The Truth Catcher In The Rye

The Beauty Of Accepting The Truth Winston Churchill once said, “The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.” People sometimes choose to the truth due to the evil that covers the truth. However, the truth will always unravel. A clear example of the truth coming out is shown in the novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger and in the movie “Rebel Without a Cause” written by Stewart Stern. Holden in “The Catcher in the Rye” is portrayed as a narcissistic teenage boy, but later gains sympathy from the readers from his extreme grief of the death of his brother. On the other hand, Jim in “Rebel Without a cause” is a charismatic adolescent male who struggles with doing what he
Stern’s use of the theme “Appearance vs. Reality” is shown when Jim was faced with having the choice of believing that his views of women are correct, or the truth. Jim has a negative view of woman. It is negative due to the way his mom treats his dad, making him believe that there is “destruction in all women”(Stern). All in all. Jim has the impression that females will only give him a negative influence. An example of Jim witnessing his mom “destructing” his dad is demonstrated in this one scene, where Jim calls after a figure and “The figure straightens and turns around, smiling. It is Jim’s father. [Jim’s father] is neatly dressed in his business suit but wears a Mary Petty apron”(Stern). Jim’s dad is downgraded. In this
Reality” is shown when Holden has to move past the death of his younger brother, Allie. Holden really loved Allie. Holden knows his brother is long gone, but he makes no attempt to get over Allie’s death. For example, when Holden gets “depressed”, he tells Allie to get his bike and “meet [Holden] in front of Bobby’s house” and to “Hurry up”(Salinger 110). This clearly shows that Holden is not over Allie’s death. Holden still pretends that his brother is alive and creates fake scenarios to continue his fantasy of his brother still being alive. Holden is choosing to cling onto the past, rather than let it go. When Holden later encounters his little sister Phoebe, she quickly snaps him back to reality by reminding that “Allie’s dead” and adds that “If somebody’s dead and every, and in Heaven, then it isn’t really-” (Salinger 189). Phoebe wants Holden to move past the death of Allie. She reminds Holden that Allie gone, that he needs to let go of Allie. Phoebe wants Holden to get past the grieving process and move onto the road of healing. Phoebe helps Holden realize that he now has to move forward. After a period of eternal conflict, Holden finally accepts the truth. His brother is dead. The only way to get past it is to move forward. Holden shows that he finally accepts that his brother is dead by concluding the book with , “God, I wish you could’ve been there”(Salinger 234). The “you” Holden is referring to is his brother. Holden