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Morality of the catcher in the rye
Moral issues of catcher in the rye
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Mark David Chapman One of the most infamous assassinations associated with The Catcher in the Rye is the assassination of John Lennon. On December 8, 1980, John Lennon was assassinated by Mark David Chapman. There has been multiple speculations on the reasoning to why Chapman decided to murder Lennon. One of the explanations was that Chapman was extremely offended by Lennon’s atheist ways and decided that it was necessary to murder him. Another possible theory is that Chapman saw Lennon as an innocent who will soon be corrupted. Chapman was a born again Christian having devout faith in Jesus Christ. He, along with many other Christians, took offense when Lennon had disrespected Jesus saying, “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. …show more content…
The difference between Chapman and other Christians was that he decided to assassinate Lennon. During Chapman’s trial, he quoted an excerpt from the novel that said, “[...] 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–I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them [...]” (Salinger 173). From this certain excerpt he had chosen to use during his trial, we can speculate that Chapman had only wanted to save the children’s innocence and did not want Lennon’s atheism to hinder children’s …show more content…
During the Beatles’ reign as the world’s most renowned rock and roll band, Chapman was very fond of them. Once the band had disassembled, Lennon had exited out of society’s eyes and lived in seclusion for six years. In 1980, Lennon had came out of his private life and started to be involved in publicity, participating in interviews and such. That same year, Chapman had assassinated Lennon. The coincidence of the year Lennon resurged from private life and the year Chapman decided to murder him had been brought up to some speculators’ attention. According to an article written by Daniel Stashower, one of the main themes of The Catcher in the Rye is that “Commercial success at the expense of artistic integrity is [...] the worst expression of phoniness.” Chapman could have thought that if Lennon did further participate in publicity practices, it will make him less genuine. As a result, Chapman thought that in order to protect Lennon from losing his innocence, he had to murder
(44)" Holden and Mark David Chapman ‘s traumatizing childhoods may differ in content but affected both young men in an immense way. Both had trouble processing what had happened to them and it contributed to a major emotional downfall. Moreover, similar beliefs linked Chapman and Holden as well. "Holden Caulfield and Mark Chapman were faced with the same crisis: an assault on innocence. (249)" Holden and Chapman wanted to preserve innocence. Although, at the end of the book, Holden ends up giving up on this and is put into a psychiatric facility. Chapman killed John Lennon as his attempt to preserve the purity of society. Holden gives some insight on his beliefs claiming that "Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone. I know that's impossible, but it's too bad anyway. (136)" With this
He says that he is feeling lonesome and even mentions that he wishes he was dead. Although moodiness and angst have been synonyms for the word teenager for decades, it is not solely an attitude problem and is much more serious. The number of adolescents struggling with depression is constantly increasing, and despite the fact that mental illness is now more socially accepted, many teenagers do not get the help they need, because parents assume it is a part of the teenage angst. Furthermore, the main theme in the novel is protecting innocence, which is extremely relevant to our world, as there are so many incidences where young children are stripped of their innocence. An example would be the case of Larry Nassar, the USA Gymnastics national team doctor who according to Time magazine assaulted up to 265 individuals. During the period his sentencing was taking place, I watched some of the victim statements on the news, and was appalled by Nassar’s actions, as he took advantage of his power and groomed young victims to stay quiet amidst his horrible actions. Although he Catcher in the Rye was originally published in 1951, it still remains pertinent to our world, through its themes of innocence, and its portrayal of mental health in
The Catcher in the Rye has been described, analyzed, rebuffed, and critiqued over the years. Each writer expresses a different point of view: It is a story reflecting teen-ager's talk--thoughts-emotions--actions; or angst. I believe it is an adult's reflection of his own unresolved grief and bereavements. That adult is the author, J.D. Salinger. He uses his main character, Holden, as the voice to vent the psychological misery he will not expose -or admit to.
applause of the crowd for his own praise. He often confused the will of God with his own social and political agenda. He even sometimes compared the gospel of Jesus Christ with special interest and American foreign policy.
The Catcher in the Rye Essay Through Salinger's use of symbolism, as a society, he depicts the importance of preserving innocence. We want to save our innocence. In court, people try to plead not guilty, meaning that they are innocent. Holden Caulfield tries to protect kids from becoming guilty. He wants to make people never become guilty.
If you really want to hear about it, there is alot of symbolism in Catcher in the Rye. This novel, written by J.D. Salinger, utilizes symbols to portray different themes. Of these symbols there are three that are strongly related to Holden. The operation, being a madman, and stepping of a curb all play a vital role in the novel by J.D. Salinger.
This article illustrates five major lessons a reader can learn from The Catcher in the Rye. Some of the lessons are about growing up and not being alone, which are two major themes in the novel. By including some universal lessons, this article is able to not only relate to children and adolescents, but also adults who are having the same troubles. Along with the lessons, the article illustrates some of Holden’s important qualities, such as his love for reading and his catchphrase, “phony.”
