, God sees your immoral behaviour and, in the grand scheme of things, it is your morality, not your money, that counts. Nick also speculates that Eckleburg has "sank himself into eternal blindness" and that his eyes have "dimmed a little by many paintless days." This could be Fitzgerald suggesting that the presence of God in society has faded, and that only the shadows and memories of religion remain in the increasingly immoral, corrupt and Godless world.

On the other hand, Eckleburg has also been interpreted as the face of materialism and commercialism. Colour symbolism is everywhere in this novel (I will do a more detailed post on this later), and Nick describes Eckleburg's eyes as "blue and gigantic", looking out from a pair of "enormous yellow spectacles." Blue eyes are reminiscent of innocence and purity, whilst yellow in the story is heavily associated with money, and the corruption and greed that comes with it, due its closeness to the colour gold. Eckleburg could be symbolic of what is moral and pure (the blue eyes) being tainted or distorted by the perspective of greed and materialism (the yellow glasses.)

(All quotations are taken from Chapter Two unless I have stated otherwise.)
*quotation from chapter eight

For analysis on the rest of the chapter: click here