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Huckleberry Finn Escape Theme Essay

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Huckleberry Finn Escape Theme Essay
How is the theme Escape shown in both ‘Catcher in the Rye’ and ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’?

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain are both examples of coming of age novels; both express each protagonist’s journey to adulthood and the lesson of listening to one’s conscience. The theme ‘Escape’ is portrayed thoroughly throughout both novels. However, the theme ‘Escape’ is not only displayed physically; it is also presented psychologically. Initially, ‘Escape’ begins in ‘Catcher’, due to the fact that it is displayed physically when Holden Caulfield (the protagonist) leaves Pencey Prep; the third school he has been expelled from. Holden is presented as a rebellious teenager from …show more content…
Holden lies to her about being expelled from school and manufactures an entire story which includes a ‘phoney’ name; ‘Rudolf Schmidt’ and deceitfully describing how he was suffering with a tumour. Holden lies but then contradicts himself by stating: ‘I swear to god…’ This is also ironic because he believes people are phoney, but he conjures up a bogus name and creates an insincere lie about being ill, however he always justifies his truthful statements by saying ‘…I swear to God’ or ‘…I really did…’- An example of this is shown in my chosen extract, Holden Says: ‘But I’m crazy. I swear to God I am…’ This implies that Holden has to convince others that he is being honest and even has to convince himself when he is telling the truth. Perhaps Holden contemplates whether people are going to believe him because he knows he is a compulsive liar. Perhaps this justifies the reasoning behind him wanting the world to change; secretly Holden wants to escape from being ‘Phoney Holden
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