Comparison Great Gatsby and Catcher in the Rye
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, Gatsby is a man who can be compared to Holden Caulfield from J.D Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. Jay Gatsby and Holden Caulfield are both caught up in their unattainable dreams and first love and as a result struggle with an obsession of their past.
It is a natural tendency for all men and women to dream but sometimes these dreams may be unattainable. In J.D Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has a desire to preserve the innocence of children and save them from adulthood. He is a victim of the “Peter Pan Syndrome,” a condition that aspires to remain young. The experiences that Holden has had leads him to believe that the adult world is dangerous, full of phonies and perverts. This perception of the world makes him feel that “[he has] to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff” and be “the catcher in the rye.” Caulfield wants to protect the innocent children from falling over the cliff that bridges the gap between childhood and adulthood and letting them go through similar experiences he has had. Holden acknowledges that "Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone.” Holden is afraid of the effects that reality will have on children and by
keeping the children in glass cases Holden thinks that their innocence may be preserved. However, through his quest for innocence of childhood he realizes that he is powerless and even “If [he] had a million years to do it in, [he] couldn't rub out even half the "Fuck you" signs in the world. It's impossible.” There is nothing that he can do to protect the innocence of children and one day they will have to mature and become adults. Through this realization his dreams become unattainable and have to be forgotten.
For some the unattainable dream may be saving the world, but for others it may be the American dream. In Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby,
It is a natural tendency for all men and women to dream but sometimes these dreams may be unattainable. In J.D Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has a desire to preserve the innocence of children and save them from adulthood. He is a victim of the “Peter Pan Syndrome,” a condition that aspires to remain young. The experiences that Holden has had leads him to believe that the adult world is dangerous, full of phonies and perverts. This perception of the world makes him feel that “[he has] to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff” and be “the catcher in the rye.” Caulfield wants to protect the innocent children from falling over the cliff that bridges the gap between childhood and adulthood and letting them go through similar experiences he has had. Holden acknowledges that "Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone.” Holden is afraid of the effects that reality will have on children and by
keeping the children in glass cases Holden thinks that their innocence may be preserved. However, through his quest for innocence of childhood he realizes that he is powerless and even “If [he] had a million years to do it in, [he] couldn't rub out even half the "Fuck you" signs in the world. It's impossible.” There is nothing that he can do to protect the innocence of children and one day they will have to mature and become adults. Through this realization his dreams become unattainable and have to be forgotten.
For some the unattainable dream may be saving the world, but for others it may be the American dream. In Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby,