...‘THE CATCHER IN THE RYE’ AND ‘IGBY GOES DOWN’ – NON-CONFORMITY Both J.D Salinger’s 1951 Bildungsroman novel The Catcher in the Rye and Burr Steer’s film Igby Goes Down, demonstrate that regardless of context, the youth will choose not to conform to socially held values. We can see that this is the manifestation of the vulnerability and hesitation experienced as adolescents like us grow up. Ultimately both these texts explore the search for identity and individualism as a cause for non-conformity. The Catcher in the Rye was written during a post war era and a time of drastic social change. However, many of its conservative values remained and most importantly, the notion of youth conformity was held in high regard. On the other hand, Igby Goes Down is set in the 1980s -1990’s American era, a time of expanding multi national corporations, materialism and commercialism. Salinger and Steers utilise the characterisation of their young, sardonic and rebellious protagonists, Holden and Igby to epitomise non-conformity. The composers allude to the recurring theme of isolation and alienation in both texts. As a result of their non-conformity, the protagonists experience rejection and depression as they search for their selfhood. Similarly, the national ethos of the American Dream is explored as a mere fallacy, and both composers portray this through their protagonist’s wealthy backgrounds and opulent upbringings and yet money doesn’t bring them happiness. Salinger, through literary...
Words: 2434 - Pages: 10
...Holden Caulfield: Protector of Innocence The novel The Catcher in the Rye is a coming of age tale of a teenager’s journey into a mental breakdown. The main character, Holden Caulfield, sees the world as an extremely phony, cynical place that he wishes to escape from. As a result of this, he forms the idea that the only way to be free of the hypocrisy and cynicism of society is to maintain one’s childlike immaturity and innocence. Because of this idea, throughout the novel, Holden is trying desperately to hold on the shreds of innocence that he has left, all while trying to protect the innocence of those around him as well. Two minor characters mentioned in the novel that Holden tries to protect, Sunny and Phoebe, both display to the reader signs of developing maturity. Holden’s interactions with both Sunny and Phoebe provide prime examples of how even though Holden tries desperately to protect their innocence, growing up cannot be prevented. One of Holden’s most prominent traits throughout the novel is that he is has this urgent need to protect the people around him from losing their innocence like he did when his brother passed. Even though he constantly drinks, smokes, and curses, Holden’s main goal throughout the text is to make sure that innocence is maintained as long as possible before a person grows up and matures. “He struggles to preserve his own tenuous hold on youthful innocence-or as he sometimes puts it, ‘niceness’-and despairs when he finds that innocence lost...
Words: 1343 - Pages: 6
...Catcher in the Rye Essay Innocence Themes in literary works are recurring, unifying subjects or ideas, motifs that allow us to understand more deeply the characters and their world. In The Catcher in the Rye, the major themes reflect the values and motivations of the characters. Some of these themes are outlined in the following sections. As its title indicates, the dominating theme of The Catcher in the Rye is the protection of innocence, especially of children. For most of the book, Holden sees this as a primary virtue. It is very closely related to his struggle against growing up. Holden's enemy is the adult world and the cruelty and artificiality that it entails. The people he admires all represent or protect innocence. He thinks of Jane Gallagher, for example, not as a maturing young woman but as the girl with whom he used to play checkers. He goes out of his way to tell us that he and Jane had no sexual relationship. Quite sweetly, they usually just held hands. Holden comforted Jane when she was distressed, and it bothers him that Jane may have been subjected to sexual advances from her drunken stepfather or from her date, Holden's roommate, Stradlater. Holden's secret goal is to be "the catcher in the rye." In this metaphor, he envisions a field of rye standing by a dangerous cliff. Children play in the field with joy and abandon. If they should come too close to the edge of the cliff, however, Holden is there to catch them. His attitude seems to shift near the end...
