Fitzgerald connects symbolism and motif to the idea of the American Dream by using them to demonstrate what he saw as the perversion and loss of the true American Dream. Originally the American Dream was centered on the ideological: discovery of self and opportunity; individualism instead of recognition by rigid class definition; the "pursuit of happiness" as proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence. Fitzgerald uses symbols and motifs to tie decadence, decay, immorality and greed to the aspirations of Americans like Daisy, Tom, Baker and Gatsby, whom Daisy's greed has corrupted to the point of pursuing criminal activity that he might attain the things that will attract her and lure her to him.
A thesis for this might be something like: "Fitzgerald uses symbols and motifs such as The Valley of Ashes and weather to show that America had materialized its original Dream of high ideals such as individualism and happiness."
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