Similarities Between the Catcher in the Rye and Sic Vita
Sarah Seward
Clark
English
October 10, 2008
Big English Paper The book The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a popular book about a boy who feels isolated from the world and refuses to conform to the world. The poem Sic Vita by Henry Waldo Thoreau is about a man who does not fit into the world in which he lives. The two literary works are very similar because the themes of isolation and nonconformity are very present in the main characters lives’, the authors’ lives and the literary periods in which they were written. The book The Catcher in the Rye and the poem Sic Vita are very much alike in content because both show the theme of segregation and dissidence from society. The characters are similar because both characters feel separated from the world. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden never seems to fit in with anyone he comes in contact with. Holden seems to judge every person negatively that he comes in contact with throughout the novel. For example, when Holden goes on a date with Sally to go see a show, Sally runs into an acquaintance of hers and Holden calls the young man a “jerk” who is “strictly Ivy League” before he ever has a conversation with this person (Salinger 126). This example shows us that Holden is so segregated from his peers and even people in general that he can only sit back and judge others for feeling and having a life in which Holden does not possess because of his solidarity. Holden also seems to have the most fun when he is by himself. Holden is constantly with himself throughout the novel whether he is riding on a train, walking through the park, at a bar, in his room at the hotel or where ever, in general Holden spends a majority of the novel alone. The other part of the novel in which Holden is not alone, he wants to be. The reason for this is that Holden is uncomfortable unless he is by himself. So when Holden pays for a prostitute in his hotel room and she comes and invades Holden’s personal space, Holden
Clark
English
October 10, 2008
Big English Paper The book The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a popular book about a boy who feels isolated from the world and refuses to conform to the world. The poem Sic Vita by Henry Waldo Thoreau is about a man who does not fit into the world in which he lives. The two literary works are very similar because the themes of isolation and nonconformity are very present in the main characters lives’, the authors’ lives and the literary periods in which they were written. The book The Catcher in the Rye and the poem Sic Vita are very much alike in content because both show the theme of segregation and dissidence from society. The characters are similar because both characters feel separated from the world. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden never seems to fit in with anyone he comes in contact with. Holden seems to judge every person negatively that he comes in contact with throughout the novel. For example, when Holden goes on a date with Sally to go see a show, Sally runs into an acquaintance of hers and Holden calls the young man a “jerk” who is “strictly Ivy League” before he ever has a conversation with this person (Salinger 126). This example shows us that Holden is so segregated from his peers and even people in general that he can only sit back and judge others for feeling and having a life in which Holden does not possess because of his solidarity. Holden also seems to have the most fun when he is by himself. Holden is constantly with himself throughout the novel whether he is riding on a train, walking through the park, at a bar, in his room at the hotel or where ever, in general Holden spends a majority of the novel alone. The other part of the novel in which Holden is not alone, he wants to be. The reason for this is that Holden is uncomfortable unless he is by himself. So when Holden pays for a prostitute in his hotel room and she comes and invades Holden’s personal space, Holden
Cited: Aron, Paul. More Unsolved Mysteries of American History. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2004. Questia. 8 Oct. 2008 . Bloom, Harold, ed. Holden Caulfield. New York: Chelsea House, 1990. Questia. 8 Oct. 2008 . Carpenter, Frederic I. American Literature and the Dream. New York: Philosophical Library, 1955. Questia. 8 Oct. 2008 . Childs, Peter. Modernism. London: Routledge, 2000. Questia. 8 Oct. 2008 . Harding, Walter. A Thoreau Handbook. New York: New York University Press, 1959. Questia. 8 Oct. 2008 . Pattanaik, Dipti R. ""The Holy Refusal": A Vedantic Interpretation of J.D. Salinger 's Silence." MELUS 23.2 (1998): 113. Questia. 8 Oct. 2008 . Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1951. Thoreau, Henry Waldo. "Sic Vita." Poem Hunter. 10 Oct. 2008. 10 Oct. 2008 .