In this extract from the picaresque novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huckleberry fakes his own death and then travels in a canoe to Jackson Island in order to physically escape from his abusive father. In the extract from The Catcher in the Rye, a bildungsroman novel by J.D. Salinger, the protagonist Holden Caulfield comes up with a plan to also physically escape with his date, mainly from the expectations placed upon him by society. Both are narrated in the first person and have an informal register. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn mainly uses a Southern dialect which contrasts with the colloquial style used in The Catcher in the Rye.
In both extracts escape is portrayed as a rushed endeavour. In The Catcher in
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Salinger uses repetition in The Catcher in the Rye: throughout the extract Holden uses a range of colloquialisms such as “phonies” “sore” and “lousy” along with taboo language like “damn” “goddamn” “crap” which represents an atypical idiolect for someone of Holden’s background- a wealthy and educated young man so his taboo language could be a way for Holden to escape what is expected of him from society. Similarly, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck states how he “fixed that place as good as I could…I fixed the piece of log back”. Twain’s repetition of “fixed” highlights the monotonous nature of Huck’s escape; he constantly has to amend and cover up all his tracks in order to ensure he can get away safely. When Huck later “looked out over the river” he said it was “all safe”. The river throughout the novel is thought be the ultimate symbol of freedom which could explain why Huck feels “safe” when looking at it, as it is the one thing that can help him escape from his …show more content…
Salinger’s use of a dash indicates Holden’s desperate attempt to escape from the present moment and the current conversation he is having with Sally as he doesn’t want to hear the truth about himself, suggesting that he cannot take criticism from other people. Salinger could also have used that dash in order to show Holden’s rudeness towards Sally, by cutting her off, which would have been unusual for someone of Holden’s background so perhaps Holden’s rudeness is one of the ways in which he likes to escape from the expectations placed on him by a post-war, capitalist society by rejecting their social norms and
In the novel The Catcher In The Rye, the main character Holden experiences a massive amount of struggle. One major struggle he experiences is depression. Many teenagers can relate to Holden because throughout the novel he shows some of the struggles that anyone could be going through. While I was reading I felt sympathy for Holden and wanted to reach out and help him get through his struggles. There are many red flags repeatedly showing Holden being depressed. These red flags are not only found in Holden but can be noticed in other people who are depressed.
In the famous, but often times previously banned novel, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, seventeen year old Holden Caulfield is trying to find his sense of direction in a world where he describes the majority of people in his life as phony. As the first chapter begins, it is clear Holden is currently living in a mental institution, although the reasoning behind so is never directly stated, the reader can infer it may have to do with Holden's depression troubles. For the most part, Holden's troubles are to blame on his own actions, he fails to realize his irresponsibly is the major cause of the negative aspects in his life. Holden's troubles of being an academic layabout and being reclusive seem to center from his biggest issue
The tone or attitude in which Holden speaks is based on sarcasm and rudeness which shapes him as a character. He uses sarcasm throughout the book such as on page 71. He says, “I told her, ‘you’re really lucky. You know that?’ She was a real moron. But what a dancer” (71). Here, Holden is being very sarcastic and rude with this girl which forms Holden into his character. His tone towards the world and to the people in it is just careless because he doesn’t care about being nice to anyone. He continues to act this way, even to people that matter, such as on page 13, he says, “You mean about my flunking out of Pencey and all? ‘ I said. I sort of wished he’d cover up his bumpy chest. It wasn’t such a beautiful view” (13). Mr. Spencer is one of Holden’s teachers at Pencey and he doesn’t appreciate that at all. When Mr. Spencer is being sincere towards him, all Holden can think about is the fact that Mr. Spencer’s chest is “bumpy”. This truly defines Holden as a character and what kind of person he is; a sarcastic and cynical individual, all shown through his tone of voice.
First, both sources include the first-person point of view in which the narrator is usually the main character of the story. This plays a large role in the language structure. This helps to create this specific point of view. In Chapter 12 of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, there are multiple examples of the narrator, Huck Finn, speaking about the plot of the story, directed towards the reader. According to Twain, “I wanted to get aboard of her and slink around a little and see what there was there. So I say: ‘Le’s land on her, Jim.’” This quote tells the reader, that the narrator is a character, himself, in the novel that is trying to make a connection with the reader. It is easy to notice this when Huck is thinking to himself, and also writes dialogue and conversations with other characters in the story. Twain uses first-person point of view to mold the way the reader interprets the text. The first-person point of view is also present in “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” as both stories are written by Twain, they are deemed
In 1951 J.D. Salinger writes The Catcher in the Rye. This book tells a tail about a 16 year old boy who is afraid of changing. Holden Caulfield has yet again for the fourth time been expelled from school. For failing his classes except for english. He leaves Pencey Prep 3 days early and sets out on an adventure to find himself. Holden travels to New York and rents a hotel only to make a mistake and have a prostitute over. Maurice you delivered her to him comes back to the room to get Holden to pay up the rest of the money. Back talking results in Holden getting beat up. Maurice leaves after he gets the money, whist list Holden starts to cry. Later in the book Holden meets nuns and has a conversation with them that he enjoys. After his day with the nuns Holden meets up with his brother's ex-girlfriend Sally. Only their date doesn't last long as Holden tells her "you give me a royal pain in the ass" (Salinger 148) resulting in Sally crying and the date ending. Fast forward he meets with his sister Phoebe and tells what happened. As Holden is going through a rough time he gets checked into a mental institution. In The Catcher in the Rye Salinger uses 3 symbols to describe Holden's feelings. The 3 symbols that explain Holden's feelings, Holden's red hunting hat, the ducks in the lagoon, and Allie's baseball mitt. The three symbols represent Holden's fear of changing from a child and becoming an adult. Which he calls "phony".
