Who Am I? A look inside Holden, Seymour, and Salinger from three acclaimed works. After World War II J.D. Salinger joined the ranks of the exceptionally adept authors that came about after the heinous second world war. Salinger, fueled by his experiences from the war, addressed many concerns and issues, most of which are timeless. Due to many of his astounding pieces, and his fresh outlook on society, is considered a phenomenal, classic, American author. One that is responsible for many renowned, coming of age novels, as well as a number of agonizing critiques of the society that has been cultured. The Catcher in the Rye and, “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” are two of his most acclaimed works, both wrestling with the concept concerning the conservation of innocence, a main talking point of Salinger. This is visible through many similarities between the two works. In The Catcher in the Rye, “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” and, J.D. Salinger: A Life the characters share common internal conflicts regarding the people that they have become, this central conflict aids in conveying Salingers overwhelming claim that when faced with great ordeals, any figurative wounds attained, affect a person in every aspect of life. In The Catcher in The Rye Holden wrestles with the concept of the person that he has turned into. The colossal amount of struggles he has faced, and the lacerations he has gained have remained by his side, altering his everyday, mundane actions. Holden remarks on the painful transition between childhood and adulthood when he is in the Natural History Museum, he says that the, “best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was.... Nobody's be different. The only thing that would be ... ... middle of paper ... ...today. Salinger gained many mental and physical wounds during his time in the army, both affected his views on innocence and affected him as a person. Both The Catcher in the Rye, “A Perfect Day for Bananafish”, and J.D. Salinger: A Life have similar views on innocence, however, the way in which the protagonists experienced their realization on the topic was utterly different. In The Catcher in the Rye and, “A Perfect Day for BananaFish” as well as J.D. Salinger: A Life, Holden, seymour, and Salinger both find themselves with similar internal conflicts regarding the people they have become, in relation to their innocence. The self exploration the three underwent was due to the accumulation of anguish and grief. both The Catcher in the Rye and, “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” share similar insights, because of Salingers similar themes and his experience in the war.
After many years of ideas coming and going, one that seems to stay the same is the thoughts of tennagers. In the book The Catcher In The Rye written by J.D Salinger many can still relate to Holden’s story even after a 76 year difference. While exploring the city around him Holden takes the time to try to find himself on a deeper level and try to grasp how growing up really makes him feel. Given the fact that everyone is unique in among themselves the need for self satisfaction is always current meaning many run from the true responsibilities that come with age.
This book is a good book. "What I was really hanging around for, I was trying to feel some kind of a good-by. I mean I've left schools and places I didn't even know I was leaving them. I hate that. I don't care if it's a sad good-by or a bad good-by, but when I leave a place I like to know I'm leaving it. If you don't, you feel even worse. ~J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Chapter 1
Due to J.D Salinger’s personal and relatable narrative treatment, Catcher in the Rye continues to engage audiences, even 64 years after it was first published. The way the book deals with alienation and disillusionment in regards to Holden’s past trauma - through the closeness of first person narration and conversational writing among other techniques - creates a personal connection to Holden’s character and helps adolescents relate his troubles to their own.
Catcher in the Rye is one of the most famous books in American literature. Written by J. D. Salinger, it captures the epitome of adolescence through Salinger’s infamous anti-hero, Holden Caulfield. Holden Caulfield learns about himself and his negative tendencies, and realizes that if he does not do something to change his perspective, he may end up like his acquaintance James Castle whom he met at Elkton Hills. Holden tries to find help to mend his outlook on life through Mr. Antolini so he does not end up like James, who did not want to face the problems he created for himself. This is proven by the similarities between James Castle and Holden, Mr. Antolini’s willingness to try and help Holden, and Holden’s future being forecasted by James.
Salinger continues his use of installing reality in fiction by Holden’s hospitalization. The reader finds out within the first chapter that Holden is being hospitalized due to a recent mental breakdown (Salinger). Interestingly enough, Salinger was also hospitalized shortly after his combat in WWII for his mental breakdown (Biography). Clearly, Salinger was making a major connection to himself through Holden by giving his character his
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is an enthralling and captivating novel about a boy and his struggle with life. The teenage boy ,Holden, is in turmoil with school, loneliness, and finding his place in the world. The author J.D. Salinger examines the many sides of behavior and moral dilemma of many characters throughout the novel. The author develops three distinct character types for Holden the confused and struggling teenage boy, Ackley, a peculiar boy without many friends, and Phoebe, a funny and kindhearted young girl.
