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1950s American society
Essays on the social and cultural history of the 1950's in america
1950s American society
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As children, the teenage stage in life is usually eagerly anticipated yet intimidating at the same time and for good reason. The adolescent phase can be challenging and confusing for the teenager itself and those around them. In The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, Holden Caulfield experiences the difficulties of being an adolescent in a middle-class family living in the mid 1950’s. After being kicked out of his school for failing four out of five classes, Holden disembarks on his journey into the city of New York. During his three-day excursion, his cynical temperament causes him to harshly critique people he encounters often times referring to them as “phony”, even though he himself is phony in many occasions in the novel. This recurring …show more content…
term represents people who are insincere, shallow, conventional, or charismatic and is vital to the development of the themes of isolation as self-protection, preservation of innocence, and opposition to conformity manifested in a conversation with Mr. Spencer, on his date with Sally, his meeting with Phoebe, his visit with Mr. Antolini and through his experience in school activity. In the beginning of the novel, Holden reveals his disdain toward phonies by choosing to isolate himself from school activities. The novel begins on a Saturday when his school, Pencey Prep, hosts football game against their major rival Saxon Hill. Everyone was down on the field cheering on their school and showing their support since it was the most important game of the season. Holden, however, was “next to this crazy cannon… standing way up on Thomsen Hill, instead of down at the game” (Salinger 2). He prefers keeping a large distance from his peers because he considers them all as phonies who would rather pretend to look united as a team than be truthful to one another. He perceives the students as simply empty creations molded by the school than actual genuine people from whom the world can actually learn from. When he leaves in order to visit his sick teacher, Holden describes he “ran across Route 204… and [he] felt like [he was] disappearing every time [he] crossed a road” (Salinger 5). This sensation of disappearing is his fear of becoming like the rest of the superficial people of the world. He believes that phoniness can be contagious even from a far distance. Consequently, he avoids being around or engaging with his fellow classmates in order to protect himself from being absorbed into the formalities of the rest of the world. Holden’s apprehension toward phoniness’ transmittable quality drives his need of alienation as means of protection. The second reference of phoniness occurs in a conversation he has with Phoebe. Out of fear that he would soon die of pneumonia, Holden decides to visit Phoebe, his little sister. He sneaks in past the bellboy in his apartment complex and wakes her up as soon as he enters her room. She is overly eager to see him and immediately starts sharing with him her eventful day. Phoebe suddenly realizes that Holden is home early and realizes he must have gotten kicked out of yet another school. She starts yelling that their dad will kill him. When she asks what he would like to grow up to be and suggests becoming a lawyer like their father, he is repulsed by the idea. He speculates that as a lawyer “ … how would you know you weren't being a phony? The trouble is, you wouldn't” (Salinger 172). Holden is able to find phoniness within his family as well and prompts him to reject the idea of following in his father’s footsteps as was usual during the era he lived in. He believes that once one becomes an adult and enters the world, one is bound to become a phony that only worries about superficial things like money or social conduct. He adds that the transition into adulthood prevents one from even perceiving one’s own phoniness. Instead of wanting to work in traditional profession, he shares that he would rather be a catcher in a field of rye of playing children high up in a cliff where he would “catch everybody if they start to go over the [edge of the] cliff” (Salinger 173). The fall Holden describes in his conversation with Phoebe is the transition into adulthood in a phony world. His job would be to prevent the untouched, innocent minds of the children from being contaminated by the phony world below the cliff. His obsession with preserving the purity in young minds in the last few chapters in the novel is the result of him coming to the conclusion that he can not save himself as he has already been exposed and that criticizing others will not help him change the phoniness of the world. This is also the only way Holden believes he can redeem his beloved younger brother, Allie, who died of cancer. After his death, Holden was deeply affected especially because he failed to save Allie, a blameless child, from the unfair cruelty of the world. As a result, the phoniness that is prevalent in society spawns Holden’s fixation on preventing the loss of innocence of the children in world. One of the reasons Holden refuses to do as well in school as every other student is due to the phoniness of the faculty and student body as revealed when he visits Mr. Spencer. In the beginning of the novel, Holden explains he had been expelled from Pencey Prep for failing four out of his five classes. In a conversation with Mr. Spencer, his history teacher, he reveals this was his fourth school that he had gone to. Holden adds that the reason he left a previous school called Elkton Hills was “because [he] was surrounded by phonies” (Salinger 13). He gives an example of how the headmaster, Mr. Haas, would only speak with students’ parents of a particular appearance and, if they did not meet his standards, he “would just shake hands with them and give them