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Essay on wealth inequality of america
Nature and extent of existing income and wealth inequalities in the United States
Discuss unequal distribution of wealth
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Holden is a depressed little rich boy who has a family that has a lot of money. He goes to expensive boarding schools and doesn't worry about taking advantage of it. But, even though he's privileged it makes him upset that not everyone has the same privileges and benefits as him. Sometimes we don't realise all the benefits and privileges we have and we don't take advantage of it. Many people would do anything for what we have and we think of it as not an important matter. Let's be grateful and thankful that we have the privilege of having a family, a roof on top of our heads, and ect. And give what you can for those who do
Is it possible that two completely different authors could create two identical characters? It seems so; J.D. Salinger's Holden, from Catcher in the Rye, and Ayn Rand's Equality 7-2521, in Anthem, appear to be one in the same person. To end the oppression they received for the span of their entire lives, both Holden and Equality run from their oppressors. Most importantly, neither Holden nor Equality live up to the expectations of others. Holden's personality identically reflects that of Equality 7-2521 in Ayn Rand's Anthem.
Since Holden was isolated from his family, in order to not get hurt again he tries to find hypocrisy in people to stop himself from trusting others. Holden feels isolated after being sent to a boarding school that “was full of phonies” by his parents (Salinger 90). Salinger’s message to the audience with this quote is that when
So, to conclude, I contend that Holden’s version of the poem sums up his deepest desire which is to preserve the innocence and purity of childhood. Things that don’t change give’s him a sense of comfort and security. What Holden eventually realizes is his powerlessness, and that growing
In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden views the world as an evil and corrupt place where there is no peace. This perception of the world does not change significantly through the novel. However, as the novel progresses, Holden gradually comes to the realization that he is powerless to change this.
Childhood is an unusually hard thing to rid yourself of when it is time for you to pass into the intensified life of adults. Personally, I have yet to overcome that challenge. The Catcher in the Rye is a well developed story about a high school boy, Holden Caulfield, who is stuck between the stages of adolescence and adulthood, and is trying to discover his identity. All his life, Holden Caulfield has refused to grow up, and as the book progresses, he is on the fine line of leaving innocence and adolescence behind and passing into adulthood, but what gives him the needed shove into the realm of adulthood was getting over his brother, Allie’s death. To Holden, Allie is the main definition of innocence. Eventually Holden comes to the decision to be the catcher in the rye. After this decision he tries to follow through with his plan and ultimately decides that he can’t keep anyone from growing up. This seems to be his breaking point in the book where he finally overcomes all his negative emotions towards Allie’s death and accepts it for what it is, knowing that he has to move on.
There will always be a moment where we all change, but most of us would prefer to hold on to remaining an adolescent. "Catcher in the Rye" written by J.D. Salinger, is a story about a high-school student, Holden, who looks for a reason to change and move on from his depressing page of life. The novel depicts the adventures of Holden as he processes a change. Through Holden's resistance to change, Salinger expresses that people sometimes crave for the past which impacts us negatively, but we would be better off if we learn to move on and find something special.
Holden's inability to fit into society brought on hatred to it, and instead of admitting he too was at fault, he criticizes all the people in cliques on account of their fakeness and dishonesty. To begin with, he finds himself disliking Pencey as a school since its motto claims that it molds boys into upright, respected members of society. However, Holden soon declares that the school is hypocritical since it does nothing to achieve their motto and as a result, most boys end up remaining the same people as they once came to school and for some it shaped them into crooks (which Holden will not stand for).
He erratically spends money, abuses alcohol, and displays irrational anger, leading to violence. Holden “[spends] a king’s ransom in about two lousy weeks” (Salinger 107). In a like manner, he meets a group of girls at a club, and “[buys] them all two drinks apiece … [and orders] two more Cokes for [himself]” (Salinger 74). Holden does not have much to live off of while in New York. Yet, he spends all he has on things that do not at all benefit him. The consequences of spending all of his money on trivial things do not prevent his behavior. Holden’s impulsive, careless handling of money knowing that he needs money for essentials in such a way that can only be described as
In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger creates judgemental and superficial characters to critique capitalist ideologies. The biggest proponent of capitalism is the main character; Holden Caulfield. Socioeconomically, Holden is considered to be member of the upper-class because his family makes a large amount of money, and they are socially elite. Holden discriminates against those who posses less money than him, and even requires his roommates to have expensive luggage. Holden gives monetary value to many other objects including shoes, a baseball glove, and women. Holden’s discrimination of those in lower classes, and his belief in “sign exchange value” reveal his capitalist morals. Another novel that criticizes capitalism in a
Firstly, Holden finds existence sad and melancholy because of unjust economic inequities. He doesn’t want anyone feeling inferior or embarrassed, feeling that this kind of emotional sadness over material possessions is depressing. A good example of this is the way he describes his experience of rooming with someone who came from a poorer background than Holden, and how much tension this difference created. Holden had better suitcases than the other boy did, and while Holden eventually hid them under his bed to try and eradicate the economic barrier dividing them, the boy put them back because he cared more about others thinking the suitcases were his, and think that he comes from an upper-middle-class background, than not to be judged based on his economic background at all. Holden doesn’t want to feel the guilt of making someone feel like a lesser person because of material possessions. He describes, “The thing is, it’s really hard to be roommates with people if your suitcases are much better than theirs – if yours are really good ones and theirs aren’t. You think if they’re intelligent and all, […] and hav...
