Focus: What is the Valley of Ashes, and what does it reveal about the novel as a whole?
1. Warming up with a whiteboard brainstorming of "Valley" and "Ashes"; performing a metacognitive of Fitzgerald's description of the Valley of Ashes
*Your Fishbowl transition: Post one of your questions about the Valley of Ashes on today's blog.*
2. Enjoying our first Gatsby Fishbowl: Chapter 2
3. Wrapping up with your thesis of the day: Fitzgerald uses the Valley of Ashes to....
4. Debriefing: What went well? What do we need to do better?
HW:
1. For THURSDAY: Finish reading Chapter 3 and complete your journal; Fishbowl leaders should prepare and post their syllabus.
2. FRIDAY: Short assessment on Grammar Focus #9: Apostrophes.
3. For TUESDAY after break: Read and journal on Chapters 4 and 5 (one journal for both chapters will be fine since we're discussing both chapters in a single fishbowl).
What is the purpose of the "Valley of Ashes"?
ReplyDeleteTo have sort of a split between the kind of people. In lots of stories there is always something spiting up the different communities even though they may be the same type of people.
Delete"Ashes grow": Does this mean there is a lot of fire because ashes are made from fire?
ReplyDeleteI think that this means that the community in the valley of ashes grows because maybe people from the eggs are loosing there money but they still want to be close to where they used to live.
DeleteI think that this quote is using ashes as a metaphor and not as a literal thing. Ashes in a sense is representative of remnants of the past. As far as the "Ashes grow" section of the quote the next sentence states "where ashes takes the forms of houses and chimneys"(23). The quote shows that ashes could be remnants of other people's things.
DeleteI think that there is a constant/frequent fire that's feeding the valley with it's ashes.
DeleteWhy exactly is the Valley of Ashes located between the two eggs?
ReplyDeleteI think the valley of ashes plays a dividing role between the two Eggs
DeleteWhen I think about the relation of the two Eggs and the Valley of Ashes I think of forest fires. As bad as forest fires are the ashes of the trees of the burned down trees act as fertilizer for new trees to grow like a rebirth almost. So in a way with the destruction of the Valley of Ashes 2 new cites the Eggs were born.
DeleteWhy is the Valley of Ashes so important to this book?
ReplyDeletewhen it said "ash-grey men swarm" it made me thinking of working bees since they work for the queen bee. also when it said "obscure operations" it made me think of something shady or illegal
ReplyDeleteLine: A fantastic farm where ashes grow.
ReplyDeleteThought: Why is it fantastic if it grows ashes?
I think F. Scott Fitzgerald just wanted a word to describe how much awe people get struck with when they see it.
DeleteWhy is the valley important to the story? What role will it play in the book?
ReplyDeleteI think it is symbolic for the divide between upper and lower class citizens.
DeleteIs there a symbolic meaning of the Valley of Ashes? Why are the two sides called West Egg and East Egg?
ReplyDeleteI think that there is a symbolic meaning of the Valley of Ashes because it splits the two eggs and there always seems to be that community or thing that splits one big community.
DeleteWhat happened to this part of the city that made it so dark and surrounded by wealth with none themselves?
ReplyDeleteI thought the "Impenetrable cloud"... shows that people think they are stuck in poverty but they actually are not, the gas just appears that way.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it has something to do with them being secretive and doing bad deeds
Delete"Ashes grow like wheat..."
ReplyDeleteReading this makes me think of a place where fields go on forever, it never ends.
Why does the tone of the first paragraph shift back and forth between dark and happy?
ReplyDeleteI think that it shifts between dark and happy because it is shifting between the two communities and the dark is the Valley of Ashes and the Happy is the people in the eggs based on there possessions.
DeleteWhat is the significance of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg?
ReplyDeleteI think he is an advertisement in the Valley of Ashes and he will never be a huge character in the book but he plays a significant part to Gatsby and Nick in the book.
DeleteI think that the advertisement for Eckleburg is direct reflection of Fitzgerald's life. A lot of what Fitzgerald's life is based on social status be it good or bad. So the eyes are like those who weren't fortunate enough to have.
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ReplyDeleteWhy is it stated as a fantastic farm where ashes grow? It has a happy beginning but at the end it was very dark.
ReplyDelete"But above the gray land and the spasm of black dust which drift endlessly over it"
ReplyDeleteWhat is Fitzgerald trying to symbolize? This sentence reminds me of the fallout and along with forgotten times.
Doctor T.J. Eckebury reminds me a lot of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven" as the heart of his victim wouldn't go away and destroyed his mentality. Do you think that F. Scott Fitzgerald was influenced by Edgar Allen Poe and decided to include it in the Great Gatsby?
ReplyDeleteWhere did these ashes come from? And what exactly are they signifying in Nick's life?
ReplyDeleteI think that the ashes maybe came form the old town and then something happened and split everyone into the east and the west egg.
DeleteWho is T.J Eckleburg? And why are we focusing on his one yard-high eyes?
ReplyDeleteWe don't know to much about Eckleburg but Fitzgerald describe his eyes as very big. I think that he is trying to describe how the doctor watches over the Valley of Ashes.
