This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air. what does the "valley of ashes" symbolize? a. the need for the rich to give up their wealth b. the waste and corruption of the wealthy c. the environment gatsby grew up in d. the contrast between wealth and poverty