Evaluate your life by asking one question: is your focus materialism? Be honest with yourself, because if it is, then you are not alone... even though separation from others is a consequence of the materialistic lifestyle. In today’s society, moral and ethical codes have weakened because of the desire that materialism brings. The focus of being a good member of society becomes lessened, and the spotlight is instead more on our own personal lives. Materialism correlates with greed; both lead to a society of declining values and isolation. “Materialism is bad for the soul. Only, in the new formulation, materialism is bad for your emotional well-being.” (article name, author CITE) In the NY Times, researcher Diener talks about how materialism is an …show more content…
It always ends up making you blue as hell” (113). Holden is lonely and sad, so he assumes buying new things and prostitutes will ease the pain, but clearly he did not become happier, if anything he became more depressed. He spends his money on buying drinks for people, thinking that will help him relate to them. Holden is the type of person who isolated himself by drowning in the ideas of others and the pressures of society, and the false hope of fitting in by spending money on meaningless things. Holden focused only on himself, he made no effort to connect in a deeper way to the people around him, and he was very quick to judge others if they didn’t have the same external mask of materialistic ideals. "We are shallow because we have become enslaved by gross materialism, the glitter of gold and its equivalents, for which reason we think that only the material goods of this earth can satisfy us and we must therefore grab as much as can while we are able." F. Sionil Jose in a similar way, Holden thought material items could improve his standing in society, but in reality at the end of the day, the relationships and memories will stick with
“I rather would be blind than then see this world in yellow, and bought and sold by kings that hammer roses into gold.” (King Midas Pg.462 Para.10) Many think that if they got what they wanted they would be happy, but if the world was all based on malterlistic things and everyone got what they wanted there would be chaos and no feelings just want and people would do crazy things to get what they want. Now a day’s people mistake malterlistic things for happiness. “The necklace”, “Ads may spur unhappy kids to embrace materialism”, And “Thrill of the chase” illustrates examples of materialism and show some base their happiness on it.
Holden experiences both alienation and disillusionment when meeting with people like Sally Hayes, Sunny and Ackley. Holden is so desperate to have human connection yet, when he starts to talk to them, he experiences them as ‘phonies’. This makes him more depressed, continuing his downward spiral. Holden is caught in a trap of his own making.
Since Holden relies on his isolation to sustain his detachment from the world and to keep intact a level of self-protection, he frequently sabotages his own efforts to end his seclusion. When Mr. Spencer explains that “life is a game that one plays according to rules” Holden reveals that he feels imprisoned on the “other side of life” where there are no “hot-shots”. Here, Mr. Spencer is lecturing Holden on his failed attempts at schooling and illuminating key aspects of Holden’s character. After hearing this advice from Mr. Spencer, Holden immediately goes on the defensive and internalizes his thoughts of not belonging in this world. This event shows Holden’s failed attempts at trying to find his way in this “phony” world that he feels is against him and leaves him feeling alone and victimized.
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
Holden often resides within his own ideologies which often conflict with that of the society’s. This is prevalent within Holden’s viewpoint as many of the adults being “phonies” and is not far from the truth. Most of the characters seemingly lack depth and are consumed within their own shallowness. Sally is the epitome of society’s shallow nature by outwardly expressing her needs. “‘Look. I have to know. Are you or aren’t you coming over to help me trim the tree Christmas Eve? I have to know’” (Salinger 130). She is too busy worried about her own affairs that Holden’s deteriorating state simply is not even recognizable in her eyes. Her focus is on what he can do for her rather than sympathizing with his issues. People are often this way where they ignore problems that om their solution., Salinger’s viewpoint is a bit cynical towards this as most of the adults have this traits perhaps portraying the loss of empathy from childhood to adulthood. Another overall theme regarding society is the advocation of honesty morally but avoiding uncomfortable situations with lies in practice. Holden often regards this type of behavior has “phony” but regardless finds himself following along as well. “I’m always saying ‘Glad to’ve met you’ to somebody I’m not at all glad I met” (Salinger 87). Small talk,
Holden Caufield is one example out of many troubled teenagers in the world and what they go through in life to make it. Not many people are willing to tell their life story in full detail and reveal all about themselves. It is personal and hard to tell someone. Holden has a hard time because his parents did not show a lot of affection due to their busy lives and their strive for perfection, which in turn does not allow Holden to listen carefully to their advice. He is also a spoiled child, which further deepens the problem. He does not see the real world and the real struggles in life to make him think twice. Instead he rides on other’s money and has his eyes blinded by it. Problems will always face him, but now he will tackle them with a matured mind.
