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Essay on the theme of the catcher in the rye
The Catcher in the Rye Symbols, Motifs and Themes
The Catcher in the Rye: Themes and Symbols essay
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The theme of The Catcher in the Rye is simple. J. D. Salinger uses this novel to draw a clear distinction between the purity of childhood and the wickedness attained when one reaches adulthood. Salinger uses multiple literary devices including diction, symbolism, tone, and even the title of the novel to drive home his ideas about the innocence of children and the corruption of the world. The form of diction used in The Catcher in the Rye is a topic on which many people are strongly opinionated. Because the narrator speaks solely in the vernacular, the novel is ripe with vulgar language. Most of this language is used to characterize Holden, the protagonist and narrator, as a typical American teenager living in the late 1940s or early 1950s, but some of it is utilized to convey Salinger’s theme of innocence versus corruption. When Holden is walking through his sister Phoebe’s school, he sees a scrawl on the wall saying “Fuck you.” He imagines the writing was etched by “some perverty bum that’d sneaked in the school late at night to take a leak or something” (260-61). Again in the museum, Holden encounters another such sign. Both the school and the museum are places he identifies with his childhood, but they have been perverted by the corruption of the world. He is concerned for the children who will inevitably see these signs and be told what they mean by “some dirty kid…all cockeyed, naturally” (260), spoiling the children’s innocence. This is just one more step towards adulthood and corruption. He is disgusted by the people in the world, saying “You can’t ever find a place that’s nice and peaceful, because there isn’t any. You think there is, but once you get there, when you’re not looking, somebody’ll sneak up and write ‘Fuck yo... ... middle of paper ... ...ss shows once again the corruption of the world. With his repetition of phrases such as “it really did” and “if you want to know,” his use of slang including “take a leak” and “booze hound,” and his coarse language, Holden gives the novel an upbeat, optimistic feeling, despite the book’s darker theme. Holden’s tone and diction allow the reader to relate to him and imagine him as a friend. 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. Works Cited Burns, Robert. “Coming Through the Rye.” Passions in Poetry. N.p. n.d. Web. 28 January 2010. Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. 1951. New York: Back Bay Books, 2001. Print.
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. 1951. Print
22). Brooks supports this through comparing the characters of The Catcher in the Rye to other well known books with similar teenage character and showing how these characters act their ages and that is what draws in the attention of many around them. The purpose of the piece is to show how Salinger had written Catcher in such a way that the book is timeless and shows how The Catcher in the Rye has aided his writing career. Brooks creates an aloof tone, making it seem the intended audience is everyone who has read to the novel and related to it in some
Salinger, J. D.. The Catcher in the Rye. [1st ed. Boston: Little, Brown, 19511945. Print.
Roemer, Danielle M. "The Personal Narrative and Salinger's Catcher in the Rye". Western Folklore 51 (1992): 5-10.
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.
While reading through Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye one notices many points of similarity between Holden and other people in the world. Much of what Salinger focuses on in the book, for example the feelings, the experiences, and Holden's wants, are things the reader can relate to and understand. In a sense, Salinger typified the heart and soul of the disillusioned teenager. Yet, it goes deeper than that. Salinger created not just a mish-mash of teenage angst but an archetype that recapitulated every teenager caught between the little games of high school and the fear of adulthood. It's for this reason that I, as with so many other teenagers, can relate to this book.
In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, the characters help portray many themes. J.D Saligner creatively infused his work with varying themes. Holden unknowingly magnifies the importance of the themes, of which he is often times oblivious. This novel is sophisticatedly written in a manner that allows us to see all the themes clearly. The themes portrayed in the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger include phoniness, psychological alienation, and futile protection of innocence.
Every since he enlisted in the army, Salinger was greeted by trials, tribulations, pain, suffering, and near death experiences. The Catcher in the Rye is Salinger’s way of expressing his disappointment in the world and all the phonies that occupy it. Salinger saw his brothers in arms die right before him in countless battles against the Nazis and the Japanese. He saw people he knew and cared about die in a frenzy of bullet fire. He saw his fellow soldiers get slaughtered and die, like a lamb before the knife. The Catcher in the Rye represents all of Salinger’s pent up resentment that was left over from the war. In fact, Holden himself represents Salinger’s angst at the world. Holden’s obsession and resentment over phonies and the
Lies, failure, depression, and loneliness are only some of the aspects that Holden Caulfield goes through in the novel The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger. Salinger reflects Holden’s character through his own childhood experiences. Salinger admitted in a 1953 interview that "My boyhood was very much the same as that of the boy in the book.… [I]t was a great relief telling people about it” (Wikipedia). Thus, the book is somewhat the life story of J.D. Salinger as a reckless seventeen-year-old who lives in New York City and goes through awful hardships after his expulsion and departure from an elite prep school. Holden, the protagonist in this novel, is created as a depressed, cynical, and isolated character and he expresses this attitude through his dialogue, tone, and diction.
The overall theme portrayed in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, is the loss of innocence. The protagonist, Holden Caulfield, values his innocence and fears of who he will become once he matures and conforms with the rest of society as an adult.
Compared to those who remain blatantly realistic, this questioning attitude gives readers an insight into Holden’s mind. Admitting that, “sometimes I act like I’m about thirteen,” Holden stresses, “sometimes I act a lot older than I am—I really do—but people never notice it. People never notice anything.” (Salinger 9) Holden Caulfield is cautious, naïve, and quick to lie, but sensitive enough to be daunted by the heartlessness he observes. His resistance to adults is his own way to try to get them to realize the contradictions evident in their lives (Bryan). He wishes not only wish to avoid the corrupting influence of society and its norms, but also to discover a form of community or intimacy that his current community has denied him (Evans). Salinger’s novel allows readers to be exposed to Holden’s idealisms and to develop their own opinions on the injustices and oblivion around
In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger displays the hard times a teenage boy is having with his life, school, and family. J.D. Salinger uses Holden to narrate the story, he shows the struggles a teenager goes thru and how they fell in those situations.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a coming-of-age novel written from the subjective perspective of 16 year-old Holden Caulfield. Salinger uses many thematic subjects to to convey experiences and feelings of a teenager struggling with his transition from adolescence to adulthood.
Pinsker, Sanford. The Catcher In The Rye: Innocence Under Pressure. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993.