If you were to witness something corrupt, what would you do? Would you try to stop it? Or would you just look the other way and pretend it was not there? In today’s society, corruption is almost everywhere, and too often, people just look the other way, allowing it to continue. In writing The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger attempts to show people the evils of a corrupt society, and how it can harm anyone. He does this through Holden’s experiences at Pencey and in NYC, as well as the uncertainty and confusion that Holden feels about sex.
While he is at Pencey, Holden experiences corruption many times. This may be one of the reasons that he does not try in his classes. At some point, he joins a secret fraternity, not because he wants to, but because he is “too yellow not to” (167). Ackley tries to join as well, but again and again, “they [do not] let him…just because he’s boring and pimply” (167). This disgusts Holden, because the other students mistreat Ackley because of the way he looks and acts, something that Holden sees as corruption. Another time Holden observes corruption is when old Ossenburger, a rich businessman who once attended Pencey, and who donated money to the school, visits for the first football game. After the game, Ossenburger gives a speech in which he basically describes himself as a saint, telling the students that “he [talks] to Jesus all the time” (17). However, he drives a “big goddam Cadillac” (16), and when he arrived, all the students had to “stand up in the grandstand and give him a [cheer]” (16). This is corrupt, because if he was really a saint like he implies, he would be more modest instead of bragging about how good he is and showing off his wealth. Holden sees corruption in at least one of ...
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...is telling them sex stories shows how corrupt he is. He corrupts the young boys by telling them that promiscuity is okay, and twists their minds. And he does this while he is supposed to be helping the boys make good choices.
All of these things that Holden experiences are used by Salinger to show that in real life, while corruption may seem to be rare, it is actually commonplace and can hurt people. That is why if one experiences corruption in their life, such as underage drinking, people acting differently around someone than they normally act, or someone corrupting children, then they must attempt to stop the corrupt actions before they hurt someone. If society as a whole realizes the evils of corruption, and endeavors to prevent it, the world will become a better place.
Works Cited
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 2001. Print.
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Through Salinger's use of symbolism, as a society, he depicts the importance of preserving innocence. We want to save 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. Holden's brother died when he was growing up and throughout his life he has always been getting kicked out of school. Later, he then goes to New York for a couple of days so that he doesn't have to go home early and explain to his parents that he got kicked out. He then goes to his sister Phoebe's school to give her a letter and finds something inappropriate written on the wall and scrubs it out. At the end of
The lack of nurture that Holden receives from his environment and the conflict he engages in with it are yet another factor that brings Holden down. Person versus Environment contributes greatly to his descent. Holden is shipped between schools, being kicked out of one only to be expelled from the next. To Holden, the environment that he is surrounded by at Pencey represents the phony, cruel world of those who run it. He is unable to connect with anyone in this school, The disgust and disinterest he has with the institution is shown in the quote, “Pencey was full of crooks.” (pg. 6). As well, he is seen incessantly attempting to defy social norms. Holden battles his environment, flunking out of school and showcasing the opposition he has towards
Holden uses the word phony to identify everything in the world that he rejects. He always sees something wrong with everybody. People are too talkative, too quiet, or just weird. He thinks that he is the perfect person but no one believes that he is. With this, Holden believes that he is surrounded by "phoniness." Holden lives in Ossenburger Hall, which is named after a wealthy Pencey graduate who made a fortune in the discount funeral home business. Ossenburger went to the chapel and made a speech that lasted about "ten hours." Holden goes on to say that he cracked about fifty corny jokes and then Ossenburger emphasizes that "he talked to Jesus all the time, even when he was driving his car." Holden thinks this is a load of crap and asserts, "'that killed me. I just see the big phony bastard shifting into first gear and asking Jesus to send him a few more stiffs" (17). Holden can't believe what he just heard. He sees this big "phony" praying to Jesus to send him some...
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.
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.
Holden attacks various weaknesses in the 50's society. He criticizes nearly everything that he observes, and refuses to pull punches. Often Holden uses his brilliant talent of observation to discover the true motives behind the people he calls "phony." Through his observations the reader can interpret Salinger's view of the 1950's culture. Holden's perceptions of paranoia, conformity, and the consumer culture convey Salinger's views.
The narrative allows the reader to be exposed to Holden Caulfield’s mind to form a psychoanalytical perspective and emphasize how he goes through many experiences. An example of when Holden went through a violent outburst is when his brother, Allie passed away. “I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist just for the hell of it.” (Salinger 39). This citation is meaningful and clearly shows what kind of person Holden becomes. He was very close with his brother Allie and that mentally broke him. He had a very strong and sad mental breakdown in the moment that affected his futu...