"The Great Gatsby" Chapter 2: Valley of Ashes
KEY QUESTION: How does Fitzgerald create the dreary and depressing mood of Chapter 2’s introduction to the Valley of Ashes?
| Textual Evidence | How does it contribute to the mood? |
|---|---|
| “…where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens.” | It makes us understand the gloominess of the town by the abundance of ashes. |
| “…already crumbling, through the powdery air.” | It makes the mood dreary because you can’t see and it’s dark all around you. |
| “But above the gray land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it.” | It makes the mood bleak by describing how the land is irrelevant and bland." |
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