Trouble in Society America up to the 1950’s endured many challenges such as World War II. During the 1950’s American society needed to reconstruct itself in order to overcome these traumas. Unfortunately because these changes were so difficult, Americans dearly wanted to turn a blind eye to reality. As a response to this disillusionment, writers such as Allen Ginsberg started the Beat movement to bring change in American Society. Catcher in the Rye provides space for Salinger to expose hypocracises while Holden explores to find his place in this pretentious society by representing the little buddha achieving zen. Within Catcher in the Rye, Salinger not only writes about the changes of American society, but also the effects on the individual …show more content…
The “need” to conform lead to a desire in conservative values. As a result, individualism was greatly undermined. A big conservative value was the stress for women to stay home and look after their husband. Legendary composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein mocked this image in his opera Trouble in Tahiti. In Bernstein’s opera he refers to the affairs done by the husband and his secretary, while his wife stays home and prepares dinner. The issue brought up in the opera is that the lives of everyone at home and work have become separated. In Catcher in the rye, Holden asks Sally to live with him and travel but Sally stresses the importance off the “traditional male role”. It’s not until Holden becomes an adult within society that Sally promises to Holden that “There’ll be oodles of marvelous places to go” (Salinger 213). For Holden this is impossible because growing up and conforming to society was his biggest fear. This was also a big fear for Allen Ginsberg, an activist in the Beat movement. Although Salinger was not associated with the Beat movement, there is a strong connection between Salinger and the movement. The biggest similarity between Salinger and Ginsberg is the stress for the individual. In Ginsberg's poem Ginsberg’s nonconformism; America is ran by “responsibility”, that “Businessmen are serious. Movie producers are serious. Everybody’s serious
When attempting to comprehend an adolescent such as Holden Caulfield, one must always consider how he is a high born, lost, confused and an immature young man. That explains why his bewildered perception of women is greatly targeted and expressed throughout the novel, The Catcher In The Rye. J.D salinger, the author of the book, exemplified tremendous effort to objectify most women in the text. This created vast controversy between societies outlook on women in the book versus Holden’s perception of them.
Salinger, is also a very lonely character who loved to ostracize himself. In the documentary, “Salinger”, we find out that as a married man who had a child, Salinger would go off into his own “barn” that he would spend days writing in. The constant spending of time in the barn, took it’s toll on his daughter, whom didn’t get many chances to spend time with her father. Another example of Salinger’s ostracization from the world is shown, when we are told about how after writing his book, “The Catcher In the Rye” he avoided the media completely and didn’t want fame for his work. He even went a far as to completely shut out everyone who knew him before and live an entirely new life, that did not include his family.
In every aspect of society, there are social norms, a regulation or expectancy that dominates people’s morals, beliefs, actions, attitudes and behaviors. In J.D. Salinger’s 1951 novel, Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield defy societal norms, becoming an outsider who is searching for his place and meaning in the world. His world is full of what he calls, “phonies,” a person who is not genuine, will do whatever it takes to make themselves look good, and change their personality to fit into a certain group. Throughout the novel, the audience is taken on a journey with Holden through post-World War II New York. During that time period, the United States of America was an other-directed society; a society based on one’s ability to conform to societal
Zimon Li English 9- Bailey 2/1/2023 Catcher in Rye Essay First Draft In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger, Holden’s mental health collapses from his dependence on Allie and inability to overcome grief. Holden’s inability to deal with Allie’s death causes his mental breakdown. Early on in the book, Holden is deeply traumatized by Allie’s death in their childhood. The loss of someone he deeply valued led him to sleep “in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddamn windows with my fist, just for the hell of it” (Salinger 50).
Deceitful conduct. Blasphemy. Angst. A wholesome blend of these elements were bound to create a tsunami of controversy, yet they and so much more can be found in between the pages of J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye”, a 1951 literary classic Despite being a constant threat in the eyes of the censor board, J.D. Salinger never let his quill shiver from being a spokesperson of his thoughts.
