The 'valley of ashes' lies between Long Island and New York and the Wilsons live on the edge of this area. It is a desolate industrial wasteland, bounded on one side by "a small foul river".

Set during the Roaring Twenties in New York City, one of the major themes of The Great Gatsby is the division ... it is the Valley of Ashes that embodies, according to the author, the desolation ...