Modern and Contemporary Literature Essay Question 9.

In many ways, The Catcher in the Rye can be perceived as a celebration of youth. The novels protagonist, Holden, embodies defining characteristics of teenagers, causing readers to identify and empathise with him. His personal struggles to do with identity and society resonate with youth. However, his identity crisis may in fact have been a product of his society rather than a product of his age. While agreeing that on a basic level that the novel is to some extent a celebration of youth, this essay will discuss how The Catcher in the Rye is about loss and a world gone wrong, as described by Louis Menand (2001:2). This essay will look at societys influence on Holden and how it adversely affects him, which leads to the interpretation of a world out of joint.

Through the course of the novel, Holden struggles to form his identity and find meaning. His journey entails him searching for his own place in society (Ghasemi & Ghafoori 2010:75). He tries to become a man-of-the-world, playing the role of an adult in his weekend sojourn of the city (Trowbridge 1966:683). This is clearly seen as one of the first things he did in the city was attempt to order hard liquor and give a couple of girls the once-over (Salinger 1958:74). His sense of lost of identity and his experimenting with this new, adult world are key parts of youth, and would be met with acknowledgement from the readers as they identified with Holdens plight. The extreme emotion in which Holden expresses his thoughts and the colloquial language used would also be a point of identification with teenagers. As such, Holden is the embodiment of the adolescent, in experiences and in expression, which would lead to the

interpretation that The Catcher in the Rye is a celebration of youth. However, Holdens extreme sensitivity and sense of lost identity highlights cultural issues along with the highs and lows of youth. Holdens fantasy of being the catcher in the rye, saving children before they can unknowingly fall over the cliff, raises questions regarding the kind of society that would inspire the mindset of a savior in a young teenage boy (Ghasemi & Ghafoori 2010:75). It points to the fact that the metropolitan lifestyle would be the source of such confusion and uncertainty. Holden possesses a nostalgic mind, relying on his childhood memories and valuing stability over change, as seen as he appreciates the carousel for always playing the same songs, just as when he was a child (Salinger 1958: 216). These memories are difficult to preserve in the modern city, where the fast paced and unceasing change of the metropolis is largely responsible for the instability of ones identity, as Holden loses his grasp of time and place, missing his memories (Ghasemi & Ghafoori 2010:78). This idea of the loss of childhood in the urban environment is one that is evident throughout the novel, describing a world out of joint where one is unable to preserve the memories that shape their person.

A key criticism that Holden uses extensively is that of being phony. The city lacks what is genuine, and Holden uses the word phony as an all-encompassing criticism for people he perceives as insincere, callous, and most importantly, snobs. He viewed Sally Hayes letter inviting him to help trim the Christmas tree as phony (Salinger 1958:74). He also perceived a minister delivering a sermon as phony. This shows that Holden rounds on conventions that are a badge of class (Ohmann & Ohmann 1976:30). In calling a person phony, Holden labels their actions as ones borne out of snobbery, and this could be seen as a criticism

of class distinctions. The passage with Holdens old roommate, Dick Slagle, and the suitcases serve to best exemplify this. Holden was conscious of the difference between his roommates suitcase, which was inexpensive, and his own, which was made of genuine cowhide and all that crap, and this eventually led him to put his suitcase out of sight so Slagle wouldnt get a damn inferiority complex about it (Salinger 1958:114). Their living arrangement calls for equality between the two boys, yet they both are marked by class differences from the outside world (Ohmann & Ohmann 1976:21). Holden strives to repair the relationship by removing what separates them, namely, the Mark Cross suitcases. However, Slagle took the bags back out because he wanted others to mistake it as his, even though he was always accusing Holden of being bourgeois (Salinger 1958:114). He struggles to reconcile his resentment towards the higher class with his desire to be on the right side of the barrier (Ohmann & Ohmann 1976:21). Their friendship was short-lived. This clearly points to Louis Menands perspective of loss and a world gone wrong, wherein one is born into a world that promises equality and is unable to deliver. Instead, class distinctions are so deeply perpetuated in society that they seep into the interactions of the youth and they are unable to overcome these differences imposed upon them.

Holden is an idealist whose sincerity allows him only to like things really worth liking (Trowbridge 1966:682). As such, he often makes strong and extreme judgments, as he feels all the injustices noted in The Catcher in the Rye more acutely. Holden has ideas of how the world ought to be, and when society fails to measure up, he does not conform to their lesser standards. Instead, he endeavors

to protect innocence, seen when he tries to remove graffiti of foul language from the walls. Holden sums it up by saying Thats the whole trouble. You can never find a place thats nice and peaceful, but there isnt any (Salinger 1958:210). To him, the graffiti is defiling and contaminating what was once a pure space (Baer & Gelser 2004:408). Holden is no longer able to find places that are safe and pure to him, and this drives him to try to escape society, as seen from his fantasy to live in a cabin in the woods and marry a deaf-mute. Similar to the field of rye where children play, these imaginary landscapes are places of innocence, an ideal space where he would not be confronted by things he found objectionable and repulsive in the metropolis (Baer & Gelser 2004:409). Society attempts to force Holden into a rigid category, as he is caught in the paradox of trying to maintain his childhood innocence while entering into the world of the adult (Baer & Gelser 2004:411). Thus, in this novel, the surrounding environment is depicted as unforgiving, especially towards those who are more sensitive and idealistic. One has no choice but to eventually conform to society, and this struggle is highlighted when Holden refuses to let his sister run away with him, sending her back to the very institutions he himself was trying to escape (Salinger 1958:214).

The Catcher in the Rye is, to some extent, a celebration about youth. Holden, as a character, is someone many teenagers can relate to, as his experiences and his articulation of those experiences throughout the novel is something that is easily identifiable. However, the extreme emotion of Holden can also be used as a tool to delve deeper into the book. His sensitivity and over emotional reactions highlight issues with society that he cannot reconcile with, such as the constant

change of metropolitan life. Through constant labeling of people as phony, he brings out the injustices of class distinctions in society. His idealistic disposition is at odds with the world around him, so much so that he is driven to change or escape it, but finds he is unable to do either. In conclusion, this all points to the fact that this novel veers more so to the perspective of loss and a world gone wrong, as was aptly expressed by Louis Menand (2001:2).

Bibliography: Baer, L. D. & Gesler, W. M. 2004. Reconsidering the Concept of Therapeutic Landscapes in J D Salingers The Catcher in the Rye. Area. vol. 36, no. 4. pp. 404-413. Ghasemi, P. & Ghafoori, M. 2010. Holden in Search of Identity: Recreating the Picture of the Flaneur. English Studies. vol. 91, no. 1. pp. 74-88. Menand, L. 2001. Life and Letters: Holden at Fifty. The New Yorker. 1/10/01. pp. 1-4. Retrieved September 25, 2012, from http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2001/10/01/011001fa_FACT3? Ohmann, C. & Ohmann, R. 1976. Reviewers, Critics, and The Catcher in the Rye. Critical Inquiry. pp. 15-37. Salinger, J. D. 1958. The Catcher in the Rye. Middlesex: Penguin Books Ltd. Trowbridge, C. W. 1966. The Symbolic Structure of The Catcher in the Rye. The Sewanee Review. vol. 74, no. 3. pp. 681-693. Retrieved September 25, 2012, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/27541452