The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts the decay of social and moral values during the 1920s as a result of the sudden economic prosperity, through the use of foreshadowing, irony and geographic symbolism.

Prior to his service during World War I and his immense wealth, Gatsby had fallen in love with Daisy, however after he returns to America he discovers that Daisy has married Tom Buchanan. "Can't repeat the past?" he cried incredulously. "Why of course you can!"(Page 116) Gatsby's reveals the true intentions behind his elaborate parties that he constantly throws; they are organized simply to impress Daisy. His plan to rekindle his lost love with Daisy by means of flaunting his wealth displays the defining role that materialism played in the newly established higher class of the era.

At the end of chapter 7, Tom and Daisy both recognize their love for each other in spite of her earlier admittance of her love for Gatsby. Meanwhile, Gatsby sits outside the Buchanan house in an effort to prevent any possible violence that Tom may inflict upon Daisy. "They weren't happy, and neither of them had touched the chicken or the ale - and yet they weren't unhappy either. There was an unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the picture, and anybody would have said that they were conspiring together." (Page 145). His love for Daisy empowered him to watch out for her, however Gatsby was not aware that she was repairing her relations with Tom. Gatsby believed that he had been successful in achieving his green light, however he ended it up farther away from it than when he began.

There are several key examples of symbolism located throughout the book, however the valley of ashes stands out as one of the most memorable representation of this literary device. "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 ash-grey men, who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air." (Page 23) The valley of ashes is depicted as a gloomy location where moral and economic decay is prevalent, home to Tom Buchanan's mistress, Myrtle Wilson, and the wealth deprived man, George Wilson. This area also hosts the death scene of Myrtle Wilson in which she is struck by Gatsby's car in the middle of the road. The valley of ashes displays the decline of moral and social values during the 1920s on the east coast.

The foreshadowing of Gatsby's efforts to capture the love of Daisy, the ironic end to Gatsby's love pursuit and the underlying messages represented through geographic areas, represented the decline of moral and social values during the 1920s.