The Great Gatsby

Death Imagery

The Death of the American Dream

The Great Gatsby has many themes, the major theme is the death of the "American Dream." The "American Dream" is the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. Gatsby's dream, the reason he comes to West Egg is to reunite himself with his long lost love, Daisy Fay. Gatsby desperately tried to liberate himself from his poverty by gaining millions of dollars and then tried to pursue a happy life with Daisy. Unfortunately, Gatsby accumulated his wealth by the illegal means of organized crime.

Fitzgerald shows that artificial dreams accomplished by illegal means can never be truly accomplished. Nick suggests that "All the immoral people have all the money,"(8). This proverb speaks of all the wealthy people he meets.

All the immorality and death of all the people converges in one distinct place, the Valley of Ashes. It is found between West Egg and New York City. This Valley of Ashes is "a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat 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 powdery air," (27). Dr. Eckleburg symbolizes the unknowing God whose eyes look aimlessly throughout the Valley of Ashes. His large glasses represent the "eternal blindness" or the ignorance of the immoral actions of humans on Earth. A certain garage, "Repairs, George B. Wilson, Cars Bought and Sold," is found in this desolate area. This garage implies to the reader that the people living in this area lack morals, and the owner of the garage along with his wife, are going to die.