Similarities Between The Awakening And Catcher In The Rye

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Idenity is something that people must find for themselves without society telling them what it should be. However, there are many instances where society predetermines who people are. In Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and The Awakening by Kate Chopin, society plays a key role in determining the identity of the main characters by placing high expectations on them which causes the main characters to isolate themselves from society. Isolation is a common theme that is present in both novels. In The Awakening, after Mrs. Pontellier accepts Robert's invitation to go to the beach, the author writes, "In short, [she] was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being, and to recognize her relations as an individual to …show more content…

I'm sorry I told so many people about it. About all I know is, I sort of miss everybody I told about.(...) It's funny. Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody. (Salinger 275). Holden isolates himself by calling people "phonies." In this way, he does not have to deal with the pain of missing them, however, he confesses that he does not like to be alone. In reality, Holden wants to be part of something that is lasting instead of …show more content…

Pontellier did not fit into the Creole women society because they would have given up anything for their children and husbands, including themselves, which she was not prepared to do. Edna ultimately commits suicide because she realizes that she will never be able to give up her "essential" part which is her inner identity. Similar to Mrs. Pontellier, Holden is also in search of his identity. After Holden sneaks into his house, he tells his sister, Pheobe, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around – nobody big, I mean – except me. (...) What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff. (...) That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy. (Salinger 224) Holden searches for his identity throughout his travels in New York. He comes to realize that he does not fit into the adult world which is why he makes references to his childhood often. Instead of describing his dream job as a lawyer or Doctor he describes a profession of his imaginiation, as if he were a child. Holden's desire to hold onto his childhood may be the reason he enjoys going back to the museum where history is permanent. Holden explains, "“The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. (...) Nobody'd be different.

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    Jerome David Salinger’s only novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is based on the life events shaping main character, Holden Caulfield, into the troubled teen that is telling the story in 1950. The theme of the story is one of emotional disconnection felt by the alienated teenagers of this time period. The quote, “ I didn’t know anyone there that was splendid and clear thinking and all” (Salinger 4) sets the tone that Holden cannot find a connection with anyone around him and that he is on a lonely endeavor in pursuit of identity, acceptance and legitimacy. The trials and failures that Holden faces on his journey to find himself in total shed light on Holden’s archenemy, himself.

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  • Catcher in the Rye Essay: The Judgmental Caulfield

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    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.

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  • Holden's Seperateness in Catcher in the Rye

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    This demonstrates that Holden has this mindset and believes that he isn't ageing because he occasionally believes that he is thirteen most of the time. He's trying to resist adulthood because that’s when all his issues began. In addition, when Holden took Phoebe to a museum he really enjoyed his time there because of how everything was put. Holden sated “the best thing though in the museum was that everything always stayed right where it is. Nobody´d move. You could go hundred thousand times, and that Eskimo would still be just finished catching those two fish, the birds would be on their way south, the deers would still be drinking out of that water hole … Nobody's be different” (Salinger 121). This conveys that Holden is fond of the museum because it doesn't change unlike other places he is surrounded which relates to the death of his brother Allie, who died of leukemia. He believes that when his brother died, his whole world shifted as a result, his parent isolated themselves from him and connects to the reason Holden is unable to acknowledge that his urge is to never change like a

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  • Examples Of An Immature Man In Catcher In The Rye

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    Throughout the book Holden admits he doesn't like change. Holden fear of growing up , becoming an adult and thinking of of it disgust him. For example the museum, Holden like it because the exterior of it did not change and says the only thing that would change would be you.In the text Luce says “Same old Caulfield.When are you going to grow up already?”(144). Holden wants things to stay how they are and how his life is. Holden considers adults phonies and he doesn’t want to be consider phony as well. When he describes the museum he says the best part about it is that it never changes, only you do.Holden bonds with his sister taking her to the zoo, museum and the carousel.He wants to Phoebe to experience what he did and to get the memories alive. “What I have to do, I would have to catch everyone if they start to go over the cliff- what I have to do, I mean if they are running and they don't look where they are going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That is all I have to do. I would just be the catcher in the rye”(173). This quote show how by holden is catching them from falling down the cliff which symbolizes stopping them from adulthood. “Thousand of little kids and nobody’s around- nobody big , I mean except me”(173). This quotes implies how young innocent kids won't be exerted by adults

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    Holden’s preference of a simplistic lifestyle is evident throughout the novel, but stands out especially when he visits the Museum of Natural History. He explains that. Holden loves this museum because it is still, silent, and always the same, which is a version of life he likes and understands. He fears dealing with conflict, uncertainty, and change, which he thinks comes with being an adult. It

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  • Catcher In The Rye Argumentative Essay

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    Which is the kind of world he wants to live in. Holden expresses his desire to preserve the innocence of others when his sister Phoebe tells Holden that he doesn't like anything, and that he has no ambitions of what he wants to be when he is older. Holden then explains that he wants to be the catcher in the rye. He says that he imagines little children playing on top of a hill and that his job is to protect children from falling of the hill. This symbolizes catching children from losing their innocence and falling into the adult world. Holden tells Phoebe, “I know it crazy, but that is the only thing I’d like to be” (172). This unrealistic desire is contributes to why Holden is struggling to transition from adolescence to adulthood. Critics of the novel have said Holden would like to suspend time stating, “Holden's desire to protect children shows his desire for suspending time, for inhabiting a space of young people conserved endlessly” (Yahya 3). Not letting go of childhood memories or accepting the harsh realities of adulthood are damaging when transitioning from

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    Holden's walk to the natural history museum holds strong emotions in him. He begins to reminisce about his past visits when he was young. He ponders on what changes have happened and whether his younger sister, Phoebe, is still the same person she used to be. Holden does not want to go inside the museum; he refuses to discover his new self. This shows that Holden is petrified to embrace his own character and would rather live in denial. He consistently reflects and judges other people, but he is unable to see his own life and express his feelings freely. The museum is a symbol of Holden's childhood growing up, experiences, and his lost of innocence. People change as time goes on whereas the museum remains the same. Holden fears that he cannot preserve his youth the way the museum preserve its values, and he sees it as a place to restore his memories.

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    This explains his obsession with innocence and childhood which are destroyed by the waves of change. He expresses this with his description of his favorite part about the museum. “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move. . . . Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you” (Salinger 121). Here Holden uses the word “you” to make it seem as if he does not change, everyone else does. Holden idealizes this stagnant scene in which everything remains constant. He enjoys this simplified view of the world because life transform into a stable concept instead of the hurricane of disaster he has witnessed with both people’s corruptness and losing his brother. His inability to change perhaps is also linked with his depression from his younger brother’s demise- the inescapable whisper that whistles through his mind. Holden views all of

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    In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger develops Holden Caulfield as a morally ambiguous character. Throughout the book, Salinger speaks as Holden and introduces him as a callous and subjective individual. However, the author permits the reader to be within Holden’s mind, giving the audience an alternative perspective of Holden’s true character. Without the obscurity of Holden’s personality, the work would lack a crucial element. As the protagonist, Holden serves as an equivocal adolescent that is relatable for the reader.

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