DeleteWho are the "ash-gray men" and why do they need to hide what they do?
ReplyDeleteI think they are workers for the train yard because it says when the train stops, they run up and build up a big ash cloud.
DeleteWhy do the people have to go through a dark and gloomy city before reaching the final destination? What is the symbolic meaning of that?
ReplyDeleteIs there a deeper meaning of the valley of ashes? Why is the valley of ashes important to the book
ReplyDeleteI predict that the valley of ashes will be the joining factor between the West Egg and East Egg. There will be something connected to the valley of ashes that initiates this.
DeleteI think that the Valley of Ashes represents the moral and social decay that results from the uninhabited wealth.
DeleteI think that the valley of ashes represents the disconnect between rich and poor people in America and Fitzgerald is using this to relate this to America.
Delete"Occasionally a line of gray cars crawls along an invisible..." What kind of people got out of the gray cars and if they are from the eggs why don't they have nicer cars?
ReplyDeleteI think these are people we don't know to much about yet. We know that it is not usual for someone from one of the Eggs to travel into the city by car.
DeleteI belive that those people in the cars are people that live in the valley of ashes.
DeleteI think over time we will begin to see more of these people and what they symbolize in this book.
DeleteResponding to what spye said in the inner circle: I think that Nick doesn't care that he doesn't live in a huge fancy house because he has so much self confidence, so he doesn't feel the need to "prove" himself to be better than them, when he already knows himself.
ReplyDeleteI agree because he feels safe coming home to his own little house and not feeling self confident that he knows he is better than the others but isn't showing it off.
DeleteI think that nick is okay with the house he lives in because he can appreciate the huge houses and parties but then when the night is over he has his own safe place to come back to relax.
ReplyDeleteI think many things can lead to someone turning violent, In toms case he has a very cocky, and jealous personality, and when Myrtle disrespected Daisy it set him off, because he still loved her, but at the same time he also wants to show off that he is tough. This could relate to past Child hood trauma.
ReplyDeleteResponding to what Emily said in the inner circle I think that is a very powerful connection between comitting adultry and ashes. I think what she is saying is very powerful because ashes don't come off and there is always a part of them there. Where when you start cheating on your spouse it sticks and you can never get rid of it no matter how hard you try.
ReplyDeleteTo add to that ashes are often formed when something is burned and destroyed. Comitting adultry often breaks down marriages so its reasonable to say that there is a connection there.
DeleteResponding to what Makayla said in the circle:
ReplyDeleteI agree that Tom still does love his wife even though he is cheating on her. It is Ironic that he still stands up to her.
I believe the Valley of Ashes got its name after the rise of west and east egg. The faded bill board symbolises a past life that has faded away from the valley. It also could represent that there is a guilty conciseness looking over all the characters that life in the valley and the eggs.
ReplyDeleteDr. T.J. Eckleburg is an advertisement on the Billboard. The advertisement is so faded that all you can see is the eyes and I believes it symbolizes being watched.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter two it reads "the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic" Why do you think the author chose to read and write on this part of him. Is this symbolic?
DeleteWhy are the people in the valley important to nick and his story
ReplyDeleteIs Daisy Tom's trophy wife?
ReplyDeleteDr Tg echelberg even though he won't ever be a character, The billboard where everything is faded besides the wide eyes symbolizes Toms guilty conscience. Even in a practically vacant city, their are still eyes watching which shows even if you think you are alone and no one can find out, their is always someone watching which symbolizes Toms fear.
ReplyDeleteI think that he has this affair because he is bored with his wife and the women who he is having an affair with might seem special and different because of where she lives
ReplyDeleteI think Daisy is Toms trophy wife because they both want the title and Tom really likes her and is having an affair with her so its like yes it has to be.
ReplyDeleteWhy does Tom feel the need to have an affair? Do you think Daisy is not enough for Tom?
ReplyDeleteWhat Characteristics draw Merytle and Tom together?
ReplyDeleteI think they are drawn together because they are both not good people and they are both attracted from that. They are nothing cheating on their significant others.
I agree with spye because I think that daisy is very dependant on tom so she will do anything and act like anything to get the best a put up this image of perfection, rich and happy
ReplyDelete"...and stir up and impenetrable cloud, which screens their obscure operations from your sight" (Page 23). I think that the valley of ashes plays the division between the West and East Eggs, but at one point maybe they were all unified, happy, social people. Possibly something happened that broke up the two sides and now the valley of ashes sits between them.
ReplyDeleteEmily: Since Tom is cheating on Daisy, do you think she will do something drastic to him?
ReplyDeleteI think there is always the possibility to do something drastic, I believe that she will defiantly leave him for someone else.
How does the Valley of Ashes connect to the American Dream?
ReplyDeleteI think they connect in a way because the Valley of Ashes use to have a purpose an use to be a place but know it has turned it to a dumping site. The American dream to some people is starting to fade away and like the Valley of Ashes , the American dream is surrounded by overtaking things.
Deleteare the eyes from Dr. Tg echelburg in the valley of ashes symbolizing Tom guilt, because they "stare" at him every time he goes through it to get to New York to have his affair?
ReplyDelete