The Catcher in the Rye, written by Jerome David Salinger and the novel What We All Long For, written by Dionne Brand, both depict the inner thought and the growth of a young rebellious character. Holden Caulfield, the sixteen-year-old protagonist in The Catcher in the Rye,is in the dilemma between childhood and adulthood. He is caught between the mourning of childhood’s disappearing and the fear of adulthood’s coming. On the other hand, Tuyen, the protagonist in the second novel, is a Vietnamese artist who is forced to leave her home country and move to Toronto. Unlike an ordinary girl, Tuyen seems not to be that docile since she chooses to live away from her parents, Cam and Tuan, who still cannot move smoothly into their current life in …show more content…
Both Tuyen and Holden are undoubtedly rebellious; however, Tuyen’s rebellion is more thought-provoking and strong in terms of social background, target and behavior. The social background of Salinger’s novel is the post-World War Ⅱ period, during which obsolete traditions and conventionalities have been broken, yet no new standard has been established. The varying society is filled with phoniness and freedom. This is the period in which the social imbalance and ambiguity make it more difficult for adolescents to form their morality and to grow up. Holden, who happens to be an adolescent under such situation, takes the adulthood which he thinks is phony, corrupted and puzzling as his rebellion’s target. However, he lacks the ability to overthrow the corrupted world of the adult, so he could do nothing but pursue self-identity, love and innocence by means of rebellions. His rebellion is an aimless gesture rather than a heroic fight taken in this sense. Moreover, Holden implements …show more content…
She lives in Toronto, where biases towards non-white prevail. However, unlike Holden, that background acts as a catalyst rather than the producer of her rebellion. In other words, the rebellion has long been in her heart, and the social background is not the dominant reason. It can be inferred that her rebellion derives mainly from her unusual past experiences. As Shakespeare once said, “Self-sentiment dominates”; thus, her rebellion can be considered much stronger than Holden’s so-called rebellion since it is a product of her own heart. It can be said that her rebellion reflects her inner deep thought and her true feelings while Holden’s rebellion is to conceal his inner puzzlement and uncertainty. From my perspective, Tuyen’s rebellion has two targets. Firstly, in the novel, her parents have long been suffering from the loss their son Quy, and they cannot fully commit themselves to the life they are living; however, Tuyen is rebellious against that kind of endless entanglement with the past. Besides, for a deeper level, Tuyen, just like other protagonists in the novel, “recognizes the city’s incomplete nature, and views it as a battleground, as a space for political action and for the creation of a viable sense of self — a space for building culture from below”(Dobson 89). It can be viewed as a deeper-level rebellion, a more profound one. Therefore, it is evident that compared with Holden’s, Tuyen’s target is more
Holden’s immaturity causes him many problems throughout the story. Although he is physically mature, he acts more like a child. “All of a sudden I
Throughout the novel, Holden attempts to find the true from of himself as he struggles with the social interactions around him. Due to the struggle and confusion that arouses from it,
J.D Salinger expresses Holden growing up in a vivid image where people can see the clear view of Holden rising upward to be an adult. Throughout the book, Holden ostracizes himself in the society and makes him lonely. The readers can visualize Holden maturing when he realizes that not everybody is his enemy. For instance, when Holden leaves his teacher’s house in fear because the teacher was petting his head; he wondered “if just maybe [he] was wrong about thinking [the teacher] was making a flitty pass at [him]” (194). When he starts wondering if it was his own fault, it exemplifies that Holden is deeply thinking about his acts toward other people. His thinking can also relate to the last sentence “don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.” (202). The last sentence is an example of Holden setting his importance on the people around him. But with all the obstacles that he goes through, he realizes that people that are involved in his life are an important factor of his life, and regrets having a live social life. This realization is an example of coming of age because we can truly see Holden’s thinking of what he thinks of a good life is which involves people around him.
