Brown 1

Grace Brown
Honors American Literature
West
9 April 2013
Empty Lives in a Barren Land
The 1920s seemed like a time of prosperity and promise, and it was before the time of The
Great Depression, when people lived in poverty. During this time, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the The
Great Gatsby. He painted a picture of great parties and plenty of money, seeming to be the perfect
American Dream story. However, this is a sad look at the lives of many. Fitzgerald uses the Valley of
Ashes and the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg to show a literal wasteland, but it also represents characters
wasted lives, no matter their social standing.
The Valley of Ashes was literally a valley full of ash, with a billboard advertising for an
optometrist. This is a desolate part of town, full of people looking for something better, but unable to
escape. Men stood and shoveled ash into train cars, and while the ash left the town, the men were left
behind. This is also described as a place lacking values and morals, like the character of Myrtle Wilson.
She longs to leave her boring husband and dirty apartment over a garage, so she starts an affair with a
wealthy, married man. She makes her choices based on her desires, and she is lacking in any kind of
integrity. Looking over the dirty valley was a billboard with the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg. While this was
just a sign advertising an optometrist, Fitzgerald creates this as a symbol of the eyes of God, seeing all of
their sins. The characters are always under Dr. Eckleburgs persistent stare (Fitzgerald 28). The
author seems to suggest the eyes are looking down on the people, and they witness all sins through
their persistent stare. This is a broken society and the characters can never escape their poverty or
wrong doing under the watchful eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg. The valley is a literal wasteland, but it is also
full of people wasting their lives.
Brown 2

Fitzgerald carries his theme of The Valley of Ashes and a wasteland to other characters in this
book. Myrtle and her husband, George, run the gas station where many characters stop in the story. It is
not the life his wife always pictured having, but it is the best he can do. He tries to do better, but he
seems stuck in his circumstances. Linda Pelzer, writes about George and Myrtle: "Poor and seemingly
disenfranchised, they long to escape to the Eggs or the city, but their poverty denies them that
possibility" (Pelzer 95). Because all of the people of the Valley of Ashes are unable to escape, they cant
make any progress in life. Later when George realizes his wife is cheating on him, he wants to move at
once. He tells Myrtle that they are going out West, but he doesnt even have the money to buy a car to
get there. He is so desperate he locks his wife in the apartment above the station, frantically trying to
come up with a plan to escape. At that same time, his wife is planning how she will run away from him
and go be with her married lover. This is a great example of how the characters in the valley are poor
and lack any true moral compass. The Valley of Ashes is a never-ending cycle of despair and ugliness that
can be compared to the characters empty lives.
The theme of a wasted life carries through to most of the characters in the book, even those
who are wealthy and seem to have everything. Two of the most prominent people in the novel are Tom
and Daisy. They have a huge house, plenty of money, and beautiful daughter, but they too live empty,
purposeless lives. Tom and Daisy are no better than Myrtle and George in terms of morals and values.
Fitzgerald seems to suggest that whether living in East and West Egg or the Valley of Ashes, all of the
characters are the same because they have no hope for their lives. Tom and Daisy may be rich and have
nice things compared to George and Myrtle; however, their lives are no better considering values and
goals. Tom has an affair with Myrtle, even getting her an apartment in town to meet, and Daisy is aware
of all of this, but turns away and tries to be a beautiful fool (Fitzgerald 21). She seems to be hurt, but
she looks the other way. Tom and Daisy, the moneyed class, have for years drifted here and there
unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich together (Claudia 62). Tom and Daisy didnt
Brown 3

have anything to strive for in life- no job, or responsibility- they were just drifting along. Myrtle
wanted so badly to have that life, but really, in the end, they werent that different.
F. Scott Fitzgerald shares the dream of one man in the 1920s in this novel. Gatsby spent his life
fighting for that perfect dream, but in the end, all that is left is a bunch of empty, shallow lives. No one is
happy, and no one gets what they want. The story is a wasteland of characters who lack morals, values,
and direction. In the end none of these characters have a purpose in life, they just drift along, boats
against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. (Fitzgerald 189).

















Brown 4

Sources Cited
Bicknell, John W. The Waste Land of F. Scott Fitzgerald. fitzgerald.narod.ru. n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1925. Print. 28 Mar. 2013.
Johnson, Claudia. Class Conflict in F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby. Detroit: Greenhaven Press,
2008. Print. 24 Mar. 2013.
Pelzer, Linda C. Student Companion to F. Scott Fitzgerald. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2000. Questia
School. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.