Words: 498 - Pages: 2
...The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger. Originally published for adults, it has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage angst and alienation. It has been translated into almost all of the world's major languages. Around 250,000 copies are sold each year with total sales of more than 65 million books. The novel's protagonist Holden Caulfield has become an icon for teenage rebellion. The novel was included on Time's 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923, and it was named by Modern Library and its readers as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. In 2003, it was listed at number 15 on the BBC's survey The Big Read. The novel also deals with complex issues of identity, belonging, connection, and alienation. Plot summary Holden begins his story at Pencey Prep, an exclusive private school in Agerstown, Pennsylvania, on the Saturday afternoon of the traditional football game with rival school Saxon Hall. Holden misses the game. As manager of the fencing team, he loses their equipment on a New York City subway train that morning, resulting in the cancellation of a match. He goes to the home of his History teacher named Mr. Spencer. Holden has been expelled and is not to return after Christmas break, which begins the following Wednesday. Spencer is a well-meaning but long-winded middle-aged man. To Holden's annoyance, Spencer reads aloud Holden's History paper, in which Holden...
Words: 3119 - Pages: 13
...Catcher in the Rye: the Naivety of Childhood Summary: Discusses J.D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye." Describes main character Holden Caulfield's fixation on childhood. Details how he struggles through teenage life because he cannot accept the responsibilities that come with growing up. In the novel, "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D Salinger, the main character, Holden, is a teenager who refuses to grow up because he is naively fixated on childhood. Throughout the novel, Holden struggles through teenage life because he cannot accept the given responsibilities that come with growing up. Holden is obsessed with childhood because he chooses to be wedged between a world of the innocence of children and the complex world of adulthood. Holden deities his two younger siblings as if they're candidates for sainthood because of his fixation. Holden is a teenager who refuses to grow up because he is afraid of gaining the responsibilities that come with it. So, Holden struggles hard to stay childish. For example, throughout the book, he does not want to take responsibility to communicate with others that may want to help him. He refuses to go home and confront his parents and face the consequences. Along with this, he also pulls the childish silent treatment toward his parents; because that's the only knife he has to hurt them: ."..she wouldn't've been the ones that answered the phone. My parents would be the ones. So that was out." (pg. 59) He is afraid to talk to people close to him because...
Words: 2105 - Pages: 9
...Asian Social Science May, 2009 An Analysis of the Adolescent Problems in The Catcher in the Rye Lingdi Chen Dept. of Foreign Languages, Dezhou University Daxue xi Road, Dezhou 253023, China E-mail: chld1973@126.com Abstract The Catcher in the Rye was written by famous American writer J.D.Salinger. This paper mainly analyzes the adolescent problems Holden Caulfield confronts on the journey from childhood to adulthood. These adolescent problems include Holden’s protection of innocence, his disgust for the phoniness of the adult world, and his alienation from society. This paper concludes that these adolescent problems produce great impact on him. Holden behaves almost erratically and impulsively and has negative attitudes towards almost everything and everyone he meets. Keywords: Adolescent problems, Innocence, Phoniness, Alienation 1. Introduction The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger’s masterpiece, tells the painful story of a high-school boy growing up in the world of decadent New York. Young Holden Caulfield is expelled from school because of his poor academic performance. He is afraid to meet his parents earlier than they should expect him, so he decides to stay in a New York City hotel. There he meets pimps, prostitutes and “queers.” Soon he becomes aware that the world of adults is a “phony” one. After his meeting with a friend, Holden sneaks back home to see his kid sister Phoebe. She is a loving kid, but her talk about their father “killing” him sickens...
Words: 3375 - Pages: 14
...In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger, the main character Holden is a seventeen year old boy who loathes the thought of adolescence and maturity. Holden believes that any prep school contains “phonies” or artificial people who are controlled by adults and society. Holden holds inside this anger that has been developing ever since he lost his brother Allie. The thoughts of his brother help Holden express to the readers how Allie’s death has led him to moments in his life where he feels completely hopeless. During the time that Holden was at his prep school, he kept a baseball mitt that belonged to his brother. The mitt helped him remember the times he spent with Allie and all the astounding memories they shared. In the book,...
