Theme Of Love In Catcher In The Rye

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Fairytales and modern day movies project a stereotypical portrayal of love, idealizing it and ignoring the not so happy ever after when the prince and princess go back to their castle. Walker and Salinger in their respective novels present the idea of love with much more verisimilitude without the traditional symbols of castles and titles. Instead, opting for a warts and all exploration of love, focusing on its utopian and dystopian elements. Walker’s ‘The Color Purple’ is a tale of a black woman who is driven to lesbian love due to the abuse undertaken by men. J. D. Salinger’s ‘The Catcher in the Rye’, similarly speaks of a sexually frustrated young man not able to fulfill his desires due to societal constraints. Both the novels encapsulate realistic elements of love like the healing and harmful effects it can have on humans; we see all the pure forms of love as juxtaposed through the plot line with the absence of parental love, love between siblings and homosexual love. But, through all of the toils begotten by both Celie and Holden, love is a constant. ‘’Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres’’.
To begin, both writers address the varying forms of love through homosexual love. Interestingly, in the ‘Catcher in the Rye’ love in this form is presented as dystopian and unfulfilling, whereas in the ‘Color Purple’ it is utopian. Homosexual love appears to be a recurring topic in both ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ and ‘The Color Purple’, yet, is not wholly expressed by the protagonists, which could be a social critique by both authors of the stifling effects of a judgmental society on love. Architectonically, it is notable to mention the effect of Shug’s love on Celie;...

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...tury love is a commercial package, and novels and films make billions off of the idea that love can conquer all, utopian ideas as such, yet Salinger effectively identified with the corrupt side of love – even if there are connotations of incest.
It can be surmised that there are more shades to love than we are presented with by today’s superficial society, something depicted successfully by both Walker and Salinger. It is evident that through both major and minor characters in the novels ‘’The Color Purple’’ and ‘’The Catcher in the Rye’’, the protagonists had been beings stripped of confidence and an identity. Both Holden and Celie have catalysts throughout, that through love, coax their well-being. Through various themes such as sibling love, homosexual love and absence of parental love we can see the utopian and dystopian elements to the savior of the characters.

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