As described by Nick, Gatsby's mansion is a sharp contrast to the Valley of the Ashes. It is a place of wealth and excess filled with color, vibrancy, the exhilarating sounds of jazz, the flow of alcohol, vast amounts of catered food, and crowds of people from all over who come to be part of the spectacle of Gatsby's wild, lavish parties. It is a huge place, with a pool, a library, and seemingly countless rooms.

In contrast, the Valley of the Ashes is a dead space where the Jazz Age sends its refuse in the form of ashes. It is a poor, colorless, gray locale dominated by the faded billboard of T. J. Eckleburg's staring eyes. It represents the poverty that is the flip side of the American Dream.

While Fitzgerald's novel focuses on wealthy characters such as Tom and Daisy, it never loses sight of the many Americans who do not share in the wealth and prosperity of the 1920s economic boom. Fitzgerald weaves the poorer side of life in not only through the Valley of the Ashes, where George and Myrtle live, but in Daisy's mention of the butler with nasal problems from polishing too much silver, snippets of popular songs, and Gatsby's humble background, a disadvantage he can never quite overcome.