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The Catcher In The Rye: An Outsider

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The status of an outsider is regularly bestowed upon an individual who has been severely affected by their environmental influences thus causing them to refuse to conform to the ideologies of society. The Catcher in the Rye (TCITR) by J.D Salinger and The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck are both examples of texts that exemplify this notion of the outsider.

In TCITR, the protagonist Holden Caulfield is exposed to numerous environmental influences which have a dramatic effect, ultimately leading to his inability to transition into new environments. Allie’s death, his dysfunctional relationship with his parents and Pencey Prep have all altered his perception of the surrounding environment. Holden in response rejects society to the point where …show more content…
The main environmental influences portrayed in this short story include isolation, social archetypes and inequality. Physical isolation is described in the the first paragraph “The high grey-flannel fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from all the rest of the world.” Through the use of a metaphor, Steinbeck has revealed their isolation from “the rest of the world” as well as how being closed off from society physically makes them an outsider. Elisa, the protagonist in the The Chrysanthemums is also faced with the societal archetypes bequeathed upon her by both her husband and the Tinker which she attempts to escape from. Her desire to be released from the shackles of the archetype of a female in the 1930’s is displayed in the fifth paragraph when Steinbeck describes her “Her face was lean and strong…Her figure looked blocked and heavy… a man's black hat pulled low down over her eyes.” The adjectives used by Steinbeck in this quote have significant male connotations such as the use of strong, blocked and heavy as well as her even wearing a “man’s black hat”. Through this description, Steinbeck is displaying Elisa’s longing to break free from the societal archetypes which demonstrates her refusal to conform to societies ideologies for

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