Appearance vs. Reality

Appearance vs. Reality In the novels, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, the characters experience appearance vs. reality in many different ways. The most predominant ways would be, trying to be someone different, lies, and Protection. Both Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye, and the girls from Little Women, experience that things are not always as they first seem to be. Firstly, Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye, and Marmee and Meg March from Little Women, goes through similar experiences of self discovery. Marmee thinks she has discovered her true self, because she is so much older than the other girls, but when she announces that “[she] is angry nearly everyday of [her] life” (83, Alcott) she changes her mind. Marmee is the kind of person who appears to be happy all the time, so when the girls find out that she is not as happy as she first appears to be they are all pretty shocked. In reality Marmee is mad at herself everyday, but she hides it from the girls so they can be happy. Holden Caulfield feels similar to Marmee, except he is shocked with himself. When Holden calls the prostitute up to his hotel room he feels very mature, but when he asks her if “[she] minds cutting it out” (97, Salinger) he is not so sure about his maturity level. Holden appeared mature to the Sunny the prostitute, but in reality he is not mature enough to have a prostitute. In addition, Meg wants to be herself but in some situations it is hard for her. Meg is invited to a rich party, and being from the opposite culture it can be a tough decision to make. At the beginning “[she] is afraid to go down [to the ball room, she] feels so queer and stiff” (95, Alcott), but her friends convince her that “[she doesn’t] look a bit like [herself], but [she looks] very nice” (96, Alcott). Meg may first appear to be rich, but in reality she is from the complete opposite culture, poor. Holden also gets put into awkward