Catcher in the Rye vs Frankenstein Novel Study Essay

The first symbols that Salinger uses to convey his message is the red hunting hat. The main character of the novel Holden Caulfield has an iconic and important red and black hunting hat which he frequently wears in different situations for more than just its obvious use as a hat. Holden is a very secluded character and is very critical of the individualistic society that he lives in, often criticizing others for not being themselves and being “phonies”. Even the way that Holden acquired the hat is special and symbolic of Holden and the theme of the novel. While giving the reader some background on his

At the end of the novel, Holden finally becomes happy with himself and it is the turning point of the story. One major symbol that repeats throughout the story is Holden’s red hunting hat. The hat is very protective and covers most of his head. Throughout the novel, Holden searched for companionship and someone to comfort him. Holden always wore the hat when he was alone and felt very solitary and lonely, symbolizing that it was some way he could connect to people he cared about. . At the end of chapter 25, Phoebe, “...reached in my coat pocket and took out my red hunting hat and put it on my head. ‘Do you want it’ I said” (Salinger 212). At this point, Holden had actually offered to give his hat to Phoebe. The offering away of his hat symbolizes how Holden finally felt accompanied and like he had found his companionship. When Holden meets with Phoebe the

J.D. Salinger uses symbolism throughout The Catcher in the Rye as a unique way of conveying Holden’s feelings. One of the most dominant symbols is the red hunting hat that Holden buys and wears throughout the novel. The “Little Shirley Beans” record that Holden wished to give Phoebe also served as a symbol. Additionally, the Museum of Natural History Holden visits several times has a significant meaning. Overall, J.D. Salinger includes symbolism in The Catcher in the Rye as a way of enhancing the novel.

In the novel The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden shows his desire for his red hunting hat he bought in New York. Holden’s hat symbolizes his innocence. He enjoys wearing his hat alone, but in public he feels embarrassed to wear it. The hat also shows that Holden is lonely and that he is isolated from everyone else that is around him. But the hat also makes Holden more confident and it shows off his personality.

Holden believes that the red hunting hat can protect him from adulthood, therefore Holden keeps the hat in effort to keep himself a child. Holden wears his red hunting hat in a hippy childish way where he swings “the old peak way around to the back--very corny, I'll admit, but I liked it that way” (Salinger 21). The red hunting hat makes Holden act like a innocent child where he doesn’t care about his looks or the way people judge him with his hat. Holden also dreamt of becoming the catcher in the rye where he would just “catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff--I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out of somewhere and catch them” (Salinger 191). Holden still hasn’t faced reality and believes that he can keep children innocent forever if you catch them on time.

Literary Devices: 1) Allusion: Salinger uses allusion when saying the title of the book “The Catcher in the Rye”. The title is an allusion to a line in a poem by Robert Burns, “If a body meet a body comin’ through the rye.” 2) Symbolism: Holden’s red hunting hat is one of the main symbols. It represents Holden’s distance and isolation from people and his path to finding something other than Phoebe, which is something that is powerful and meaningful in his life 3)

Everyone is innocent and pure during their youth, it is only when they begin to age into adulthood where they become corrupt and unscrupulous. In this coming of age fiction titled The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Salinger shows through the character of Holden Caulfield the jarring life of a depressed teenager trying to find his way. Having the trait of innocence is something everyone has while they are young, but change is inevitable, happening in mental ways rather than physical ways. Holden’s mental need for innocence is displayed when Holden is angered after he sees that, “Somebody’d written ‘Fuck You’ on the wall. It drove me damn near crazy” (221).

The novel Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger is a narrative which examines the growing process of Holden Caulfield, a rebellious, sardonic teenager. Initially, Holden is portrayed as a rash, somewhat physiologically disturbed adolescent rebelling in the face of society. However throughout the novel he undergoes a noticeable psychological change. Holden’s transformation through his experience in New York examines the nature of maturation and protection of the innocent. These themes are developed by the extensive use of symbolism. Through Salinger’s use of symbolism, Holden’s progression can be traced from his rash cynical outlook to his compassion and responsibility demonstrated at the end of the novel. Holden’s hunting hat, the character of

Innocence is to be free from sin or moral wrong, and purity is freedom from guilt or evil. According to J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, innocence and purity grow weaker with time and life experience. The main character Holden holds onto his innocence and purity for as long as possible before understanding that it is inevitable that he grow up. J.D. Salinger proves that innocence and purity fade with time and age. He proves that life experiences can change a person and compel them to grow up and in turn lose their innocence and purity.

Although Victor Frankenstein congregated the creature to be nothing like him, “the Being” was quite similar to Frankenstein. Some may even debate that because of all their differences they were quite similar, while others argued that within their differences were their similarities. At the start of the novel we view Frankenstein and his creation quite different for the obvious reason. While Frankenstein is a human of nature, created by God, his creation was an abomination to God. The vivid dissimilarities were visibly the way the two were structured and the way they appeared to the universe. Although both comprised a head, neck, trunk, arms, hands, legs, and feet, the dissimilarities came to be with the way they were proportioned.

The red hunting hat was the initial symbol presented in the novel. The hat served as a form of individuality and a blocker for Holden. Since the hat was bizarre, it separated Holden from the “phony” crowd and preserve his innocence. Which also expatiate upon the fact that Holden takes the hat off when around the people he knows. (E.g. "I took my old hunting hat out … and put it on. I knew I wouldn't meet anybody that knew me"). One thing that is certain is the fact that Holden likes Allie, Phoebe, and this hat, and the fact that Allie and Phoebe’s hair is red similar to the hat.

The red hunting hat Holden wears separates him from the rest of the characters in the book the Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. The hat is symbolical of many things that people tend to miss at first glance. It gives more emphasis to his character and the way he thinks and acts.

The novel Catcher in the Rye is a way for its author, J. D. Salinger, to discuss the imperfections of human society. Through Holden’s seemingly meaningless ramblings, the reader can glean a commentary on the faults of human nature, and the uneven balance of good and evil in human society. Salinger shows this through Holden and Phoebe, with Holden representing the evil and Phoebe representing the good.

As society changes around us, we spot things we never noticed before: high divorce rates, murder rates, and drug use just to name a few. James Riddley-Scott and Mary Shelley noticed and had a fear of child abandonment. In Frankenstein, Shelley explores this subject through the viewpoint of a man, Victor, who creates a child so hideous that he cannot bear to look at it, and consequently deserts it. In Blade Runner, Scott explores this matter through a businessman, Tyrell, who makes replicants of humans, the Nexus 6, gives them only four years to live, and sells them as slaves. The children of these creators turn out to be smarter and more human than expected, and revolt against the way society treats them, giving us all a lesson in

Contradicting God prizing and protecting Adam, Victor isolates his creation. In an allusion to Paradise Lost, Shelley compares Adam to the creature: “Adam [and the creature have] . . . no link to any other being . . . but [Adam’s] state [is] far different from [the creature’s] in every other respect” (Shelley 129). The contrast between God’s “especial care” of Adam and Victor’s distant parenting, which instills wretchedness and helplessness in the creature (Shelley 129), form the difference in states for Adam and the creature.