Corruption In Catcher In The Rye And The Grapes Of Wrath

Inherent Corruption in Society The inherent aversion to corruption in society often inspires individuals to respond to an issue in an isolated way in hopes of minimizing the effects it may have on them as well as other people. In this way, J.D Salinger in, Catcher in the Rye, and John Steinbeck in, The Grapes of Wrath, each analyze this corruption through the protagonists in their novels as they experience isolation due to a result of society’s corruption. Although both authors entirely address this commentary, they do so from different points of view allowing them to reach differing resolutions. Both protagonists in each novel experiences isolation as a result of society’s corruption; however, Salinger chooses to displays isolation with
It’s so phony. For a second, I was tempted to tell her to forget the matinee… She gave me a pain in the ass, but she was very-good looking” (106). As they are talking on the phone, Holden analyzes her language in his head causing him to socially isolate and disconnect himself from her. Furthermore, Holden feels as though he is better than those he labels as ‘phonies’, causing him to bring alienation upon himself. Similarly, in Catcher in the Rye by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck displays Jim Casy as a protagonist who alienates himself from the Christian church due to the thought that the spirit doesn’t lie within him or the people anymore. From this idea, he believes as though society has corrupted him, ultimately bringing about sin and hypocrisy. When Casy and Tom reunite for the first time, Casy explains his biggest regret in the church; “me- I don’t know where I’m goin’. I use ta get the people jumpin’ an’ talkin’ in tounges…An’ some I’d baptize to bring ‘em to. An’ then- you know what I’d do? I’d take one of them girls out in the grass, an’ I’d lay with her…I figgered there was just no hope for me, an’ I was a damned ol’ hypocrite.
For instance, in Catcher in the Rye, Holden is seen as a character who isolates himself from society due to the ultimate factor that he is trying to fit in and find acceptance. From the onset of the novel, Salinger displays Holden’s loneliness as a one of his major issues. An example of this is seen when Holden attends Pencey Prep’s football game; “I standing way the hell up on top of the Thomsen Hill… You could see the whole field from there, and you could see the two teams bashing each other all over the place. You couldn’t see the grandstand too hot…because practically the whole school except for me was there” (2). This scene displays Holden’s hardships in trying to fit in as a student. He obviously wants to feel as if he is accepted due to the fact that he even attends events like this, but overall his own thoughts cause him to feel isolated therefore making him stand away from the crowd. Later on in the novel, Holden sits in his hotel room and watches people in other rooms through his window. These actions of others solidify Holden’s need of acceptance, for instance he states, “I saw…one guy [wearing] all women’s clothes…walking up and down the room, taking these very small steps, the way a women does, and smoking a cigarette and looking himself in the mirror. He was lonely too… Then, in the window almost right over his, I