What is an artist? What makes an artist? Is something a piece of artwork only if it can be placed in a museum? An artist is anyone who practices any of the various arts including: sculptor, novelist, poet, or filmmaker. One can become an artist through practice, perfection, and uniqueness in their category of art. And finally, no, anything can become a piece of artwork. So is J.D. Salinger’s style of writing and creating artistic? Yes. J.D. Salinger’s style of writing and creation is artistic and exemplified through his creation of symbols, tone and diction, and character development.
To begin with, J.D. Salinger’s style of creating symbols is artistic. In The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger creates symbols mainly regarding Holden as a character including: Holden’s red hunting hat, the ducks in the lagoon, and the Museum of Natural History. Holden’s red hunting hat plays a prominent role in this novel, as it is continuously mentioned and involved. The reader can infer the red hunting hat symbolizes Holden’s individuality and his attempt to break free from the ‘phonies’ around him. The reader discovers Holden’s extreme dislike of phonies when learning about why Holden drops out/ quits Elkton Hills. Holden explains to Old Spencer, ‘“One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies”’ (19). By wearing this red hat Holden is attempting to stand out and be different. He is not trying to ‘be like everyone else’ or ‘phony’ instead he is displaying his true personality. However throughout this story, Holden struggles to discover his path in life, which leads to the second symbol, the ducks in the lagoon. Holden wonders to himself, “I was wondering if it would be frozen over when I got home, and if it...
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...ut with. But surprisingly Holden likes him and finds Ackley good company. Holden is one of the best examples. Holden comes off as the student who doesn’t care about anyone or his goals. Instead the reader finds Holden contains great compassion. In fact, the main reason Holden does not go directly home after getting kicked out of Pency is because he doesn’t want to hurt his mom. As one can see, Salinger exemplifies his artistic style of creating characters by putting a twist to the character’s personality, something typically not seen.
J.D. Salinger’s style of writing and creation is artistic and exemplified through his creation of symbols, tone and diction, and character development. J.D. Salinger is an artist because of his uniqueness, individuality, and in depth though process used to create this novel. Artists are not always who one thinks, but can be anyone.
Salinger went through many of the experiences Holden went though. Salinger much like Holden had a sister that he loved very much, in the novel Phoebe is the only person that Holden speaks highly of; both men also spent time in a mental institution; Holden is telling the story from inside a institution; they were both kicked out of prep school and most importantly they were both a recluse from society. This is why Salinger uses Holden as his persona all though out the book. The ‘catcher in they Rye’ is almost like an autobiography for Salinger. He is using Holden as his persona to let us, the reader, dive into his thought pattern and find out some of the thoughts that he kept locked up in there.
The way that Salinger writes gives the audience a very personal and insightful look into what Holden is feeling. It’s told in the first person, in a confessional style, and utilises digression. This creates a sense of closeness with the protagonist. It’s like Holden is talking directly to the reader.
All of these are components of J. D. Salinger’s writing style. While the tone of The Catcher in the Rye may suggest a lighthearted, entertainment centered novel, the work is, in actuality, a deep study of human emotion and sympathy, as well as a dark portrait of the wickedness in the world.
J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye tells an unforgettable story of teenage angst by highlighting the life of Holden Caulfield, a young boy who commences a journey of self-discovery after being expelled from his private boarding school. Throughout the novel, Holden struggles with issues such as self-identity, loss, and a wavering sense of belonging. Holden’s red hunting hat is consistently used throughout the story as a symbol of his independence and his attachment to his childhood. From the very moment he receives it, Holden’s red hunting hat becomes a symbol of his own alienation. After traveling to New York for a fencing match and losing the team’s equipment on the subway, Holden is outcast by his teammates, who are angry that he hindered their ability to compete in the match.
The symbolism throughout the novel illustrates Holden’s isolation from the adult world. In the beginning of the Chapter Three, Holden returns to his dorm room where he finds his pestering roommate, Ackley. After seeing Holden’s red hunting hat, which he purchased in New York, Ackley is fascinated by it and tells Holden that “Up home [he] wears a hat like that to shoot deer in,” (22) Holden then takes the red hunting hat off of Ackleys’ head and closes one eye as if he is trying to shoot it. “This is a people shooting hat,” he says (22). It is obvious from the start of the novel that Holden’s red hat symbolizes his mark of individuality and independence. In this scene, the audience sees how his desire for independence is connected to the feeling of alienation and the bitterness Holden feels for the people in society. Of course, Holden will not actually sh...
“I was crying and all, I don’t know why, but I guess it was because I was feeling so damn depressed and lonesome” (53), Holden says. As humans, we have a hard time belonging in society. This is the same case for Holden Caulfield, the main character from the Catcher in the Rye. The Catcher in the rye, a novel by J.D Salinger, is about Holden, a lost boy in desperate need of help. Throughout the novel, Holden seems to be excluded by the world around him. He continually attempts to try and belong in a world in which he is isolating from. In this novel, Salinger uses symbols such as the red hunting hat, the ducks and Allie’s glove to support the theme, belonging and isolation.
In many novels written by J.D. Salinger, there is a recurring theme of love that
Holden describes the hat as a, “red hunting hat, with one of those very, very, very long peaks… The way I wore it, I swung the old peak way around back - very corny, I’ll admit, but I liked it that way. ”(Salinger, 24) The hat makes him stand out and seem like a unique person.
Art is defined as the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. Jackson Pollock does an amazing job creating art. Pollock’s works are not as big as some of the other artists like Monet’s paintings but his works are still large enough to engulf the viewer.
Although Holden can be described as a realistic, cynical teenager, he can also be categorized as straightforward. This is one of Holden’s strengths, he sees the truth for what it really is, not how he wants it to be. For example, Holden describes his old school, Pencey Prep, saying, “I didn’t know anyone there that was splendid and clear-thinking at all.” (Salinger 3) Pencey Prep had claimed that they had the capability to “mold” young men, but Holden could see right through it. Holden’s straightforward characteristic also leads him to be independent and self-reliant, which are also Holden’s strengths.
Wildermuth, April. "Nonconformism in the Works of J.D. Salinger." 1997 Brighton High School. 24 November 2002. <http://ww.bcsd.org/BHS/english/mag97/papers/Salinger.htm>
The novel “The Catcher in the Rye,” revolves around the protagonist Holden Caulfield as the story is told from his perspective. J.D. Salinger constructed Holden Caulfield as a cynical person who cannot accept to grow up. Throughout “The Catcher in the Rye,” J.D. Salinger uses symbolism to reveal and reinforce critical aspects of the protagonist Holden Caulfield. Three important aspects Holden acquired through Salinger’s use of symbolism are: his stubborn, uncompromising mentality; his softer, more caring respectful side; Holden’s cowardly way of acting and thinking.
J.D Salinger questions the behavior of young men by making Holden refuse the usual things that society would say he should.It is very apparent that Holden cannot relate to the men around him. The characters in the novel that show the typical characteristics of men of the period. With Stradlater, Holden’s roommate, being the typical handsome teenage guy that takes girls in his to fool around with. Salinger uses this character to further show that Holden is not like the guys his age, perhaps proving that Holden does not have the same sexual drive as the guys around
Writing about any artist or author makes us more curious about the writer and his or her view of life. I believe every writer reflects his or her own perspective in their writings even if they did not talk about themselves; this will appear to the reader in one way or another.
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce, the author of A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, was once described by a friend, Constantine Curran, as "a man of unparalleled vituperative power, a virtuoso in speech with unique control of the vernacular." While Constantine viewed Joyce's quality of verbal abuse "powerful," and praised his "control" of the language, many viewed this expressive and unrestrained style of writing as inappropriate and offensive. A dramatic new step for modernism, Joyce used language, style, and descriptions of previously unwritten thoughts and situations which stirred the cultural norm, thus sparking controversy over what was necessary and acceptable in literature.