Similarities Between Catcher In The Rye And The Great Gatsby

The plot in both the novel and article are similar to one another as the protagonists resemble their actions and want to begin life as adults. This occurs in the exposition stage of plot in both works. In The Catcher in the Rye, the book shows Holden and his struggle to live in both the past and future. Holden wants to be treated as an adult and wants to do adult activities however, Holden cannot overcome himself, “I ordered a Scotch and soda, and told him not to mix it—I said it fast as hell, because if you hem and haw, they think you're under twenty-one and won't sell you any intoxicating liquor” (Salinger 38). Holden tries ordering an alcoholic beverage and does so, just as an adult would but the bartender denies Holden’s request. Minors

are incapable of purchasing an alcoholic beverages and Holden believes that he is as or even more mature than most adults but in reality, Holden’s innocence limits him and gives him a reality check. If You Want to Know The Truth… The Catcher in the Rye, Norbert Blei wanted to move into adulthood but knew that he was thinking over his head. “When I was a student in high school ready to drop out, get a job, buy a car, and eventually marry a steady girlfriend” (Blei, If). Norbert Blei explains to his readers about the mindset as a teenager and how rather than going to school, getting an education, finding a steady job and then marrying, he would want to drop out of high school and begin life as an adult. Throughout the novel, Holden is given reminders and reality checks about how Holden is not yet ready for adulthood while in the article, Norbert’s mindset was on adulthood but gradually began to realize that in order to reach adulthood, the adolescent stage in life must be completed. The Plot of the works are similar to one another as the protagonists conflict begins in the exposition and are facing the same situation where adulthood is near however, want to forget about adolescence and move straight into adulthood by doing activities only adults or mature individuals are capable of doing.
The plot in both works are different as in The Great Gatsby, the protagonist lives in the past and wants to move on in the future while in If You Want to Know The Truth… The Catcher in the Rye, Blei wants to move forward into the future and forget about the past and present. This series of events occur during the exposition of the two works. The Great Gatsby is a story about Jay Gatsby and the efforts Jay puts into getting the attention of a woman, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby made his house to Daisy’s likings and threw parties to grab Daisy’s attention. Jay Gatsby reunites with the love of his life, Daisy, and the couple make plans to have a future together. “With the help of Nick, Jay and Daisy are together and the two of them want to have a future with each other” (Baz Luhrmann, The Great Gatsby). Through Nick’s relationship with Daisy, a friendship between Nick and Jay is born and throughout the movie, Nick admires and judges Gatsby’s decisions and that is due to Gatsby’s decision making as some of choices are not of high regarded though he still carries along because that is what Daisy wants, and majority of Gatsby’s decisions are solely based on what Daisy likes or wants. In If You Want to Know The Truth… The Catcher in the Rye, the author compares his adolescent years to Holden Caulfield and talks about the future and what is truly most important to people in his age group. Norbert Blei hates the present and explains to the readers what is most important to someone at that age. “By the time you reached high school, Auto Shop had more than a slight edge over Shakespeare”(Blei, If). Norbert explains how when an adolescent reaches high school, courses that allow students to be in a real world situations are more valued than works that were created hundreds of years ago. The problem with people in that age group is that they are ignorant and only value what is believed to be useful, however knowledge in a topic such as Shakespeare teaches the youth multiple skills. The plot of the two works are different from each other as one is anxious to relive the past while the other is anxious to move onto the future. Gatsby wants to impress Daisy and does so successfully while Blei explains priorities and wants to live life as an adult. The similarities between the two works are shown as the theme of past and future is clearly seen from beginning to end.
The symbol used in The Catcher in the Rye and If You Want to Know The Truth… The Catcher in the Rye, that correlate is school. In the novel, Holden is a student currently attending Pencey Prep however, is expelled due to poor performance. Holden blames the environment surrounding him. Holden attended a prep school but soon left due to the atmosphere that the school carried. “One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies. That's all... For instance, they had this headmaster, Mr. Haas, that was the phoniest bastard I ever met in my life” (Salinger 8). Holden shares to the reader why Holden left. Holden blames people as an excuse so Holden can justify his actions so in this case, Holden states that because the people around him were phonies. Rather than fixing the issue, Holden decides to leave and assumes it would not be like that at other schools but was wrong. Holden goes on by stating that one of his former teachers was the “phoniest bastard I ever met in my life” (Salinger 8) which shows that Holden blames others rather than doing something himself. In If You Want to Know The Truth… The Catcher in the Rye, the author speaks about school and the impact it has on his life when Blei was an adolescent. In the article, Blei writes about the experience that had to be faced when high school approached and also wrote about Blei’s attitude towards school. “Something about high school was never real--except for shop classes, smoking in the alleys, getting in trouble, having a steady girlfriend. Teachers were both the problem and the answer” (Blei, If). Norbert Blei explains that school for him was artificial and that doing the activities listed felt genuine. Blei probably felt this way as school teaches students black and white rather than opening up and using creativity. The things that did feel geniune were valuable as street smarts taught individuals more about the environment they are living in rather than book smarts which teaches an individual about a certain subject matter. In the article, the author talks about how having a knowledge in street smarts is just as or even more crucial than being book smart as using those types of smarts are necessary in the real world. Similar to Holden, Norbert blames others for his actions and uses them to justify what occurs. The symbol of school relates back to the theme of the story, past and future, because since the works are written as flashbacks, it talks about what happened in the lives of the two protagonists.
The two works, The Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby, both use symbols that have the same thematic message however, the difference in the two symbols is that one is a representation of the protagonists past whilst the other is an image for the future.