Despite Holden's resistance to change, he starts to change. "Catcher in the Rye," reminds us that changing is not easy to process mentally. Going through the true process of change, it requires us to let go of the past and move on which is hard. The novel represents the hardship of changing. It reminds us how great the value of finding something special and precious is as well as a valid reason although it requires us to let go and move on with our lives. All it requires is to simply let
Holden Caulfield, portrayed in the J.D. Salinger novel Catcher in the Rye as an adolescent struggling to find his own identity, possesses many characteristics that easily link him to the typical teenager living today. The fact that the book was written many years ago clearly exemplifies the timeless nature of this work. Holden's actions are those that any teenager can clearly relate with. The desire for independence, the sexually related encounters, and the questioning of ones religion are issues that almost all teens have had or will have to deal with in their adolescent years. The novel and its main character's experiences can easily be related to and will forever link Holden with every member of society, because everyone in the world was or will be a teen sometime in their life.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger is a coming-of-age novel set in New York during the 1940’s. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the story, is a detached seventeen-year old boy harboring feelings of isolation and disillusionment. He emphasizes a general dislike for society, referring to people as “phonies.” His lack of will to socialize prompts him to find nearly everything depressing. He’s alone most of the time and it’s apparent that he is very reclusive. This often leads him to pondering about his own death and other personal issues that plague him without immediate resolution. Holden possesses a strong deficit of affection – platonic and sexual – that hinders and cripples his views toward people, his attitude, and his ability to progressively solve his problems without inflicting pain on himself. The absence of significant figures in his life revert him to a childlike dependency and initiate his morbid fascination with sexuality. In this novel, Salinger uses Sunny, Sally Hayes, and Carl Luce to incorporate the hardships of discovering sexual identity and how these events affect adolescents as they try to understand their own sexuality.
The world today is very deceptive and phony. J.D. Salinger’s well known novels, The Catcher in the Rye and Franny and Zooey attack this fake and superficial society which is evident through the lives, ideas, actions, and words expressed by the characters in these literary pieces. The transition from childhood, through adolescence and into adulthood is inevitable. The protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield goes through this stage and finds himself in a crisis. He alienates himself from everyone who is around him and tries his best not to grow up. Holden often dwells upon his childhood and the life he had with his family. Franny in Franny and Zooey has already passed this stage but finds it difficult to live in a world where everyone she is surrounded by is only concerned with outward appearances. In these worlds, both characters, Holden and Franny, reveal their struggle of growing up and trying to live as an adult in a world full of deception and shallow-minded people who only care about appearances.
Books that have shaped America are slowly starting to disappear. Many of the previous social norms have fallen out of fashion, and because of this reason numerous books are beginning to become banned. Blasphemy, racism, sex, and violence are all ethical reasons for books to be censored.
J. D. Salinger’s novel, Catcher in the Rye explores the ambiguity of the adult world Holden must eventually learn to accept. Throughout the novel, Holden resists the society grownups represent, coloring his childlike dreams with innocence and naivety. He only wants to protect those he loves, but he cannot do it the way he desires. As he watches Phoebe on the carousel, he begins to understand certain aspects of truth. He writes:
The Theme of Change: The Catcher in the Rye Change has one of the large-scale consequences on our inhabits. Even though it is often never observed, change occurs every minute and every second we are living on this world. We live each day without recognising the dissimilarities in us, if it's a personal or a mental change. It's not until we gaze back on our past through recollections and images that we realize how much we've really altered over time. Sometimes, we have to look actually deep and analyze locations or things that are untouched by change to help us realize how much we indeed have changed. J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye exemplifies the hardships of Holden, a troubled adolescent considering with his fear and disapprove of change in his life. The extent to which his anxiety with change moves is shown by his concept of being the catcher in the rye area, catching young kids that drop off the cliff. The tranquility he finds inside things residing the same is epitomized by his admiration of the never-changing Eskimos in the repository. The contradictory effect of change upon him, however, is best shown through his trauma regarding the death of his dear male sibling, Allie.
It is amazing that two completely different characters could not only be faced with an identical dilemma, but also both react in such comparable ways. The resemblance of the characters’ struggles because of alienation in the popular novels The Catcher in the Rye and Speak is astonishing. Alienation can be caused by many factors and result in many consequences. But it is interesting how the situations individuals face can be quite similar. Within Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, and Anderson’s novel, Speak, both protagonists are alienated by those around them. As a result, they must endure the negative effects of this isolation and, ultimately it leads both these individuals to alienate themselves.
As Irving Howe once observed, “The knowledge that makes us cherish innocence makes innocence unattainable.” In a dynamic society, innocence evades even the youngest members of our world; it evades even the nonexistent members of our world. J.D. Salinger explores this elusive innocence in his short story, "A Perfect Day for Bananafish." Distinct similarities appear between the main character, Seymour Glass, and Salinger including the World War II experience and attraction for younger, more innocent people (Salerno). Salinger conveys this through Seymour’s preference of a young girl’s company over his own wife's company. Throughout the story, “Salinger constantly draws attention to himself and his precocious intellect” (Daniel Moran). “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” revolves around an army veteran post-World War II who visits a beach resort with his wife but spends more time there with the young Sybil Carpenter. Using a historical context of World War II and portrayal of many different characters, Salinger effectively depicts the story of a man in a desperate search for innocence. In “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” J.D. Salinger uses symbolism and figurative language to stress the concept of unattainable innocence.