Words: 779 - Pages: 4
...In the novel, "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D Salinger, the main character, Holden, is a teenager who refuses to grow up because he is naively fixated on childhood. Throughout the novel, Holden struggles through teenage life because he cannot accept the given responsibilities that come with growing up. Holden is obsessed with childhood because he chooses to be wedged between a world of the innocence of children and the complex world of adulthood. Holden deities his two younger siblings as if they're candidates for sainthood because of his fixation. Holden is a teenager who refuses to grow up because he is afraid of gaining the responsibilities that come with it. So, Holden struggles hard to stay childish. For example, throughout the book, he does not want to take responsibility to communicate with others that may want to help him. He refuses to go home and confront his parents and face the consequences. Along with this, he also pulls the childish silent treatment toward his parents; because that's the only knife he has to hurt them: ."..she wouldn't've been the ones that answered the phone. My parents would be the ones. So that was out." (pg. 59) He is afraid to talk to people close to him because they'll be critical to him. This would also explain his lack of interaction with Jane Gallagher: ."..I kept standing there, of giving old Jane a buzz- I mean calling her long distance at B.M... The only reason I didn't call him was because I wasn't in the mood." (pg. 63) Since he is...
Words: 2062 - Pages: 9
...Jacob Stelmach ENG4U Stelmach: 1 October 30th, 2015 Struggles With Change in The Catcher in the Rye: New Literary Criticism Approach Time and time again it has been proven that resisting change is impossible. The famous saying of “the only constant in life is change” is true in society and is shown in The Catcher in the Rye. For instance, in the novel the protagonist (Holden Caulfield) is clinging onto childhood, but despite his fears, change is inevitable . After reading the novel through a new literary criticism lens it is argued that author J.D. Salinger is informing his readers to avoid being overly attached to childhood because growing up is natural. Salinger engraves this message in his audience’s minds through the use of stylistic devices such as hyperbole, symbolism as well as indirect characterization. Salinger’s message of clinging onto childhood and resisting change is enforced on many occasions throughout the novel. Using hyperbole, in the first chapter of the novel, Holden emphasizes how tall he is and how he has gray hair, yet he admits that he still acts young for his age. “It’s really ironical, because I’m six foot two and half and have gray hair...The one side of my head...is full of millions of gray hairs...And yet I still act sometimes like I was only twelve.” (Salinger, 9) Salinger uses this hyperbole to really highlight to his readers that even though Holden might look like he is getting older on the outside, on the inside he...
Words: 1257 - Pages: 6
...Holden Caulfield, the protagonist from The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, consistently struggles throughout the novel. He lost his younger brother, Allie, and his parents sent him away to boarding school. Now, Holden is sick and writes the novel from a type of hospital though it is unclear his full diagnosis. J.D. Salinger’s personality is seen periodically in Holden and the people he meets. Salinger and Caulfield have many similarities seen during Salinger’s life and the novel. J.D. Salinger’s experience coping with World War II is reflected through the PTSD Holden developed due to the lack of attention he received from his parents after the death of his brother Allie. Holden Caulfield shows signs of PTSD throughout the entirety of the...
Words: 1675 - Pages: 7
...Most people recognize the titles of literary works such as To Kill A Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice, and The Great Gatsby, which are considered classics. These works have been around long enough to gather literary acclaim and this has contributed to their widespread recognition. Charlotte Brontë’s coming of age novel, Jane Eyre, qualifies as a classic because it has been read in Literature classes and libraries around the world for the past one hundred and sixty years, proving it can withstand the test of time. Her classic writing style, unforgettable characters, and literary acclaim have all contributed to the novel’s success. These same characteristics apply to J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, supporting that this novel will also stand the test of time. Each author has a style uniquely their own, with...
