Mr. Eldridge's Website

…a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens…

The ashes take on a form of life. Ash, the traditional substance of death, is switched with wheat, the “staff of life.” Life is inverted in the valley: gender is backwards, labor is unrewarding, future is bleak. Men who are supposed to be substantial (i.e., “the salt of the earth”—see Matt. 5:13) are reduced to powder. I’ve included a part of “The Wasteland” where all typical assumptions regarding life (and rebirth) have been inverted. These both seem to be in response to rapid and uncontrolled industrialism.

 

The Gospel According to St. Matthew 5:13: "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men."

 

Here’s a selection from “The Wasteland,” TS Eliot (1922) (Don’t worry if you don’t get it all; just focus at the way nature is described)

 

I. THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD
APRIL is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers...
What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow
Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man,
You cannot say, or guess, for you know only
A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water. Only
There is shadow under this red rock,
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust…

 

III. THE FIRE SERMON
THE river's tent is broken: the last fingers of leaf
Clutch and sink into the wet bank. The wind
Crosses the brown land, unheard. The nymphs are departed.
Sweet Thames, run softly, till I end my song.
The river bears no empty bottles, sandwich papers,
Silk handkerchiefs, cardboard boxes, cigarette ends
Or other testimony of summer nights. The nymphs are departed.
And their friends, the loitering heirs of city directors;
Departed, have left no addresses.
By the waters of Leman I sat down and wept...
Sweet Thames, run softly till I end my song,
Sweet Thames, run softly, for I speak not loud or long.
But at my back in a cold blast I hear
The rattle of the bones, and chuckle spread from ear to ear.

 

A rat crept softly through the vegetation
Dragging its slimy belly on the bank
While I was fishing in the dull canal
On a winter evening round behind the gashouse
Musing upon the king my brother's wreck
And on the king my father's death before him.
White bodies naked on the low damp ground
And bones cast in a little low dry garret,
Rattled by the rat's foot only, year to year…

 

*    *    *    *    *

 

Below is a picture of New York City taken from the Southeast, which would correspond vaguely to Nick’s “Valley
of Ashes” Notice the industrial buildings with smokestacks (which spewed forth black ash from buring coal all day)
and the low, humble buildings that dot the gently rolling hills. The skyscrapers of Manhattan seem to mock and
ridicule the lowly.

 

eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg

Notice the blue/yellow combination greening, so to speak, The Valley of Ashes. The noseless Eckleberg also looks down on his capitalist creation like a silent, patient God. He has “eternal blindness” and “brood[s] on over the solemn dumping ground.” A dumping ground for those who were kicked out of the garden? Compare Gerard Manley Hopkins’ vibrant and hopeful attitude in his poem “God’s Grandeur” (1877, pub. 1918):

GOD’S GRANDEUR

THE WORLD is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod; 5
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things; 10
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs—
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

John D. Rockefeller

John Davison Rockefeller, Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of modern philanthropy. Rockefeller had always believed since he was a child that his purpose in life was to make as much money as possible, and then use it wisely to improve the lot of mankind. In 1870, Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company and ran it until he retired in the late 1890s. He kept his stock and as gasoline grew in importance, his wealth soared and he became the world's richest man and first billionaire. Rockefeller is often regarded as the richest person in history

Airedale

The Airedale Terrier (often shortened to "Airedale") is a terrier dog breed originating from Airedale in Yorkshire, England. It is sometimes called the "King of Terriers" because it is the largest of the terrier breeds, 50 to 70 pounds (23-32 kg). The breed has also been called the Waterside Terrier, because it was bred originally to hunt otters.

Airedales are extremely active (some say hyperactive) and require lots of attention and training. Notice its thick wiry coat, so it can work the farm during the long English winters—and no white feet!

West 158th St.

While 158th St. is technically part of the Washington Heights neighborhood—Manhattan’s northernmost neighborhood, extending north from Harlem to the Harlem River which separates Manhattan Island from The Bronx—Fitzgerald seems to be indicating that Myrtle’s apartment is actually part of the Upper West Side, an eclectic area with posh stores and bohemian residents living side-by-side.

Currently the Upper West Side is a neighborhood of the borough of Manhattan in New York City that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River above West 59th Street. Like the Upper East Side, the Upper West Side is primarily aresidential and shopping area, with many of its residents working in more commercial areas in Midtown and Lower Manhattan. While these distinctions were never hard-and-fast rules, and now mean little, it has the reputation of being home to New York City's liberal cultural and artistic workers, in contrast to the Upper East Side, which is perceived to be traditionally home to more conservative commercial and business types. The neighborhood is rather upscale with the median household income in many areas exceeding Manhattan average to a considerable extent. A typical block is pictured at right.

Gardens of Versailles

The grounds of Versailles contain one of the largest formal gardens ever created, with extensive parterres, fountains and canals, designed by André Le Nôtre. Le Nôtre modified the original gardens by expanding them and giving them a sense of openness and scale. He also liked to enjoy sunbathing in his wonderful work of art. He created a plan centered around the central axis of the Grand Canal. The gardens are centered on the south front of the palace, which is set on a long terrace to give a grand view of the gardens. At the foot of the steps the Fountain of Latona is located. This fountain tells a story taken from Ovid's poem “Metamorphoses” and served — and still serves — as an allegory of the Fronde. Next, is the Royal Avenue or the Tapis Vert. Surrounding this to the sides are the formal gardens. Beyond this is the Fountain of Apollo. This fountain symbolizes the regime of Louis XIV, or, the "Sun King". Beyond the Fountain lies the massive Grand Canal. The wide central axis rises on the far side. Even farther into the distance lie the dense woods of the King's hunting grounds.

                     

“Town Tattle”, “Simon Called Peter,” “small scandal magazines”

Simon called Peter was a popular novel by Robert Keable was regarded as immoral by Fitzgerald. The novel’s protagonist is an army chaplain who becomes involved in passionate episodes. “Town Tattle” and the other assorted magazines would be equivalent to today’s “The Enquirer,” “Us,” “People,” “Star” and so on, but instead of celebrity gossip, they would have mainly focused on gossip about high society (celebrities as we know them did not exist since there was no TV and very little radio).

Kaiser Wilhelm

Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941), Germany's last Kaiser (king), was born in Potsdam in 1859, the son of Frederick III and Victoria, daughter of Queen Victoria of England. Wilhelm was instrumental in building up the German military enabling it to precipitate the First World War, known at the time as “The Great War” or the “War to End All Wars.” He loathed democracy and advocated autocratic government. He was forced to abdicate in 1918 when it became apparent that Germany was going to lose the war due to the United States entry on the side of Britain and France. He lived Holland in until is death in 1941.

Pennsylvania Station

Transportation depot and railway hub in Midtown Manhattan that serves local commuters (Long Island, New Jersey and other New York destinations). Before its “renovation” it was known for its grand art deco style of architecture. The other major rail station, Grand Central, serves distant rail terminals. A photo with morning light streaming in is below.

 

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