a phony smile” (Salinger 14). He even considers Mr. Spencer a phony for using the word “grand”. Holden blames many other teachers and peers and their insincerity for his lack in interest of an education. He is determined to not surround himself with or become like any of them. His opposition toward conformity at the start of his journey is set deeply in his heart. He considers success a definite pathway toward a world of phoniness which explains his disinterest in school. Mr. Spencer attempts to make Holden aware of the potential he sees in him and advises him to find purpose in his life, but Holden refuses to heed his phony advice. Instead, he decides to immediately leave Mr. Spencer’s house as soon as the conversation takes a serious tone. This conversation shows how Holden uses phoniness as an excuse to resist the pressure of conforming. When Holden is on his date with Sally, whom he considers the biggest phony, he discloses his plan for an aberrant future. On the second day after leaving Pencey Prep, Holden calls Sally Hayes early in the morning and makes plans to take her on a date. Holden describes her as “the queen of the phonies” (Salinger 116) for using the word “grand”, liking the Lunts, and for even being charismatic. Despite this, Holden proposes for them to leave New York and live in a cabin in Massachusetts or Vermont where they would get married. In this moment, he himself acts phony by wanting be with someone he does not truly appreciate. However, he does not see his own hypocrisy in maintaining a relationship despite his judgement of her. In response, Sally points out that they are still so young and would “have oodles of time to do those things… after [they] went to college…” (Salinger 133). However, Holden realizes the consequences of waiting and explains why it would not be the same: I said no, there wouldn't be marvelous places to go to after I went to college and all. Open your ears. It'd be entirely different. We'd have to go downstairs in elevators with suitcases and stuff. We'd have to phone up everybody and tell 'em good-by and send 'em postcards from hotels and all. And I'd be working in some office, making a lot of dough, and riding to work in cabs and Madison Avenue buses, and reading newspapers, and playing bridge all the time, and going to the movies and seeing a lot of stupid shorts and coming attractions and newsreels. Newsreels. Christ almighty. There's always a dumb horse race, and some dame breaking a bottle over a ship, and some chimpanzee riding a goddam bicycle with pants on. It wouldn't be the same at all. You don't see what I mean at all (Salinger 133). This scene in the novel shows how deep Holden’s abhorrence toward abiding to social standards is.
He is desperate to get away from all the “phonies” in New York, including Sally after her conventional response. She represents the rules he is obliged to follow and is disgusted by the pressure Sally and the rest of society exerts on him to follow a traditional path. By calling Sally a phony and regretting his decision to invite her, he conveys his reluctance to an orthodox way of …show more content…
life. Toward the end of Holden’s journey, Holden reveals his thoughts about the phoniness of the world to Mr.
Antolini, his English teacher, and shows his detestment toward adherence. When Holden’s parents arrive home while he is with Phoebe, he sneaks out and heads over to Mr. Antolini, his english teacher, after having previously called him. Mr. Antolini is one of the few people that Holden considers a genuine. He recalls an incident at Elkton Hills where a boy had committed suicide after jumping out the window. Mr. Antolini was the only one who knelt beside him and carried him with his jacket to the infirmary, not minding it would be stained with blood, while the rest of the teachers and students stared in awe. During the conversation between Holden and Mr. Antolini, Holden shares his experience about an Oral Expression class at Pencey. He explains that students were expected to create an improv speech without any type digressions or they would yell, “Digression!” ( Salinger 183). Nevertheless, Holden admits, “The trouble with me is, I like it when somebody digresses. It's more interesting and all" (Salinger 182). Mr. Antolini assures him that “Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior” (Salinger 189) and that “You'll learn from them--if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you” (Salinger 189). He is able to understand why
Holden abstains from a superficial society that condemns those who are different, but advises Holden that those unattainable expectations he holds for all people are sure to lead him to a very bitter life. Mr. Antolini wants to make sure Holden is aware that phoniness is a part of human nature and the world’s complexity. Holden, however, afraid of confrontation and refusal to believing that in some cases conformity is acceptable, yawns in the middle of the conversation and prevents Mr. Antolini from continuing on. Despite his teacher’s good intentions, Holden’s obstinate character impedes him from succumbing to the pressure of conforming and altering the perspective he has of society. In conclusion, Holden’s encounters with his peers, Phoebe, Mr. Spencer, Sally, and Mr. Antolini evidently show how he applies the locution of phony for those who are superficial, traditionalists, and deceiving in various situations to justify his solitude, passion for protecting children, and repulsion for conformity. The word phony appears more than 34 times in the novel and is vital to the unique essence of the novel. It is one of the reasons why many teenagers today are still able to relate to Holden’s coming of age tale. In addition, adolescents today have derived words that are closely related to Holden’s “phony” such as “fake” or “snake”. Nevertheless, the motif of phoniness is used efficaciously throughout the novel to manifest the themes in the novel and they way it affects Holden and supporting characters.
