Scott spends a lot of time describing them. What are they? Do they actually exist on Long Island? (Or did they once upon a time?)
Bonus question: Nick is from the middle west…that’s not the mid-west, right? He’s from the west coast, but somewhere in the middle?
I believe the ash piles refer to the landfills at Flushing Meadows, land reclaimed for use in the 1939-40 and 1964-64 World’s Fairs.
I found this online about Flushing Meadows:
“As coal use had increased during the 19th century, the existing wetlands, as well as the creek that flowed from Flushing Bay, were filled to facilitate the site’s use as a dump. But Tammany Hall stalwart Fishhooks McCarthy was given sole use of the grounds, and at one point, his Brooklyn Ash Removal Company was unloading 110 railroad carloads of garbage a day to be burned.”
Another site says that the ash mounds may have reached 90 feet in height in some places. Sounds like a lovely place.
At any rate, the train from West Egg (or was it East Egg?) to Manhattan would pass right by Flushing.
Also, Googling reveals that Nick was supposed to be from Minnesota.
From a 1937 article in The New York Times about preparing the site in Queens, New York for the 1939 World’s Fair:
I can remember in my childhood, older people referring to garbage cans as “ashcans”, and among regular household garbage, ashes were likely thrown out as well. Many homes relied on stoves of some sort to supply household heat and a cooking surface, and in many cases, these were powered by burning wood, the results of which would have been ash.
Ash heaps are definitely garbage dumps.
The middle west is a synonym for the midwest - you don’t hear it as much these days, but it was a common term that wouldn’t need any explanation when Fitzgerald was writing.
I have a different question: the optometrist’s sign (with the big glasses) is mentioned several times…what is the significance…is it the conscience (that nobody save Nick Carraway seems to have?)
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Dr. Eckleburg’s eyes represent God.
Or more specifically, God’s unwavering observation and judgment. One of the nice things about Gatsby is that it’s a good entry-level introduction to literary symbolism, fit for high schoolers. So in case you might have trouble deducing the meaning of the eyes, someone in the book actually spells it out for you (I can’t remember who…I wrote a paper 30 years ago on it and that part stuck in my head).
As Nick, Tom and Jordan drive into Manhattan:
After Myrtle Wilson’s death, her husband grieves: