The Valley of Ashes and Social Decay

Depicts the valley of ashes as a physical and symbolic landscape of industrial waste and social decay, contrasting with the wealth of East and West Egg.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The First Description of the Valley

The First Description of the Valley

The Garage and the Wilson's Life

The Garage and the Wilson's Life

Myrtle's Death in the Valley

Myrtle's Death in the Valley

The Valley as a Moral Landscape

The Valley as a Moral Landscape

early summer 1922, between West Egg and New York City

throughout summer 1922, Valley of Ashes

evening, late summer 1922, Valley of Ashes

throughout the novel, Valley of Ashes