Since Holden was isolated from his family, in order to not get hurt again he tries to find hypocrisy in people to stop himself from trusting others. Holden feels isolated after being sent to a boarding school that “was full of phonies” by his parents (Salinger 90). Salinger’s message to the audience with this quote is that when
So he stays the night at his former teacher, Mr. Antolini’s place. While Holden for the most part thinks of everyone as a phony, Mr. Antolini is one of very few exceptions. He makes it clear that this teacher was one that he trusted and was close to. Since Holden’s views holds him back from having close relationships with his peers, his relationship with his former teacher becomes more important. While he was sleeping on Mr. Antolini’s couch, Holden says that something happens. “Boy, it really scared the hell out of me.” He says. He wakes up to find Mr. Antolini patting his head. “Boy, was I nervous!” He admits he felt very uncomfortable in the situation and quickly ran out. An adult he had managed to form a trusting relationship with, something that was very rare for Holden, had done something to make him very uncomfortable. While it is unclear, it is very possible that Holden is misinterpreting Mr. Antolini’s actions. In his eyes, it is a “flitty pass.” It is made clear, however, that Mr. Antolini had been drinking and most likely he was not in his right mind. Once again, Holden’s views and the reality of the situation aren’t the same and he sees it as a
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, is a classic novel about a sixteen-year-old boy, Holden Caulfield, who speaks of a puzzling time in his life. Holden has only a few days until his expulsion from Pency Prep School. He starts out as the type of person who can't stand "phony" people. He believes that his school and everyone in it is phony, so he leaves early. He then spends three aimless days in New York City. During this time, Holden finds out more about himself and how he relates to the world around him. He believes that he is the catcher in the rye: " I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in a big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around-nobody big, I mean-except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What have I to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff..." (173). He briefly enters what he believes is adulthood and becomes a "phony" himself. By the end of the story, Holden realizes he doesn't like the type of person he has become, so he reverts into an idealist; a negative, judgmental person.
Holden Caulfield, portrayed in the J.D. Salinger novel Catcher in the Rye as an adolescent struggling to find his own identity, possesses many characteristics that easily link him to the typical teenager living today. The fact that the book was written many years ago clearly exemplifies the timeless nature of this work. Holden's actions are those that any teenager can clearly relate with. The desire for independence, the sexually related encounters, and the questioning of ones religion are issues that almost all teens have had or will have to deal with in their adolescent years. The novel and its main character's experiences can easily be related to and will forever link Holden with every member of society, because everyone in the world was or will be a teen sometime in their life.
At first glance, J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye simply tells the story of Holden Caulfield, who is often characterized as annoying and whiny by the people around him. The anti-hero frequently speaks on impulse, making quick and often inaccurate observations of others. Holden’s immature and overly critical attitude turns off those he encounters, who are displeased with how callow he is. However, what these characters fail to understand is that there is actually a sort of sophistication behind Holden’s reasoning. In fact, throughout the novel, Holden disguises his maturity through outward displays of childishness.
What was wrong with Holden, the main character in The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D.Salinger, was his moral revulsion against anything that was ugly, evil, cruel, or what he called "phoney" and his acute responsiveness to beauty and innocence, especially the innocence of the very young, in whom he saw reflected his own lost childhood. There is something wrong or lacking in the novels of despair and frustration of many writers. The sour note of bitterness and the recurring theme of sadism have become almost a convention, never thoroughly explained by the author's dependence on a psychoanalytical interpretation of a major character. The boys who are spoiled or turned into budding homosexuals by their mothers and a loveless home life are as familiar to us today as stalwart and dependable young heroes such as John Wayne were to an earlier generation. We have accepted this interpretation of the restlessness and bewilderment of our young men and boys because no one had anything better to offer. It is tragic to hear the anguished cry of parents: "What have we done to harm him? Why doesn't he care about anything? He is a bright boy, but why does he fail to pass his examinations? Why won't he talk to us?"
Holden Caulfield, - notorious for either being kicked out of schools or as he simply describes it “quitting”- having just been kicked out of yet another school for his lack of motivation, views life through a cynical lens as he deems those different from him as “phony”. Holden justifies his annoyance towards everything as he intermittently cuts off his tale to share some random pet peeve or irrelevant story, such as when he describes his roommate Stradlater as a “secret slob” (Salinger, 35) and continues on to critique his grooming habits, in an effort to validate how “phony” things really are. However, these tactics only further show his immaturity as Holden’s judgment of being a “phony” symbolizes his fear of growing up. Moreover, Holden’s greatest defense mechanism is pushing others away, this is seen as Holden visits his history teacher, Mr. Spencer and while he tries to
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger is a coming-of-age novel set in New York during the 1940’s. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the story, is a detached seventeen-year old boy harboring feelings of isolation and disillusionment. He emphasizes a general dislike for society, referring to people as “phonies.” His lack of will to socialize prompts him to find nearly everything depressing. He’s alone most of the time and it’s apparent that he is very reclusive. This often leads him to pondering about his own death and other personal issues that plague him without immediate resolution. Holden possesses a strong deficit of affection – platonic and sexual – that hinders and cripples his views toward people, his attitude, and his ability to progressively solve his problems without inflicting pain on himself. The absence of significant figures in his life revert him to a childlike dependency and initiate his morbid fascination with sexuality. In this novel, Salinger uses Sunny, Sally Hayes, and Carl Luce to incorporate the hardships of discovering sexual identity and how these events affect adolescents as they try to understand their own sexuality.