In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, the main character and narrator Holden Caulfeild walks many different paths of life. He jumps around different aspects of his life throughout the book, showing the reader many different sides to himself. This theme is presented through the author’s technique in crafting the characterization and symbolism. J.D. Salinger develops a puzzle of a personality for Holden throughout the book, to show the complexity and multitude of sides to Holden’s character.
Literature has always relied on techniques to catch the reader’s attention and format the story, and “the Catcher in the Rye” is no exception. Salinger brought many different writing styles into his novel to make it a bestseller. With his knowledge, Salinger was able to depict the persona of Holden to the reader without directly stating his characteristics. Salinger proves Holden is a lonesome figure who wanted to fit in but struggles to be accepted. The Catcher in the Rye depicts Holden as one who struggles with his sexuality and adulthood and wants to save children from adulthood because of the difficulties that it has brought himself. Salinger greatly expresses Holden through the use of metaphor, imagery, symbolism,
In J. D Salinger 's novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist, Holden, goes through many hardships in his journey to self-knowledge. In the beginning, Holden has to deal with being kicked out of school and not having any place to call home. He is also struggling with the unfortunate tragedy of the death of his beloved younger brother Allie. At the same time, Holden is trying to deal with growing up and accepting the adult world. Throughout the novel Salinger addresses the conflicts faced by a young man struggling with the trials and tribulations of growing up while also confronting personal loss and loneliness along the way.
One of the most noteworthy aspects of Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the skillful way in which Twain relates Huck’s thoughts. By telling the story from the first person point of view, Twain not only lets the reader into Huck’s mind, but he also allows Huck to characterize himself in terms of dialect—his manner of speaking, as we hear his thoughts in his own uneducated and thoroughly “countrified” voice.
The One-Child Policy was a good idea for a multitude of reasons such as in terms of education, environmental changes, and the gender norms in China. The One-Child policy was a rule set in motion in China to legally allow all couples to only have birth to one baby. In this document, I will explain to you why the One-Child Policy was a good idea. The first reason why the One-Child Policy was good was how it affected education and grade results. In Document F it states that "They tend to score higher on intelligence tests".
In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger tells a story of a young boy, Holden, who never quite understood his stance on life. Throughout the novel, Holden struggles to adapt to the inevitable transition into adulthood, often worrying more about others than himself. In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger uses connotative diction, repetition, and specific diction to convey Holden’s struggle of accepting life changes that led him to becoming mentally unstable. To start off, Salinger illustrates Holden’s nature by using connotative diction.
In the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain juxtaposes two environments that tackle many different aspects of life. From Christian reforms, domestic abuse, and slavery to reflective solitude and liberation, Twain brings together a plethora of obstacles for the main character Huckleberry Finn and his companion Jim to encounter and assimilate. The two contrasting settings depict intermingling themes of the repressive civilization on land, the unrestricted freedom on the raft, and the transcendentalism that Huck and Jim experience during their escape from captivity towards liberation.
“Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.” (Twain, ix) Mark Twain opens his book with a personal notice, abstract from the storyline, to discourage the reader from looking for depth in his words. This severe yet humorous personal caution is written as such almost to dissuade his readers from having any high expectations. The language in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is completely “American” beyond the need for perfect grammar. “Mark Twain’s novel, of course, is widely considered to be a definitively American literary text.” (Robert Jackson,
This character is going to tell it like it is, and he does. The most powerful emotional standpoint in the story is when Holden goes to his sister’s elementary school to deliver her a note. While he is there, he discovers two words scribbled on the wall. “Fuck you.” Most people would look at that and think nothing of it. Some would bow their heads in shame at the person who thought it was funny. Others might laugh. Not Holden. He did not think about the normal persons response to the note. He thought about the child’s response. About how a little kid is going to see that seemingly meaningless phrase and wonder what it means; about how some dirty kid would explain what it meant; and about the person who wrote it and how they are destroying the childhood of everyone who reads the ‘harmless’ graffiti. This section takes the reader to the door of Holden’s mind. It is at this point that one truly understands his emotions.
Both the narrator in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin and Huck in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain feel the urge to escape from their reality as a means of attaining happiness and finding their way in life. However, their reasons for escaping are completely different and so are the ways in which they manage to do so. The aim of this essay is, therefore, to discuss the how and why the Narrator in “Sonny’s Blues” and Huck escape.