I'm REEEALLY stuck on theme. Why would Salinger write this?? WHAT IS THE PURPOSE!! My analysis is due tomorrow and.. well.. i have NOTHING.
*Very poor. Wouldn't recommend it
**Didn't like it much
***Average
****It is a good read
*****Like it very much. would strongly recommend it.
I'm REEEALLY stuck on theme. Why would Salinger write this?? WHAT IS THE PURPOSE!! My analysis is due tomorrow and.. well.. i have NOTHING.
try spark notes.com it is great
Something From The Past Just Comes
And Stares Into My Soul
Thank you very much for the link, THX-1138. It was very informative - and shocking. To think that some major work of literature are on that list seems unbelievable. I think I'll open a thread on banned books.
Sorry if this reply is a bit sketchy. I'm not quite sure myself.
As far as I know J.D Salinger was fairly sociable when he was younger. He was sent to military academy at a young age but got on well with people. I think he suffered from Post traumatic stress after serving in the war and that could have caused a lot of isolation later on in life. There's a part of the book where Holden feels as if he is drifting away when he's walking down the street. That is one of the symptoms of PTSD so it could be related to his experiences with that. Salinger himself really hated ''phoneys'' and he could apparently empathise with teenagers more because he thought of them as more honest. This reply is a bit rubbish I'm afraid. If you want to know more then you could read his biography or his daughter's book; Dream Catcher: A Memoir. It's very interesting!
Originally Posted by ;5058
the first part i'm not so sure .. but the individualism part i think i can answer... well holden in the novel is being alienated, and alienating him self. And the reason is because he tries so hard at first to conform, not be and individual , that he is being pushed away. That and the fact that he is not yet ready to be an adult. So acting so is causing others to alienate him. And those who do so he calls phonies.
I have to explain how setting plays a significant role, and how the city setting contributes to the theme. I have a few ideas but not enough to develop and entire essay. Any ideas?
As you said in the other thread, Holden is not ready to be an adult. And so it seems to me that - although NY is his home - he feels somewhat lost in this city, as lost as he feels concerning his existence. No place like the big, anonymous city to get lost in - and lonely. There are rather few friends he can turn to, and those he calls rather turn out not to be such good friends after all (Sally, Mr Antolini). The only one he can rely on is a child (Phoebe).
The time and the weather are important, too, I think. It's around Christmas, and if I remember right there is a lot of rain, which may add to his depression.
Hope I could give you a few ideas. For details I'd have to think harder...
Thanks that did help a lot.. I'm really not sure how to work this site... i found it on google. But thanks and if you come up with anymore let me know... I'll find it somehow
Why don't you bookmark the site? That's the fastest way to get here again. And for all other questions - you can always ask the mods or other members.
Concerning the Catcher: What are your own ideas? Have you got any special questions?
well i understand the whole catcher analogy. I took the cliff he's trying to save the children from falling off of as a symbol of catching them before they fall into adulthood. He shows this also when he's walking through New York and states that when he steps off a curb he's scared he will infinantly fall. So that made me think that falling to him is the transition into adulthood which he fears. And towards the end in the museum he says he pictures himself catching the person who graffitied "**** you" on the walls and punishing them himselves... But I'm stuck on the setting prompt
Autumn Marie
Yes, very good thoughts so far. And he feels depressed and lonely in the big city, as lost as he feels in the adult world. He makes a few attempts to behave like a "man" (the prostitute, trying to buy alcoholic drinks). But more often than not he is let down by the adult world (waiters who do not give him alcohol, Maurice) or by himself (he does not have intercourse with the prostitute). All that and his wish to get away from the city and get a job somewhere and live in a cabin show that he is not yet mature enough to enter the adult world. But he learns, and especially his little sister makes him feel his responsibility. There is a key scene at the end of the book. He refuses to have a ride on the carrousel in the park, and he watches Phoebe riding in the pouring rain. He knows now that living as a deaf-mute, i.e. without any social contacts, without having to communicate with the adult world, is not a solution.
If you have further questions, just ask.
I don't think Holden wants to enter the adult world at all. The setting seems to be a perfect example of a place where money talks and scumbags satisfy their vices. He feels lost because he isn't as selfish as everyone else and would rather go out west than continue torturing himself by staying near it. The attempts to "behave like a man" are more like last ditch efforts to curb his misery. His wish to move and eventually doing it is not a sign of immaturity; he left because he can't bring himself to work for money and make friends with people he doesn't like.
He doesn't leave after all. He stays and matures.
New to the forum and I'd like to say I've been enjoying it very much.
The reason I'm here is I was looking for someone to discuss The Catcher In The Rye with. My main concern is his whereabouts while he is relating the story.
You say he didn't leave but the first and last pages lead me to believe he had some kind of breakdown and is recovering in California.
Thanks, Lonnie
Sorry, I only saw your post right now. Welcome to the forum.
You are right, he is recovering from some kind of breakdown but as far as I remember the text doesn't say where. What I actually meant is that he does not leave his family to live in some hut in California as he originally planned to do. When he takes resonsibility for his sister that seems to be the first sign of Holden growing up.
there is something stultifying about the atmosphere in the prep school isn't there.
Also, New York City is so important in the book it is almost another character. I always maintained that the late 40s -early 50s may have been the best era ever for that city(as far as I can tell from contemporary books, movies and plays.) The Catcher in the Rye evokes that time so beautifully.
But aside from the surly characters, the sleazy hotel bellman (elevator operator?) don't overlook the importance
of Central Park in the last parts of the novel. Remember Holden's asking about the ducks?
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote