Hello and good morning/evening, what do you believe makes a relationship, is it love, friendship or is it established when you are born between your parents and siblings? How could this everyday phenomenon, which drives our will to live and excel, be so simple? “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger and “The Dark Knight” directed by Christopher Noland are my chosen examples to explore themes such as hatred, mortality and deceit, which consist of various factors affecting relationships like self-isolation, our psychological health and propaganda. “The Cather in the Rye” explores these themes in a Dark, cynical but somewhat compassionate tone, accompanied with moments of humor. “The Dark Knight” is similar and explores the themes in a dark and disturbing tone, with the addition of action.
“The Catcher in the Rye” demonstrates the theme of hatred with Holden’s hate towards the adult world around him, however as a consequence this causes personal, social and mental isolation from the world and an inability to create meaningful relationships. This is the main factor for Holden’s isolation from the world, and is symbolized throughout the novel with Holden’s red hunting hat. The majority of the people he encounters are deemed as ‘phonies’ for Holden as they do not follow with his view of the world, this generalization further prevent him from making relationships and reflects upon his immaturity. The last page of the novel and more importantly the quote, “All I know is I sort of miss everybody I told about”, through the use of colloquial language shows us Holden’s realization of his isolation as well as his longing to re-create relationships with previous acquaintances.
“The Dark Knight” displays the effect of hate in relationships similarly to “The catcher in the Rye”. It is show here through the character Joker, who hates the actions of the government. His hatred causes self-alienation from society and this is symbolized through his facial scars as well as the face-paint he wears to differentiate himself from society. He generalizes society as either average people, who are mindlessly following the ‘system’ or schemers who are setting the system, this generalization prevents him from connecting to normal society and further alienates him. The scene in which he is sitting on the bench in the police station, through the use of mid-shot and dull lighting shows how he is even isolated from the criminals.
Mortality is an important theme in “The Catcher in the Rye” and Holden’s little brother Allie is how the theme is expressed. From the quote, “every time I’d get to the end of a block, I’d make believe I was talking to my brother Allie. I’d say to him, ‘Allie don’t let me disappear. Allie don’t let me disappear, I’d thank him… but I kept going and all. I was sort of afraid to stop.” we can understand that Holden still keeps a relationship with Allie in his mind, even after his death. He also repeats the question of the ducks in the lagoon and what happens to them in winter to symbolize Allie’s departure from the cold and harsh environment and Holden’s curiosity at where Allie has gone. Allie’s death also scars Holden mentally, turning children into the innocent and pure whereas the adults have become corrupted and ‘phonie’. Our psychological health is brought in to relationships through this and it shows how the way we perceive the world affects how the world perceives us.
Lies and Deceit can change our views in relationships, and this is only displayed in “The Dark Knight” through the interactions between Harvey Dent and the Joker. Through propaganda the Joker converts Harvey’s relationship with the city of Gotham, from positive to negative. The hospital scene where this occurs uses close-ups as well as shot reverse shot to show the effect of the lies on Harvey and his changed nature. To symbolize this change, Harvey’s face is half burnt to show in contrast his old pure side, which shows compassion and which provided protection for Gotham, to the new burned side, to show his negative behavior towards the city.
Relationships are a tough concept to completely grasp, “The Catcher in the Rye” and ‘The Dark Knight” helps us to understand this concept. They provide situations, which might never occur in our lives and therefore can provide us with aspects of relationships, which we would never experience. They also help to display factors affecting relationships and how they can all originate from one central theme. It makes us think, how could we have ever though relationships were that simple?