Protected by a cocoon of naiveté, Holden Caulfield, the principal character in the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, therapeutically relates his lonely 24 hour stay in downtown New York city, experiencing the "phony" adult world while dealing with the death of his innocent younger brother. Through this well-developed teenage character, JD Salinger, uses simple language and dialogue to outline many of the complex underlying problems haunting adolescents. With a unique beginning and ending, and an original look at our new society, The Catcher in the Rye is understood and appreciated on multiple levels of comprehension. The book provides new insights and a fresh view of the world in which adolescents live.
J.D. Salinger presents Holden Caulfield as a confused and distressed adolescent. Holden is a normal teenager who needs to find a sense of belonging. All though Holden’s obsession with “phonies” overpowers him. Dan Wakefield comments, “The things that Holden finds so deeply repulsive are things he calls “phony”- and the “phoniness” in every instance is the absence of love, and , often the substitution of pretense for love.” Holden was expelled from Pencey Prep School not because he is stupid, but because he just is not interested. His attitude toward Pencey is everyone there is a phony. Pencey makes Holden feel lonely and isolated because he had very few friends. Holden’s feeling of alienation is seen when he doesn’t attend the biggest football game of the year. His comments on the game: “It was the last game of the year and you were supposed to commit suicide or something if old Pencey didn’t win” (2, Ch. 1). This also hints to Holden’s obsession with death. Holden can’t find a since of belonging in the school because of all the so-called phonies. Holden speaks of Pencey’s headmaster as being a phony. Holden says that on visitation day the headmaster will pay no attention to the corny-looking parents. Holden portrays his not being interested by saying, “all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to buy a goddam Cadillac someday, and you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses”(131, Ch. 17). Holden does not care for school or money. He just wants everyone to be sincere and honest.
The world today is very deceptive and phony. J.D. Salinger’s well known novels, The Catcher in the Rye and Franny and Zooey attack this fake and superficial society which is evident through the lives, ideas, actions, and words expressed by the characters in these literary pieces. The transition from childhood, through adolescence and into adulthood is inevitable. The protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield goes through this stage and finds himself in a crisis. He alienates himself from everyone who is around him and tries his best not to grow up. Holden often dwells upon his childhood and the life he had with his family. Franny in Franny and Zooey has already passed this stage but finds it difficult to live in a world where everyone she is surrounded by is only concerned with outward appearances. In these worlds, both characters, Holden and Franny, reveal their struggle of growing up and trying to live as an adult in a world full of deception and shallow-minded people who only care about appearances.
Some people feel all alone in this world, with no direction to follow but their empty loneliness. The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D Salinger, follows a sixteen-year-old boy, Holden Caulfield, who despises society and calls everyone a “phony.” Holden can be seen as a delinquent who smokes tobacco, drinks alcohol, and gets expelled from a prestigious boarding school. This coming-of-age book follows the themes of isolation, innocence, and corrupted maturity which is influenced from the author's life and modernism, and is shown through the setting, symbolism, and diction.
started punching windows in his garage and went to the hospital. After these actions it went down hill even more that before.
As Louis L’Amour said, “When a man is one of a kind, he will be lonely wherever he is.” Wasn’t Holden Caulfield notorious for being lonesome? It was because J.D Salinger created a persona that was so emblematic in his novel, The Catcher in the Rye. The novel touches upon issues adolescents commonly experience, making the novel pertinent for today’s youth. Albeit, the protagonist’s reactions to themes such as identity, mental illness and growing up fail to perfectly capture the teenage voice or mentality. To varying degrees, Salinger expresses the ideals and attitudes of today’s adolescence in regards to these themes; but like the use of language and setting, this representation is outdated and no longer personifies our perspective on the world.
Through out the novel Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is seen interacting with many different characters in different situations. These situations range from leaving his school, Pencey Prep; meeting a classmate’s mother on a train to New York; talking to women from Seattle in a club; encountering a ‘phoney’ pianist in a club; and much more. The way Holden responds to these people and interacts with these people is humorous at times. He may not like some because they are considered ‘phonies’, and others he can really connect to. Here are some characters that serve as great examples.