Romanticism In The Great Gatsby

Before a date, almost 50% of people say they stalk someone's Facebook profile before going on a date, but what did they do before social media? (Henig). If it were Jay Gatsby, he would buy a house across the bay from his love interest. By doing this, Gatsby is doing something similar to Facebook stalking as he dreams about his life with Daisy: "No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart" (96). Throughout The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby puts his heart and soul into winning back Daisy and trying to fulfill a life with Daisy that he fantasized and dreamed about for five years. Each decision Gatsby makes—subconsciously and consciously—is all a ploy to win back Daisy. While this could be considered romantic,

He has Jordan ask Nick to invite Daisy over for tea, but in reality, Daisy, who is completely unaware of the plan, will be having tea with Gatsby, not Nick. Once Daisy finally gets to Nick’s for tea, Gatsby is incredibly nervous, to the point where he disappears when Daisy arrives. A few moments later, there is a knocking on the door and Gatsby was standing there soaking wet from the pouring rain outside. Nick tries to comfort Gatsby by explaining to him that “‘You’re just embarrassed, that’s all,’ and luckily I added: ‘Daisy’s embarrassed too.’ ‘She’s embarrassed?’ he repeated incredulously. ‘Just as much as you are.’ ‘Don’t talk so loud.’ ‘You’re acting just like a little boy,’ I broke out promptly” (88). When having this conversation with Gatsby, Nick recognized Gatsby’s actions were parallel to those of a child. Instead of acting like a mature adult and talking to Daisy, Gatsby was drowning in anxiety as if he had never spoken to a girl before. This all stemmed from the unrealistic expectations Gatsby had for Daisy which caused his fear of reuniting with the girl he had been thinking about nonstop for five