Catcher In The Rye Phony Extract
The process of growing may be challenging and painful for some individuals, especially when they experience alienation as a form of protecting their innocence and contempt towards the perceived phoniness of the adult world. The opening extract from J.D Salinger’s ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ (1951) is very significant in relation of the novel. This novel, renowned for its didactic nature also voices the opinions and struggles of many young American teens in the post – modern World War II period. Salinger utilizes the unique character of Holden and his struggles in the chaotic multifaceted world to portray how alienation can be used as protection, the painfulness of growing up and the phoniness of the adult world.
Due to the fear of transitioning …show more content…
The novel Is referred to as a bildungsroman, as it is about Holden’s journey of growth and development as he matures into manhood. However Holden isn’t the typical protagonist, as he resists the process of transition due to belief that the adult world is ‘phony’ and fear for change. Holden’s thoughts about the symbolic Museum of National History, conveys his fear of change and complexity in the adult world. The museum’s displays appeal to him because they are frozen and unchanging; representing the world he wishes to live in, “The best thing…in the museum was everything stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move, Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different is you”. The use of ‘you’ in the final phrase highlights Holden’s attempt to distance himself from the inevitable process of change, wanting the world to be frozen in place, as he is still confused by Ali’s senseless death. The pond from central park lagoon itself becomes a minor metaphor of the world Holden sees. It is “partly frozen and partly not frozen”, representing the transition between two states just as Holden views the change of childhood to adulthood. Holden’s strive to protect innocence causes him to fantasize about simple world, and his simple role. “What I have to do, I have to catch everyone if they start to go over the
Due to the fear of transitioning …show more content…
The novel Is referred to as a bildungsroman, as it is about Holden’s journey of growth and development as he matures into manhood. However Holden isn’t the typical protagonist, as he resists the process of transition due to belief that the adult world is ‘phony’ and fear for change. Holden’s thoughts about the symbolic Museum of National History, conveys his fear of change and complexity in the adult world. The museum’s displays appeal to him because they are frozen and unchanging; representing the world he wishes to live in, “The best thing…in the museum was everything stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move, Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different is you”. The use of ‘you’ in the final phrase highlights Holden’s attempt to distance himself from the inevitable process of change, wanting the world to be frozen in place, as he is still confused by Ali’s senseless death. The pond from central park lagoon itself becomes a minor metaphor of the world Holden sees. It is “partly frozen and partly not frozen”, representing the transition between two states just as Holden views the change of childhood to adulthood. Holden’s strive to protect innocence causes him to fantasize about simple world, and his simple role. “What I have to do, I have to catch everyone if they start to go over the