Binary Opposition:
West Egg – Desolate area of land
Valley of Ashes – Fantastic Farm
Ashes – Grow
Rising – Crumbling
Hastily – Crawls
The valley of ashes and the fantastic farm are an important binary opposition in The Great Gatsby.
A great example of binary opposition in The Great Gatsby is the “valley of ashes” and the “fantastic farms.” The valleys of ashes consist of acres of barren wasteland that was created by the dumping of ash. “This is a valley of ashes--a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens.” The valley of ashes is a binary opposite to a fantastic farm. Ashes are measly, dirty, and smelly, while fantastic farms are fruitful, luscious, and usually wealthy. The valley represents the poor: a gray future and smelly, while the fantastic farms represent the rich. The “desolate area of land” illustrates the social decay that occurs with the natural pursuit of wealth. Like how god created the earth, (“a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills”), the rich people or farms arose from the ash that they then left behind.