How Does The Catcher In The Rye Existentialism
Existentialism and The Catcher in the Rye
After World War II, the US became a new superpower. With this new kind of power, a new philosophy developed: Existentialism. It is a philosophy that is based on subjectivity and individualism. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger was published in 1951 in New York, right after World War II. Throughout the novel, Holden is trying to discover his own meaning of life, which is an Existentialist idea appearing in the novel, as well as the criticism of rules and traditions created by society.
Holden is in the phase between being a child and an adult in his life; therefore, he is challenged to find himself and find out the way he wants to live. “The novel is built around [...] impossible alternatives”, which makes it even more difficult to find himself. He doesn’t have a role model (Bryan 1066). This reflects Existentialism, because the philosophy is about finding your own way of life, rather than going by rules made by society. …show more content…
He struggles with this responsibility to determine his own meaning of life and the idea of Angst comes up in the novel.
He thinks about killing himself in the novel, as well as running away. Both thoughts are based on his desire to escape responsibility. He has to face the consequences of his actions, like getting kicked out of school. He also has to make his own decisions and has to set his own rules in life. This great responsibility lays on his shoulders, which creates the feeling of Angst. In the end, however, “he is able to make more responsible decisions, like abandoning his escape from society” (Bear and Gesler 405). He overcomes the feeling of Angst and makes conscious decisions. Existentialists belief that that is the goal, to be able to have that
responsibility.
Holden didn’t agree with the way society was. He didn’t want to follow the rules of society. When he was in a bar he said, “If you sat around there long enough and heard all the phonies applauding and all, you got to hate everybody in the world, I swear you did” (Salinger 19). Like Existentialists he didn’t like the people that followed society. Existentialists believe that everyone should find the own way of living and no one except oneself should decide that. Everyone who follows society, therefore, goes against the philosophy.
The novel reflects the philosophy of its time period. It contains many elements of Existentialism. Salinger criticizes society after World War II. With his novel he makes many teenagers understand their own struggle and helps them to overcome it, by following the philosophy.
After World War II, the US became a new superpower. With this new kind of power, a new philosophy developed: Existentialism. It is a philosophy that is based on subjectivity and individualism. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger was published in 1951 in New York, right after World War II. Throughout the novel, Holden is trying to discover his own meaning of life, which is an Existentialist idea appearing in the novel, as well as the criticism of rules and traditions created by society.
Holden is in the phase between being a child and an adult in his life; therefore, he is challenged to find himself and find out the way he wants to live. “The novel is built around [...] impossible alternatives”, which makes it even more difficult to find himself. He doesn’t have a role model (Bryan 1066). This reflects Existentialism, because the philosophy is about finding your own way of life, rather than going by rules made by society. …show more content…
He struggles with this responsibility to determine his own meaning of life and the idea of Angst comes up in the novel.
He thinks about killing himself in the novel, as well as running away. Both thoughts are based on his desire to escape responsibility. He has to face the consequences of his actions, like getting kicked out of school. He also has to make his own decisions and has to set his own rules in life. This great responsibility lays on his shoulders, which creates the feeling of Angst. In the end, however, “he is able to make more responsible decisions, like abandoning his escape from society” (Bear and Gesler 405). He overcomes the feeling of Angst and makes conscious decisions. Existentialists belief that that is the goal, to be able to have that
responsibility.
Holden didn’t agree with the way society was. He didn’t want to follow the rules of society. When he was in a bar he said, “If you sat around there long enough and heard all the phonies applauding and all, you got to hate everybody in the world, I swear you did” (Salinger 19). Like Existentialists he didn’t like the people that followed society. Existentialists believe that everyone should find the own way of living and no one except oneself should decide that. Everyone who follows society, therefore, goes against the philosophy.
The novel reflects the philosophy of its time period. It contains many elements of Existentialism. Salinger criticizes society after World War II. With his novel he makes many teenagers understand their own struggle and helps them to overcome it, by following the philosophy.