In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a novel about Holden Caulfield and the struggle Holden faces which is trying to live in the past however, that is an unattainable vision. Holden keeps Allie’s baseball mitt as a reminder of past and as a remembrance of Holden’s deceased brother. “My brother Allie had this left-handed fielder's mitt. He was left-handed. The thing that was descriptive about it, though, was that he had poems written all over the fingers and the pocket and everywhere. In green ink” (Salinger 21). Holden provides the reader with a description of Allie’s glove explaining that it was a left-handed baseball glove which shows the reader that when Allie was alive, Allie was a fielder who was left handed. Holden talks about the poems that Allie had written when Allie was alive and the meaning behind this symbol is that it represents the past as Holden uses to have a memory of his departed brother. In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby is deeply in love with Daisy which is why Gatsby purchased these numerous items such as the property Gatsby lives in. Gatsby purchased the property because Gatsby knew that Daisy lived on the opposite side of the lake near the green light. The green light is a representation of the American Dream as it is Gatsby’s dream to be with Daisy but it also represents Gatsby’s future as Jay’s future with Daisy is in proximity. “The green light on the opposite side of the lake represents a dream that seems close yet so far away for Mr. Gatsby” (Baz Luhrmann, The Great Gatsby). As previously stated, the green light across the lake is a representation of the American Dream and Gatsby’s future with Daisy however, the green light also portrayal of Daisy as Daisy is the future that Gatsby

would like to have in life. Aforementioned, the works have an identical theme from start to finish of their storylines however, the symbols have a different representation as Allie’s Baseball Mitt represents Holden’s past and Holden’s deceased brother while the green light at the end of the dock represents the future as well as the American dream.
People who want to live in the past and future face doubt. With the selected three works, some of the characters want to live in the past whilst others want to live in the future. Holden and Gatsby are similar as their minds live in the past while the difference is in the movie and article as one is an educated individual who speaks of prior education while the other is a teenage who wants to live life as an adult. The plot in the works are similar to each other as in the book and article, both individuals want to grow up and begin life as adults. The difference in the movie and article is that in the movie, the protagonist wants to live life in the past while in the article, the author wants to drop out of high school and move forward in life as an adult. Finally, the similarity in the symbols is that in the book and article, school plays a large role as school created the foundation of their behaviour. For example, Holden believes everyone around him is artificial and accepts information fed to them rather than having thoughts and beliefs of their own. The different symbols in the two would is Allie’s Baseball Mitt which is a representation of Holden’s past while the Green Light is a representation of Gatsby’s future with Daisy but unfortunately is unable to move on into the future. Rather than doing what the individuals did in these works, the individuals should inhale the future, exhale the past.