Diction

In the beginning of the second chapter, Fitzgerald uses bleak and desolate diction to describe his disgusted tone with the moral wasteland that America had become during the roaring twenties.  He describes an area of land near the railroad tracks as a “valley of ashes,” implying that there is nothing left there (23).  Humans, in his opinion, have lost all of their morality and worth, leaving only a pile of “ashes,” resembling the burnt hopes, dreams, and values of American life.  This valley of ashes is contaminated with “powdery air” that envelops men who “move dimly and [are] already crumbling” (23).  The author is painting an image where a thick, “powdery” air distorts the peoples’ already unclear images of themselves and humanity.  His disapproving tone is revealed when he describes the people who live in the valley of ashes as “crumbling,” suggesting that humanity is descending into a pit of immorality and superficiality with no cleanliness of body or spirit, no vitality, no vivacity, no passion or desire to improve in life.  In addition, Fitzgerald describes the people as picking up spades to create an “impenetrable cloud,” appearing as if the people hide themselves away in the could because they have no desire to improve their hideous condition, nor do they want others to observe them (23).  His use of the word “impenetrable” makes the audience feel that he, as well as the people in the valley, has given up on any hope of recovery, hence his disgusted tone at their lack of desire to be better people.  Altogether, Fitzgerald’s employment of a depressing, bleak word choice creates a tone of disgust directed at the moral decay of Americans who lived for nothing more than themselves.