The Great Gatsby

Nature is the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about Romanticism. Trees, flowers, and water are all often depicted in Romantic artwork, whether paintings or photos. Most of us have already seen the pieces of romanticism art, such as Casper Friedrich’s “The Wanderer Above The Sea of Fog” or Samuel Palmer’s “A Dream in the Apennine”, which have a focused affect on nature.

Casper Freidrich: The Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog

Samuel Palmer: A Dream in The Apennine

But most people seem to forget romanticism in books that can be connected with our daily life. I remember back in high school, while reading The Great Gatsby, my English teacher would always refer to the idea seeing the world through “rose color glasses”, in regards to Gatsby. At first I didn't understand the connection of rose colored glasses to the story, but simply put rose colored glasses is an idiom for seeing things seeing things as more pleasant than the may really be. Gatsby saw the world, well Miss Daisy, through rose colored glasses. The romantic in Gatsby caused Gatsby to idolize Daisy in the sense that she could do no wrong and life with her was his ultimate goal. This, as we all know, ends in Gatsby’s demise, but it is a strong display of romanticism in real life situations rather than just in pictures.

F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby

This can easily be observed in high school. We've all been there and we've all had that crush on the one kid in our English class that we just can’t seem to take our mind off of – or our eyes. And particularly with high school crushed, the adolescent heart – or perhaps hormones, seem to trick the mind into believing their crush is “perfect” and can do no wrong. My English teacher mentioned that in her career, she had seem many crushes just like this, particularly from the girls, that made her laugh. The good girl falling for the bad boy, is the ultimate classic. Though the girl knows he’s no good, she can’t help but fall anyways, because to her he can do no wrong.

In Gatsby’s case, it was the opposite. The male falling for the “good” or “pure” Miss Daisy – his magical green light. He had used that light as an identifier for her. For him that light was equivalent to a beautiful sunset or a spot on the top of the mountain overlooking its surroundings – a feeling of awe. Daisy was his awe. His idealized icon placed upon a pedestal. Now Daisy was not as innocent has he believed her to be – after all she was cheating on her husband with Gatsby, but to him, Daisy could do no wrong. This is romanticism. His overwhelming feeling – rose colored glasses, caused him to almost escape reality, and live in a fantasy. 

"The Green Light"