...d to mean the world to him. Both his brother's death and parents desertion have evidently deeply impacted him. Holden pretty well lied to himself, claimed the he had no place in society, all to give him plausible reasons to isolate himself. By calling people phonies, which he frequently did, he was in all reality pushing them away before giving himself the chance to even debate getting to know them. 'Phony people' was like his own private excuse for avoiding making friends. Holden's only hope to attain happiness is to open up to others. If he refuses to, he will forever consider the world to be full of evil, corruption, and phony people. His cynicism, dishonesty and judgemental habits are like a cape that he wears to ward off the elusively hanging threat of abandonment.
People’s shortcomings cause them to look at themselves and the environment around them, Holden does this multiple times throughout the book. “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,” (100). Holden doesn’t delude himself into thinking he’s perfect, which will allow him to better understand himself and his needs, but it also causes him some problems, like depression. Depression is said to ail everyone at least once at some point in their lives, Salinger makes it apparent that Holden is suffering it throughout the novel. “What I really felt like doing, though, was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out the window. I probably would have done it, too, if I’d been sure somebody’d cover me up as soon as I landed,” (116-117). Depression and suicide are still present in today’s society, and unfortunately a part or many people’s lives, contributing to the American
Of all the strange beasts that have come slouching into the 20th century, none has been more misunderstood, more criticized, and more important than materialism. Who but fools, toadies, hacks, and occasional loopy libertarians have ever risen to its defense? Yet the fact remains that while materialism may be the most shallow of the 20th century's various -isms, it has been the one that has ultimately triumphed. The world of commodities appears so antithetical to the world of ideas that it seems almost heresy to point out the obvious: most of the world most of the time spends most of its energy producing and consuming more and more stuff. The really interesting question may be not why we are so materialistic, but why we are so unwilling to acknowledge
Have you ever wanted something, an item or material so badly that you would do anything or give up anything for it? Well, guess what? Materials are not a necessary thing in your life. Materialism is ruining people's lives to the point where it is their occupation. In today’s society materialism take part in every person’s life, no matter where they are from or what social class they are.
The one thing that stands in the way of what Holden needs is himself. He continues to cut himself off from everything he had once loved. His negative self will not let him get close to anyone else, while trying to get distant from those he once was close with. Holden never looks to the positive side of anything. He is just stuck in a deep hole and he can’t find a way out. Whenever Holden believes that he has found something that could help him, he himself some how shuts the door to his own happiness.
Holden has delusional thoughts. “Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around––nobody big, I mean––except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff [...]” (page 191). Holden’s dream is to keep kids from growing up, to keep them young and innocent. Holden’s views of this stems from his fear of maturity and growing up. The idea of keeping children young is a delusion thought because he, in theory, wants to control whether or not the children grow to become adults or become mature. Holden has a strong dislike towards “phonies” and anything having to do with them. In Holden's mind, as people grow older, they become “phonies”. Holden has shows signs of depression throughout the text, specifically on page fifty-four it states, “I got up and went over and looked out the window. I felt so lonesome, all of a sudden. I almost wished I was dead.” Holden’s old roommate from another school had died after jumping out a window, and Holden had seen it happen. Holden was triggered into remember the event, causing him to feel lonely and depressed. Depression may be the cause for Holden's addiction to alcohol and smoking as well as his low appetite, low sex-drive, and insomnia. Holden shows many other psychological signs of schizophrenia, but the most predominate are delusional thoughts and
...hat materialistic attitudes are harmful to one's well-being. “The psychological perspective attributes the development of materialistic values to family circumstances that create stress and self esteem issues that promote materialistic values,” (Hung Vu Nguyen.) Many people in our culture attribute material goods to personal achievement. Truth rings true with Bertrand Russell’s statement “It is the preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else that prevents us from living freely and nobly.” Even at young ages children are competing and bragging to one another of who has more possessions. Past studies by Rindfleisch say that materialism developed over time as a response to stress due to family issues such as divorce, separation, and loss of loved ones. Materialism leads consumers to put a disproportionate amount of their resources into acquiring goods.
Americans today own twice as many cars than they did 55 years ago (Huffington Post). Without a doubt, humans have recently grown accustomed to an over-consuming lifestyle. Are all these materialistic items producing happiness within society? According to Healthline, the number of patients diagnosed with depression increases by 20 percent every year. With help of transcendental ideals, Americans could enhance their lives immensely. The staggering increase of materialism has caused individuals to become selfish, lazy, and unaware of the world around them.
...ut on the effects of materialism. Regardless of its origins, in America materialism works against happiness.