Similarities Between The Awakening And Catcher In The Rye

The Price of Happiness Responsibility, self-acceptance, and happiness are important virtues, especially with family. What happens when these are put up against each other? Edna Pontellier from Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, and Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, face this challenge. Edna Pontellier lives in a Creole society, but defies the lifestyle of the typical Creole woman, who strives to care for her family and make her husband comfortable and happy. Being quite the opposite, Edna struggles with acceptance from her community, making self acceptance near impossible. No longer caring about what others think, Edna breaks from the oppression she bears from her husband and peers, but tears her family apart in the process.
Edna’s friend, Madame Ratignolle, depicts the perfect image of a Creole woman. She encourages Edna to begin making winter clothing for her children. However, “Mrs. Pontellier’s mind was quite at rest concerning the present material needs of her children, and she could not see the use of anticipating and making winter night garments the subject of her summer meditations” (Chopin 18). Creole women are expected to care for their families, however Edna finds no interest in this. She does not want to make the winter clothing for her children “her summer meditations” portraying how enjoying her summer overrules preparing her family for the winter. Also, “Mrs. Pontellier’s mind was quite at rest”, emphasizes her ignorant state of mind because she does not see the use in preparing for the winter by making clothing. “Rest” has a calm connotation reinforcing her poor mother skills, whereas Madame Ratignolle thinks about her family and prepares them for the upcoming winter. Later on, Edna expresses that “She understood now clearly what she had meant long ago when she said to Adele Ratignolle that she would give up the nonessential, but she would never sacrifice herself for her children” (Chopin 188). “Long ago” proves Edna’s opinions have not changed since then. Also, Edna states she would “give up the nonessential”, proving how she can
On his way home from Pencey, Holden met Ernest Morrow’s mother on the train. He talks with her for a while about Ernest and grows quite fond of her. He offers to buy her a drink to which she replies, “‘Dear, are you allowed to order drinks?’ She asked me… ‘Well, no, not exactly, but I can usually get them on account of my heighth,’ [he] said. ‘And I have quite a bit of gray hair’” (Salinger 57). Holden offering to buy her a drink portrays his adult-like qualities, illustrating how he wants to be perceived as an adult. Mrs. Morrow calling Holden “Dear” patronizes him, causing him to have to reassure her that he can do grown up tasks. “I can usually get them on account of my heighth” exhibits how his appearance makes him seem older and makes him more confident in himself allowing him to achieve his goal of feeling like an adult. Similarly, he establishes that he has “quite a bit of gray hair” which also makes him appear older, allowing him to believe he can participate in activities adults do based on his appearance. “Usually” makes it sound as if Holden has bought drinks numerous times further emphasizing how he wants to be an adult and have the independence to buy products for older people. Later on, Holden sits at a bar and, even though underage, he orders a drink. He “order[s] a Scotch and soda… [He] said it fast as