The Catcher in the Rye is one of J. D. Salinger's world-famous books about the disgruntled youth. Holden Caulfield is the main character and he is a seventeen- year-old dropout who has just been kicked out of his fourth school. Navigating his way through the challenges of growing up, Holden separates the “phony” aspects of society, and the “phonies” themselves. Some of these “phony” people in his life are the headmaster whose friendliness depends on the wealth of the parents, and his roommate who scores with girls using sickly-sweet affection. This book deals with the complex issues of identity, belonging, connection, and alienation. Holden senses these feelings most of the time and is guilty about many things in
Holden is more of an extreme case when it comes to the resentment of conformity in American culture as he was extremely judgmental, however because of the extreme judgement he was not blinded by the norms that came with the culture of conformity, trying to fit or being accepted.
• “Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.” (ch.2 p.5)
The Catcher in the Rye is a novel by J.D. Salinger. It is narrated by Holden Caulfield, a cynical teenager who recently got expelled from his fourth school. Though Holden is the narrator and main character of the story, the focus of Salinger’s tale is not on Caulfield, but of the world in which we live. The Catcher in the Rye is an insatiable account of the realities we face daily seen through the eyes of a bright young man whose visions of the world are painfully truthful, if not a bit jaded. Salinger’s book is a must-read because its relatable symbolism draws on the reader’s emotions and can easily keep the attention of anyone.
A prominent theme in the novel The Catcher in the Rye is teenage rebellion. Throughout the novel, Holden
Holden was very introspective. He was very aware of himself. He knew what he like and disliked, even though some of his actions contradicted his beliefs. He felt like the world was going to hell in a hand basket. He could not understand how other people in the world would not want a pure lifestyle. A life that was sure and stable. He hated being moved around from school to school not having many friends. He decided that it was immoral to follow a system that was based on hypocrisy and shallow wants. He rebelled in order to create a system of his own in which a pure lifestyle would be the ultimate goal. Holden should have been Buddhist, with out the smoking and drinking. Oh yeah, and the delusions of grandeur. “So I went back to the room and turned on the light, to start packing and all…Then I got the hell out. Some stupid guy had thrown peanut shells all over the stairs, and I damn nearly broke my crazy neck.” Holden talks about leaving and how it affects him emotionally every time
Readers are able to sympathize and identify with Holden’s rowdy behavior: making immature decisions, breaking relationships, and wanted to act more like an adult. Because of this, the audience recognizes Holden as a speaker for the young generation, no matter what year. Moreover, Holden represents the teenage rebellion and angst that
One of the greatest American Literature writers, J.D. Salinger, was familiar with a rough childhood by experience. He was able to parallel his experiences to the experiences of Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in The Catcher in Rye. In this novel, Holden experiences conflicts that most youth are not familiar with. The conflicts in Holden Caulfield’s life are caused by various forces and circumstances.
Roberto Villalon Holden Caulfield is a teenage boy who struggles growing up. Throughout the book Catcher in the rye by J.D. Sallinger, Holden Caulfield is a teenage boy who experience struggles growing up and facing the real world he is living in. Holden unable to accept growing because he is not mature enough to take responsibilities. Holden is a teeanger who refuses to grow up because of his sad childhood and he does not understand people around him.
Ill mannered – The reason why Holden is ill-mannered is because of how he constantly talks bad behind other peoples’ backs, usually for no apparent reason. Holden does it only for his enjoyment. After reading several of Holden’s rude statements, it is revealed that he is always judgmental and spends most of his time pointing out the negatives and never looks at the positive side of the people he meets. The ironic part is that Holden’s opinions about others are a contradiction as his personality throughout the novel actually fits with those terms he uses because Holden has no signs of respect for others.
Although Holden is extremely cynical and struggles with relationships, he is not all bad. Inside he is moral and generous. He was very charitable when he gave a considerable donation of twenty dollars to the nuns. Holden has a strange way of loving people.
Rather, he is saddened by her sitting in his room in her slip. He imagines her buying the dress she has just taken off and realizes that she is a real person and not just a toy to be used for his pleasure. Holden's desire to understand and feel for other people stops him. Holden also admits to being a coward, but the reader realizes he is just a scared boy trying to act like a man in an adult world. Even so, he doesn't flinch in the face of danger when threatened by bullies, such as his roommate Stradlater or the pimp, Maurice. Much more important than his physical courage is the moral tenacity with which he clings to his beliefs in the face of a hostile society. (Lettis, 5)