J.D. Salinger conveys The Catcher in the Rye’s meaning by combining three of the novel’s elements: Holden’s personality, resistance to having guidance in his life, and actions. Primarily, he uses Holden, The Catcher in the Rye’s protagonist, as an example of a teenager who has failed to develop during the essential period of youth. Additionally, he uses the characters of Mr. Spencer and Mr. Antolini to act as voices of reason to Holden, while also showing Holden’s missed opportunities in life when he does not take their advice. Lastly, Salinger utilizes Holden’s desire to act both older and younger than his age to show the dangers that come with poor decision making, as well as their consequences. The main purpose of Salinger’s novel, The Catcher
“Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger is, in simplest terms, a book about life. A novel about what it means to exist, to be human, and to live – and a sixteen-year-old boy mercilessly critical of the world of 1950’s New York he lives in. The movies, the music, the people are all meaningless to him, even despicable. He hates the way life works – the divisions between the rich and the poor, the endless walking in circles and the inability to understand one’s purpose. Holden feels that life is sad and empty because of unfair economic inequities, the fragmentation of society into different groups and the boringness of adult life.
The book, Catcher in the Rye, has been steeped in controversy since it was banned in America after its first publication. John Lennon’s assassin Mark Chapman, asked the former Beatle to sign a copy of the book earlier in the morning of the day he murdered Lennon. Police found the book in his possession upon apprehending the psychologically disturbed Chapman. However, the book itself contains nothing that might have lead Chapman to act as he did. It could have been just any book that he was reading the day he decided to kill John Lennon and as a result, it was the Catcher in the Rye, a book describing a nervous breakdown, that caused the media to speculate widely about the possible connection. This gave the book even more recognition. The character Holden Caulfield ponders the thoughts of death, accuses ordinary people of being phonies, and expresses his love for his sister through out the novel. So what is the book Catcher in the Rye really about?
With the fact he was a nonconformist, one way he proved it was when he stated: “.I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, [.] and part with him when he goes wrong.” Usually during that time it was that people agree with someone, period, no questions asked and completely disregarding morality, but instead he believes as an individual that it is moral to stand with those that are correct, and vice-versa for those that are wrong.
Avoiding problems and not facing reality cause denial and hurts the state of a person’s mind. Holden was a character who showed many signs of being mentally ill or not well. Multiple themes in The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger displayed or explained Holden’s mental state. The novel traveled through issues of innocence and death, all while holden was struggling in his own mind. Through themes such as innocence, death, and the war between the real and the phony, the reader was able to make assumptions about Holden’s mental and physical state in the novel.
Catcher in the Rye is a complicated book about a young man going through, what appears to be a nervous break down. This is a book about the boy’s negative self-talk, horrible outlook on life, and a life itself that seems to keep swirling down the toilet. He keeps trying to fill his life with something, but the reality of it is he doesn’t exactly now what he needs. It’s complicated to understand at parts, because all he does is think of things in the worst possible conditions.
J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye explores the life of a dramatic teenager, Holden, who struggles with the death of his younger brother at a young age and the realities of growing up. Holden’s main conflict throughout the novel is understanding and dealing with the authenticity and innocence of childhood versus the phoniness and impurities of growing up. This conflict often manifests itself in the form of a personality disorder and Holden’s need to be a protector of innocence. Holden’s borderline personality disorder and his tendency to associate with young, innocent people instead of with corrupted adults stems from the trauma of the loss of his brother and the neglect of his family during that difficult time.
John Lennon was born on October 9th 1940 in Liverpool, England 1. His father left the family to sail the seas before Lennon’s earliest childhood memory and his mother was taken away by a car accident when he was 18 2. A year after his mother’s death, the Vietnam War took place, which is The United State’s longest military dispute ever. The world famous band, The Beatles, debut on 1961 not long after the start of the war and through this band, Lennon was able to demonstrate his feelings to the people across the world. "Revolution," performed by The Beatles, was created in 1968, when the anti-war demonstration was on the move. After the separation of The Beatles in 1969, Lennon composed the song "Imagine" (1971) 3. This song proves that Lennon is a Peace-Loving-Atheist and a "Voluntarist" 4 that believes in the scheme that people’s ideas can change social reality; however simultaneously admits that there are constantly wars going on in the world. As a result, he could be a mixture of all four, Realist, Liberal, Marxist and Constructivist. On December 8th 1980, approximately five years after the end of the Vietnam War, Lennon was assassinated by Mark Chapman 5. It is not for certain that the word assassination could be used on a singer, song writer who also published books. However there is no doubt about the fact that Lennon touched many people’s hearts around the world and maybe was even praised as an almighty figure.