From the protagonists’ point of view, the adult world Holden and Franny are entering and living in is a very superficial place. Holden who is sixteen years of age is going through a time of crisis where he is almost forced to become an adult. This concept is the very thing that makes Holden afraid, causing him to misbehave at school. His latest school, Pencey Prep, expels Holden due to his failing grades. When asked for the reason of his lack of academic enthusiasm, Holden simply states that he is not interested in anything. In every school he has attended, Holden has managed to find different reasons not to care and possibly even hate the institutions.
To begin with, Holden’s love for the innocence and purity of childhood makes him very hesitant to transition into an adult life. Generally, he finds children to be straightforward, easygoing, and simply pure in every way. This is because they always say what they mean, and never try to set a false façade for...
Holden had a tough time fitting in at his schools because he thought of almost everyone as phonies. "`It's full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to be able to buy a goddam Cadillac some day, and you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses, and all you do is talk about girls and liquor and sex all day, and everybody sticks together in these dirty little goddam cliques' (pg. 131)." He seems to have a history of expulsion and failure at various schools because of his lack of ability to cope with others. Ordinary problems of his had turned into major conflicts with other students. "I hate fist fights. I don't mind getting hit so much - although I'm not crazy about it, naturally - but what scares me most in a fist fight is the guy's face. I can't stand looking at the other guy's face, is my trouble. It wouldn't be so bad if you could both be blindfolded or something. It's a funny kind of yellowness, when you come to think of it, but it's yellowness, all right. I'm not kidding myself. (pg. 90)" Holden got into a fight with his roommate at school because he was going out with his ex-girlfriend. He's afraid that the guy is taking her from him, even though he's not with her anymore. These are problems that are normal, but Holden has trouble dealing with them.
The negative light that Holden views the world under is a key contribution to his unhappiness. He is unable to see even a glint of sincerity in people’s actions which allows him to experience feelings of severe despondency and dejection. “People never give your message to anybody,” (pg. 166) shows how Holden no longer feels let down by people but instead expects the worst from them instead. He struggles to find genuinity in people’s actions, and in turn feels “lousy and depressed,” by nearly everything. Holden is constantly seen bringing down the adult world. It is shown he has an inner conflict between his adult and child self, leading him to feeling lost and without a place. He is disgusted by the adult world describing it as a place filled with “phonies” but, views adolescence as a source of happiness. He shows a direct fear of change by stating, “The best thing...was that everything always stayed right where it was.” (pg. 135). As Holden is being pushed out of his childhood and into an area where he feels out of place, it is only inevitable that this would be a source of his depression. Both of these internal conflicts add to Holden Caulfield’s
Parents are the most important support system in their children’s lives. There is a breakdown in this support system for Holden. His relationship with his parents is very dysfunctional; he rarely talks to them and avoids seeing them in person. Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield have their own life agenda, which doesn’t include Holden as a priority. Their obligation is mainly to pay for the various boarding schools he attends. Holden’s parenting comes mostly from these boarding schools. Holden even feared returning home or was ambivalent about seeing his parents. When he did return home to visit his sister, Phoebe, he avoided his parents as much as possible. “It was a helluva lot easier getting out of the house than in, for some reason. For one thing, I didn’t give much of a damn anymore if they caught me. I really didn’t.” (p. 180) Any person that has a good relationship with their parents would certainly try go to them for help especially if they were in a difficult time in their life. Holden was undergoing a very difficult time in his life; he was lonely and desperate for someone to talk to. Instead of seeking his parents, he chose to avoid them. This portrays the lack of the primary support system in Holden’s life, his parents.