yearners are kinda pathetic

 This week in AP lang we read more of the Great Gatsby and had the opportunity to learn more about how Gatsby and daisy's relationship blossomed. Gatsby and daisy's relationship started 5 years ago when both were relatively young and naive; they were madly in love and sadly separated when Gatsby had to leave to serve in WW1. But for the entirety of the 5 years that Gatsby and Daisy were separated, he pined for her relentlessly and really only wanted Daisy. He yearned for Daisy in a way that felt loving but also unnerving? I mean buying a house right across from his ex-lover's just so he can be in proximity to her feels a bit stalkerish yes? Something about Gatsby or rather James Gatz should be noted at this point, however. 

He was poor.

Now, I don't mean this in a derogatory way or that it's a defining characteristic of his. But rather just an observation that James Gatz or "Gatsby" really only became Gatsby when he began to idolize money and luxury. 

While Gatsby's origin is speculated about throughout the book, it is finally revealed to us by Nick that Gatsby was born a poor man to relatively normal parents. In his youth he wandered a bit throughout the country and ultimately stumbled upon Dan Cody. Dan Cody was the epitome of wealth, a rich old white man that traveled the country in his yacht. Gatz was immediately drawn to him and the fact that by being close to Cody, Gatz would inevitably be able to learn the ways of the wealthy and live in proximity to them. And while he never actually received any of the money Dan Cody had promised to him, he had effectively begun the process of becoming Gatsby. Gatsby was a man that was ridiculously wealthy and luxurious. He threw grand parties and was educated at world class institutions. Through this proximity to Dan, Gatz became Gatsby. A man obsessed with money, class and luxury. 

Now while many might say that Gatsby doesn't display this kind of money hungry attitude in the book, there is no real reason for him to. He isn't obsessed with making money he is obsessed with being a part of the society that money and wealth give him access to. Hence why he yearns for Daisy so much.

Daisy isn't just a person to Gatsby, she is the personification of all of the things that James Gatz once idolized: Money, Luxury and Class. Now while some might say that Gatsby was just wildly in love with Daisy, which he obviously is, it's obvious that she is so much more than that. Otherwise, why else would Gatsby try and convince Tom that daisy was leaving him for her without talking to her about it first, you know like mature, responsible adults? Gatsby yearns for daisy because she is the final obstacle he has to reach before fully transitioning from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby. He needs the high class, luxurious, beautiful woman on his arm to finally feel like a fully platonic Gatz. Sure, he's in love with her but combined with his obsession with wealth? Daisy is a representation of something he has to prove to himself he can get and by relentlessly pining for her, constantly pushing her to leave tom and getting close to people she is around he might just be successful.

The only real reason that Gatsby yearns for Daisy is because he idolizes what she represents, and he yearns for the power that it gives him. Yearners often aren't actually in love but rather love what the people they pine after represent to them. 

Yearners are pathetic, sad people that love power, real love comes from human connection and isn't pushy or impatient like Gatsby.