In The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger uses themes of childhood and the transition from childhood into adulthood are shown through Holden’s actions and thoughts. Salinger explores these themes through his conversations with Phoebe, his walk inside Phoebe’s school and his experience with the carousel. Throughout J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the recurring idea of saving innocence shows Holden maturing as he eventually comes to realize that growing up cannot be prevented. Holden’s dream of being the “catcher in the rye” is introduced when he discusses with Phoebe what he likes and dislikes and this idea shows his immaturity in the sense that he is unrealistic about his future.
Introduction Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger published in 1951 is a fictional story of a boy named Holden Caulfield who is suspended from his high school for bad grades. Written in the first person narrative through the voice of Caulfield, the narration brilliantly brings out the isolation and alienation that many teenagers feel. The novel has had a huge influence on modern society and on popular culture. It has been associated with many shootings such as that of John Lennon and the attempted assassination of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan.
In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger illustrates how children mature through their exposure to trauma. Salinger uses character interactions to show the effects of a child's mindset when experiencing childhood trauma. Holden experiments with many different illegal activities including drugs and alcohol, which connects back to his childhood home experience. Holden grew up in a very intense childhood home situation.
J.D. Salinger The 1900’s was an era of novel’s that shaped the world into what it has become today. This era had the ideal set of authors who wrote sorts of novels and short stories. One of the most influential authors in American Literature today, J.D. Salinger happens to fall under this prestigious category of authors that eventually wrote The Catcher in the Rye. The Catcher in the Rye has a setting of a young boy that leaves his prep school to find himself in New York.
The Catcher in the Rye Throughout time, people have read numerous books and have been portrayed many different scenarios. Within these stories, the author may have various ways as to how they display these ideas to the public and what points they want to be the focus after the story is finished. Even more, an author may intertwine these ideas through the characters in the story.
A common obstacle faced by many adolescents is the search for identity. While trying to find oneself, it is common for an individual to reach out to society to seek acceptance and a sense of belonging. This outcry for recognition is sometimes endorsed and other times denied. In The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden Caulfield journeys through New York seeking approval from those who surround him. J. D. Salinger displays Holden’s desire for acceptance in the novel when he visits Mr. Spencer to seek closure and a proper goodbye, when he decides to have a conversation with the prostitute instead of get in bed with her, and when he offers his help and donations to the nuns.
In this novel, Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is the narrator that goes through a variety of problems. He has dilemmas, but meets/reconnects with people on his quest of life. This novel is more than just a simple story about a protagonist and his life events. This novel follows the structure of bildungsroman. There are four parts to it- character’s growth in social structure, a form of loss, process of maturity, and if the character ends in a new place of society.
Brash, bawdy and yet one of the most compelling and influential pieces of American literature, “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, is about how a troubled adolescent, protagonist Holden Caulfield, grapples with the pains of growing up. Published in 1951 and originally written for adults, “The Catcher in the Rye” has been read differently over the years. The New York Times described it as “an unusually brilliant novel” where “adolescence speak[s] for itself”. On the other hand, The Washington Post said reading “The Catcher in the Rye” was “literally a painful experience … comparable to mainlining castor oil”. The novel has also bounced on and off censored lists because it was claimed to be “filthy and profane”, “explicitly pornographic”
Non-conformity is an evident theme that both composers of the texts value, as shown through J.D. Salinger’s protagonist Holden Caulfield, and Chobsky’s protagonist Charlie. Both protagonists show similar characteristics of non-conformity, yet the way society in their time period perceived this affected each character inversely. The conservative 50’s American society strongly upheld their modest values and repressed individuality. This is understandable since America had just come out of World War Two and was also finding it’s place in the world, progressing at a rapid pace (e.g. the ‘space race’ between the Soviet Union). For an unruly and opinionated person like Holden this value does not seem fitting if one has to adapt their personality to meet the criteria of society.
In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger makes a variety of choices regarding elements of the novel. Each of these elements contribute to the success to the text as a whole. The setting, the way the characters are introduced, and the order of the plot are all elements of the text. Salinger chooses New York City as the setting, introduces his characters to symbolize innocence and orders his events in means of a flashback. All of these attributes contribute immensely to the comprehensive impact of the book seeing as they make the book more sentimental, help captivate the reader, and better enhance the theme of the novel.