Catcher In The Rye: A Literary Analysis

Similar observations are made by academic writer and author Sarah Graham in her book entitled Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. In this book, Graham addresses a variety of reading techniques, themes, and comparisons/contrasts in regards to Salinger’s most popular novel, but she specifically addresses the main theme of Holden’s attempt to escape the phony 1950’s materialistic focused society surrounding him. Graham begins her take on this theme of escaping society with a chapter on Holden’s rebellion: “Developing the theme of rebellion, Holden’s visit to Mr. Spencer confirms that he is opposed to the conventional ideas that school and society encourage in order to promote stability” (34). During this visit to Mr. Spencer’s house that Graham
He sees adults and friends who succumb to these norms, and he outwardly looks down upon them and call them phonies of society. As an author, J.D. Salinger created Holden Caulfield as a character to challenge the expected norms of this time period, and as a whole, the novel addresses the challenge of accepting societal norms and diverging from norms to create a different lifestyle. For Holden, although many other reasons attribute to his refusal to accept society, he mainly believes that the 1950’s American Dream culture valuing marriage, family and education is not one that he wishes to be associated with. It is also crucial to note that by the end of the novel, Holden ends up in a mental institution, the location from which he narrates Catcher in the Rye. This element of the novel is crucial to our understanding of Holden as a character; he seems to have rejected the values and views of the post-war era so intensely, he is literally unable to function and has been
The 1950’s released many plays and playwrights that would be remembered and studied for years to come, but Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night specifically addressed the theme of rebelling against traditional American norms in a very interesting way. O’Neill, born on October 16, 1888, was one of the most admired playwrights of all time. His talent and love for writing provocative and moving plays such as Long Day’s Journey Into Night directly represent many of the trials and tribulations he faced in his own upbringing. He was the son of Mary Ellen O’Neill and James O'Neill, a stage actor whose career got cut short due to having children; a haunting similarity to James Tyrone’s character in Long Day’s Journey Into Night (bio.com). According to O’Neill’s online biography, “after Eugene was born, his mother developed an addiction to morphine. She had been given the drug to help her through her particularly difficult childbirth. Ella was also still grieving for Eugene's older brother, Edmund, who had died of the measles three years earlier” (bio.com). Obviously, O’Neill took inspiration from his own troubled life of growing into a troubled family in the early 20th century, and created a play that would later become world renowned for its challenging story line and enticing