The human condition is as far from reason and judgement as anything can be, it is what we have tried to explain for centuries and it is still a confusing maze we attempt and pretend to understand. Holden from The Catcher in the Rye and Paul from Six degrees of
Separations help to explore the workings of the human condition, both boys are conflicted with their lives and have difficulty fitting into their society. However these two texts do put the boys in different positions in life, Holden has what Paul desires but it does not give him
the love and care he unknowingly needs. Paul takes on roles that disguise his own traits and turns him into what he believes to be a person nobody can say no to. When he takes on these roles, he
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This is evident with his underlying yearning for JaneGallagher but is too afraid to make any connection with her. Holden revels his
isolation calling anyone with self-worth a “phonie” but in the end he is the biggest phonie of them all. The book the Catcher in the Rye appealed to young people everywhere, who felt pressured about growing up and living by society's rules, and
to disengage from meaningful human connection. The realease of this book created a wave of disagreement and contreversy but many saw this book as a symbol of cultural oppression. The movie six degrees of separation also explored the consequence of
alienation as a form of self protection, Paul is a gay black man living on the streets of New York with very little money, it is implied that his life may not have been filled with wealth and opportunity. He yearns for a life that will provide him with comfort and stability, he
enters peoples houses and surrounds himself with what they have and for a moment he is able to pretend that what they have belongs to him. Paul creates a new identity for himself as a “son of sydney Poitier” as that is the only way that the rich would open their doors to a
stranger and allow him into their lavish apartments. However his deceptive personality cannot be sustained,
To begin with, Paul is counseling having flashbacks about his family and secrets that are untold. The author
This all ties back to how Paul finds out about his friends’ true personalities and furthers his understanding about
Today I will be discussing the prevalent theme in the novel of Paul's journey to reach maturity, the importance other characters whom he interacts with played in the development of his character and
throughout the novel Paul sees lies and pushes himself to find the truth. “I used to tell people that I once stared too long at a solar eclipse. But if that's the truth, if that really happened, why can't I remember it?” (39) This quote shows the time where Paul sees a lie in his past. because of this Paul is motivated 2 uncover the truth. this gives him a newly found confidence and he ultimately ends up understanding the truth in his past. Similarly Paul again these lies. he feels the need to go deeper, “ I yanked off my coke bottle glasses and shook them at him in Rage.’ There are questions that need to be answered about these! Am I such a stupid idiot fool that I stared at a solar eclipse for an hour and blinded myself? Is that who I am? And I am I an idiot?’” (264) Quotes all leave enormous live and demands the truth. Upon gaining this truth he get self appreciation and understands his past. Examples show site and how it helps Paul deepen his understanding of
This event is a big change for Paul’s life. After Paul runs away from home, he becomes a famous magician in the
glimpses of Paul trying to reach out and re-embrace his old thoughts and emotions and
In the play, Six Degrees of Separation by John Guare, a young black man named Paul convinces wealthy New York families that he is the son of a famous black actor named Sidney Poitier. He also tells them that he goes to Harvard with their children so they would fully accept him and provide the shelter he needs, instead of stereotyping him as a black American who would called a criminal or drug addict. Behind his false identity Paul is a con man who has learned the ways to con wealthy New York families. His former lover Trent Conway is a former classmate of the wealthy families’ children. Trent taught Paul how to talk like a rich person, how to act like one, and all the information he needed to be accepted into their circle. Paul then uses
in his quest to the live the life he always wanted, Paul not wanting to face his father and his true reality takes his own life by jumping in front of a train. He could not live with
Paul's has just moved to Gate a prestigious school at which his mother works at. Coming out of a troubling divorce his mother packs up pal and moves. A few weeks after he moved to town he started becoming friends with Charlie. People's differing views towards Charlie leaves Paul at a stuck point with many people in his life. For example Binky, Paul's best friend for a while took him in, hung out with him, and made him feel like a friend.
Holden allows the reader to hypothesize that he is attracted to a girl named Jane Gallagher, by constantly telling of his fond memories of her, but when push comes to shove his tendency to alienation himself from society, to "protect himself from losing his innocence", takes him over. On page 116 of the novel, Holden tells the reader that after he got his sister a record he went to a phone booth and called Jane's house. But when her mother picked up the phone he hung up. Holden tells the reader that he "didn't feel like getting into a long conversation with her mother" so he hung up but in reality Holden's personal preference of alienating himself frightened him and prevented him of making any contact with Jane.
Paul`s life is in chaos as he is attempting to uproot his entire life by creating a façade to appeal to the white upper-class. It is this façade, however, that gives Paul control in his life as he is finally able to belong to a family with the Kittredges. This imbalance in Paul`s life causes him to be an Other because he has changed his entire life to simply swindle wealthy whites.
When the term “isolation” is used, most people think of it as an action performed in solitude. It brings to mind an empty space in which one person resides, far from all others. However, isolation does not always occur in a singular sense. In “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe, isolation is used by a large population as a means of safety. In “The Thing Around Your Neck” by Chimananda Ngozi Adichie, isolation occurs among crowds of people and even in the company of someone close to one’s heart. In both aspects, isolation serves to exemplify the broken portions of life. Isolation is a destructive force and as a theme, isolation serves to exemplify a particular viewpoint and worldview while serving as both a cause and effect.
It is as if Paul lives in the sun and knowledge of the world, baring that burden while others in society live in darkness with slight sliver of light from the moon believing they know the world to its full extent when in reality they are blind and in the dark. This affects Paul since he possess ideas from another point of view that others have no clue about. This is important because without the knowledge that Paul posses, he would be like his none the wiser parents, which would affect the story a great deal. For example, on page 152, Paul tells his friend, “Don’t do this. Don’t come in here with attitude.” Paul knows how to adapt to the places around him and knows that by accepting the facts and the brunt of the blow, they will accept him begin to
Yet another example of the brutalization and dehumanization of the soldiers caused by the war occurs during Paul’s leave. On leave, Paul decides to visit his hometown. While there, he finds it difficult to discuss the war and his experiences with anyone. Furthermore, Paul struggles to fit in at home: “I breathe deeply and say over to myself:– ‘You are at home, you are at home.’ But a sense of strangeness will not leave me; I cannot feel at home amongst these things. There is my mother, there is my sister, there my case of butterflies, and there the mahogany piano – but I am not myself there. There is a distance, a
For the first time in Paul 's life he had a father who took an interest in him, encouraging his talents and creativity while displaying exceptional patience with him. Yet, Paul 's other fathers overshadowed his bliss.