Words: 1642 - Pages: 7
...Tyler Ryan Professor Wheeler English 101 April 22, 2015 Catcher in the Rye Jerome David (J.D.) Salinger was born on New Year’s Day in the year 1919, in New York City, “the second and last child of Sol and Marie (Miriam) Jillich Salinger” (Alexander 1). As a young boy, Salinger was interested in theatre and dramatics. Growing up, he attended a public school on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. He was always a very quiet and polite young man. His parents, Sol and Marie, thought he would fit in perfectly in a private school – seeing how well-mannered that young Salinger was – they “enrolled him in McBurney School in Manhattan in 1932” (Alexander 2), but, just as one of his most famous characters, Holden Caufield, he did not fit in very well in the private school, struggling to keep his grades satisfactory. Concerned, Salinger’s parents sent him to Valley Forge Military Academy when he was just 15 years old. “There he was active in drama and singing clubs. He sometimes wrote fiction by flashlight under his blankets at night and contributed to the school’s magazine” (Alexander 3). Salinger graduated in June of 1936 from Valley Forge, and then went on to pursue a brief, but significant college career. He began his education at New York University, but quickly dropped out “to try performing as an entertainer on a Caribbean cruise ship” (Alexander 4). When he was 20 years old, he worked toward his college career once again. He enrolled in a class at Columbia University to learn...
Words: 2078 - Pages: 9
...There are various problems teenagers struggle with that some adults have all but forgotten. Such as the struggle of keeping grades up, getting along with parents, the constant fear of never properly fitting in, or the fear of being alone forever, sometimes even the loss of someone close to oneself. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye is considered as the voice to communicate teenage hardships for over 50 years. The Catcher in the Rye has been looked at by over five decades as the ultimate example of a teenage voice for pain and suffering, through the unique use of symbols found throughout the book. A symbol that Salinger uses throughout the entirety of the novel is The Museum of Natural History. Main character Holden Caulfield remembers...
Words: 978 - Pages: 4
...THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. SALINGER I. Content of the Book Holden Caulfield is a very weird and interesting young man who likes to do things on impulse or because as he said 'he got such a bang out of it'. He has a brother, D.B. who is a writer in Hollywood, a little sister named Phoebe and another brother Allie, who has already died before the story even began. In the beginning of the story Holden narrates that he'll be leaving his school, Pencey Prep (a school full of Phonies from Holden’s point of view), because he flunked out in the four out of five subjects he was taking, the only subject he didn't fail was English. Holden tells the readers that he had come back to Agerstown, Pennsylvania though he was traveling with his team for a fencing contest, he lost all of the foils in a New York Subway, and so the match was cancelled instead. Holden even mentioned that on the way home his mates treated him to silence and he found this very amusing. Though there was a football game going on, Holden didn't go down and watch it, instead he went to visit his old history teacher, Mr. Spencer. Mr. Spencer is a very old man who wants to help Caulfield in his studies (since Holden has also been expelled in a few other schools as well) and at some point Mr. Spencer even read out Holden's examination paper and the little note that Holden had written in the end saying that if Mr. Spencer would like to flunk him then he'd be all right with it, Holden explained to the readers that the...
Words: 4662 - Pages: 19
...The Catcher in the Rye Hannah Genich Mr. Buzminski ENG 3U March 7, 2015 J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye demonstrated a typical Bildungsroman novel, showing that maturing is inevitable and ones life will go on. Holden Caulfield’s experiences allow his character to undergo permanent change that altered his perspectives on life. Salinger illustrated a Bildungsroman with emotional loss, life lessons learnt from encounters, and acceptance of ethics in society. Holden’s role as a developing character in Salinger’s novel demonstrated the elements used in a Bildungsroman. The first phase of a Bildungsroman involves an emotional loss, a period of awkwardness and typically ends with moral the growth of the protagonist. The emotional loss Holden experienced was the loss of his younger brother, Allie, who passed away from leukemia five years before the beginning of the novel. This event altered Holden’s psychological behavior. Holden still grieved from the passing of Allie and regretted the time he told Allie to leave him and Bobby alone. Holden reenacted that particular moment and tried to change the past: “Okay. Go home and get your bike and meet me in front of Bobby's house” (Salinger 99). Holden tried to comfort his depression by attempting to change the past through communication with his deceased brother. Due to Holden’s ongoing struggle to deal with this loss of Allie, he demonstrated traits of awkwardness in the form of cynicism. Holden’s mental state...
Words: 1804 - Pages: 8
