Similarities Between Catcher In The Rye And Antigone

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Despite being written centuries apart, JD Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye and Sophocles's Antigone both of one thing largely in common: a protagonist searching for themself in a long, confusing way. In Antigone, the main character, Antigone, is found disagreeing with her sister, Ismene, as to whether they should break the law and bury their brother, or disregard what the gods say and let her die unburied. Antigone says that despite what Creon believes, her brother deserves to be buried, and that the Gods’ word is higher than Creon’s word. Ismene, on the other hand, believes that they although he deserves to be honored, it’s not worth sacrificing their innocence. Antigone buries him, and is taken to Creon, where he sentences her to death, despite what Haemon, Creon’s son who was supposed to marry Antigone, says to try to change his mind. Creon then …show more content…

For Antigone, it is rather hard to analyze her family, as nearly every character in the book is related to her. The relative that probably has the biggest impact on Antigone is her uncle, Creon, as he is the one who sentences her to death, saying “‘Tis determined, it seems, that she shall die” (130). Creon completely disregards the fact that the two of them are related, and sentences her to die. In Catcher in the Rye, Holden doesn’t like his other brother, saying “Now he’s out in Hollywood, DB, being a prostitute” (2). This shows that although Holden may have loved his brother at one point in his life, he now thinks that he sold himself out to make it big. In addition, his relationship with his sister is not particularly a good one, as they get in a fight when he finally arrives at home. This establishes yet another connection between the two, as they both have poor relationships with certain people in their families, and it affects them both negatively in their searches for

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