essay

[unknown_j]

hey guys, i just finished the book, The catcher in the rye by J.D. salinger, excellent book btw. and now I'm supposed to write a comparative essay. I've never written one before and I'm not quite sure where to start.

my topics are:
1)Holden;s Character is largely developed through fails( a fail is a character used to contrast and therefore emphasize the qualities of another character).

2)the more holden sees of the adult world, the more he treasures the world of childhood.

I'm not quite sure if I'm supposed to compare it to the people in the book, or to another book. I have no clue where to start...

any help would be appreciated.

thanks

[aabbcc]

Oh, I hate that book. :)
Nevertheless, I believe - though cannot guarantee - that your professor had in mind writing a comparative essay from the inside, i.e. not from the point of view of comparing Holden with other literary characters from other work, but from that same work - at least it sounds that way to me from the topics suggested. Here you have basically two different approaches.

Approach 1 - corresponding to the first topic offered - is an approach from which you compare a character with other ones, and distinguish it in relation from other ones. You mention that Holden's character is seen as distinct especially when compared to the character of other characters. This approach would mean presenting Holden in relation to his Other, where the Other is the different being, i.e. not-Me. Thus you would probably largely neglect the aspect of continuity and change in Holden's character, and focus on that 'constant' which determines Holden in contrast to the Other, and on how is that 'constant' expressed in various points of the book. I would suggest, depending on the length of your essay, choosing a couple of moments from the book where that 'constant' is clearly visible and point how it remains the same and distinguished.

Approach 2 - corresponding to the second topic offered - is an approach from which you contrast character to the Other, but where the other is Me on some other point in time; this approach would mean precisely the opposite from the first one - focusing on the time dimension of the story, and pinpointing various 'monumentums' of Me, which to the present state are the Other, and how is Holden, thus, getting transformed through the book. The more Holden sees the adult world, the more he changes; find the important places of that change and contrast Holden to that same Holden. Given the topic you have, this approach would nicely describe Holden's relationship with the time as such, which perfectly fits in this kind of approach.

My two cents only, I sincerely dislike that book so I eliminated even from my memory most of its contents and therefore cannot give you any more precise help; this is just how I'd do it if I wrote either of your topics.