Analysis Of The Poem The Waste Land Essay - 1714 Words

Envoking T.S. Eliot’s poem â€Å"The Waste Land†, the â€Å"Valley of Ashes† depicted in The Great Gatsby serves a multitude of symbolic functions. It primarily provides significant contrast to East and West Egg. This contrast is not simplistic, as Fitzgerald guides the reader into understanding that the areas are inextricably linked in terms of the American dream and moral corruption. Furthermore, the Valley of Ashes is a physical manifestation of the theme of death and mortality constantly being threaded throughout the novel. The symbolic importance the language of the valley holds and the events that transpire there provide insight into Fitzgerald’s intentions for the novel’s theme and moral critique of society. The Valley of Ashes serves as literal and symbolic contrast to East Egg and West Egg. Nick describes East Egg and West Egg as home of the wealthy and the â€Å"well-to-do people† (6). During Nick’s stay in West Egg, Nick des cribes Gatsby’s extravagant parties, using vivid imagery that plays to the reader’s senses. For example, at Gatsby’s house party, Nick states, â€Å"The air is alive with chatter and laughter,† and â€Å"The lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun, and now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music. Laughter is easier minute by minute†¦tipped out at a cheerful word† (34). The use of positive diction including â€Å"cheerful,† â€Å"alive† and â€Å"brighter,† creates a blissful atmosphere, which contrasts the dreary tone in the Valley of Ashes. However, theseShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Poem The Waste Land 891 Words   |  4 PagesThe first lines of T.S. Eliot’s poem, The Waste Land, proclaim, â€Å"April is the cruelest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain† (lines 1-4). 1-4) This stanzaese ilines invokes a strange mix of hopeful images, layered with words of despair.veiled beneath words of despair . Many would agree there is a clear feeling of hopelessness throughout the poem; however, through poetic allusions to redemption, glimpses of optimism are seenRead MoreAnalysis Of Eliot s Poem The Waste Land 1401 Words   |  6 Pagesboth the United States and England, is the twentieth century s touchstone author. Thomas had a problem with religion, as noted by his poem â€Å"Journey of the Magi,† and eventually converted from Anglicanism (â€Å"T. S. Eliot: His Religion, His Poetry, His Roles†). First published in 1922, T.S. Eliot s poem The Waste Land is a major work of modern literature. His poem is written in the aftermath of the First World War, and it describes the disorganization and collapse of the society. One major theme thatRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem The Waste Land By T.s. Eliot819 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Waste land,â₠¬  by T.S. Eliot, is a complex masterpiece with many incredible symbolic relationships occurs throughout the entirety of the poem. Eliot uses reliable comparisons between life and death, to depict how the seasons change within a given year. His simple yet extreme changes and exaggerations of ever so slight changes between months can help explain the tightly knitted connection we have, and what links the earth and seasons together. At times, the earth can be dismal, harsh and even consideredRead MoreAnalysis of The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot1571 Words   |  7 PagesEliot’s â€Å"heap of broken images† eagerly embraces its fragmented and alienated (post)modern counterpart. The message this phrase bears, resonates throughout the entire poem: from its title, â€Å"The Waste Land†, to its final mantra â€Å"Shantih shantih shantih†. All words, phrases and sentences (or just simply images) which make up this poem seem to, in Levi-Strauss’ words, à ¢â‚¬Å"be a valeur symbolique zero [and the signifier] can take on any value required †, meaning that the images Eliot uses do not have oneRead MoreI Am A New Writer1406 Words   |  6 Pages but about to convincing essays with strong evidence and analysis. I finally understood the title of this class – Intro to Writing and Rhetoric. I started to doubt my question that whether I am a new writer, because this class redefined my understanding of the term â€Å"writing† and â€Å"writer†. The reading material â€Å"The Waste Land† is different from anything I read previously. I’ve read poems for few times before, and the importance of the poem seemed to be overwhelming to me. The first thing I did wasRead MoreAnalysis of the Symbolic Journey in Weirs Way Back and Eliots Waste Land963 Words   |  4 PagesAn Analysis of the Symbolic Journey in Weirs Way Back and Eliots Waste Land Aside from the obvious symbols of water and fire, birth and purification, in T. S. Eliots The Waste Land, there is the overall symbol of journey first implied in the opening stanza: Marie, hold on tight. And down we went. Peter Weirs film The Way Back may also be described as a work at the center of which is a symbolic journey. While Weirs film recounts the survival of a group of escapees from the Soviet GulagRead MoreEssay about Modernism in T.s. Eliotss the Wasteland885 Words   |  4 Pagescontaining complex, and often contradictory, allusions, multiple points of view and other poetic devices that broke from the forms in Victorian and Romantic writing, as can be seen in T.S. Eliots The Waste Land (Levanson). The varied perspectives or lack of a central, continuous speaker uproots The Waste Land from previous forms of poetry; however, it is not simply for the sake of being avant-garde, but to espouse the modernist philosophy, which posits the absence of an Absolute and requires the interpretationRead More Waste Land Essay: Journey Through The Waste Land1542 Words   |  7 Pages  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   T. S. Eliot drafted The Waste Land during a trip to Lausanne, Switzerland to consult a psychologist for what he described as mild case of nerves. He sent the manuscript to Ezra Pound for editing assistance. Between them the draft was extensively edited and published in 1922. As a modernist poet, Eliot struggled to remove the voice of the author from his work but the work is still a reflection of the author’s interpretation. He paints the picture as he sees it for the readers to view and interpretRead MoreThe Waste Land By. Elliot1775 Words   |  8 PagesIn the Waste Land are seve ral themes, techniques, allusions, and characters that have been stated clearly by T.S. Elliot. However, the poem has also been interpreted differently and similar in certain aspects in the Waste Land by critics such as Cleanth Brooks, Jr. â€Å"The Waste Land: An Analysis†, F.R. Leavis â€Å"[The significance of the Modern Waste Land]†, Robert Langbaum â€Å"The Walking Dead† and Maud Ellmann â€Å"A Sphinx without a Secret.† From these critics is the ability to find key evidences on how eachRead MoreThe Waste Land By Eliot1870 Words   |  8 PagesThe Waste Land, less clear that what we hear is the voice of someone.’ Discuss. In this essay, I am going to argue that in T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, we do hear many voices, but they are not the voice of an identifiable person, and that is entirely clear. Furthermore, it is not problematic that the reader is unable to identify a single speaker, as the distance that is created between the poem and the reader is a stylistic choice made by the poet. One of the sole functions of The Waste Land is