A City of Ashes

When I first read about the Valley of Ashes, the first thing that popped into my head was Detroit. To me, these two communities are the same thing. The Valley of Ashes is a dystopia where poverty is rampant and hopelessness is absolute and Detroit mirrors this valley.

The apartments from the picture above give a desolate aura and the undernourished land gives a feeling of stagnation. Nothing can grow in the brown land like how nothing grows in the Valley of Ashes' not so glamorous "gray land"(Fitzgerald 23). Just like how no vegetation can grow on the land, none of the people in the valley can grow. George Wilson of the ashes, works at a dead-end job and is a "spiritless man"(Fitzgerald 25). Also, Tom and Daisy's relationship cannot develop. Tom is this scoundrel who is having an affair with Myrtle and Daisy is ok with it. This relationship is going no where. In Detroit, the graduation rate of high school is very low and so many kids aren't able to even get their GED and will have to be stuck in dead-end job like George. They can't grow either. “About half way between West Egg and New York"(Fitzgerald 23). Just like the Valley of Ashes, Detroit is sandwiched by two nice areas, Bloomfield Hills and Grosse Point.