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A recurring theme in J. D. Salinger's stories concerns people who dont fit in with the traditional American culture. His main characters are super-intelligent humans who must choose between the phony real world (American culture) and a morally-pure, nice world. Salinger's characters unlike the rest of society, are caught in the struggle between a superficial world and a conscious morality... They do not conform to the material happiness; but search for a spiritual happiness.
The works of J. D. Salinger show the quest for happiness through religion, loneliness, and symbolism. In Nine Stories Franny Glass keeps reciting the Jesus Prayer to cope with the suicide of her brother Seymour. This prayer serves as a means of comfort and the last hope for Franny in this situation.
She would be lost if their was no prayer. Another instance of searching comfort through religion is shown in Catcher in the Rye. Holden Caufield is in despair for losing his girlfriend, so he reads a passage in the Bible. This probably helps him change his outlook on life. Holden was alone then and had no one to turn back on, until he found the Bible. In Franny and Zooey, the youngest Glass child Franny has a nervous breakdown.
Influenced by Seymours interest in Eastern philosophy, she is frustrated with the superficial world around her. In the second half of the book, Zooey explains to his younger sister Franny that they and the rest of the Glass family are the problem, not the rest of the world. They are different because they were religiously enlightened by their two oldest brothers, Seymour and Buddy: Were freaks, thats all. Those two bastards got us early and made us into freaks with freakish standards, thats all. Were the Tattooed Lady, and were never going to have a minutes peace, the rest of our lives, till everybody else is tattooed, too (Franny 139). As Zooey says, the only thing that counts in the religious life is detachment (Franny 198).
But there is not only Christian religion is present in Salinger s work but also others like Zen philosophy or Buddhism. Seymour Glass in Nine Stories has a certain philosophy about life, it is similar to one used by Buddha when achieving nirvana. Seymour Glass is on a quest to become free from all of the suffering in his life as Buddha was from his life. Seymour is able to attain nirvana by committing suicide Salinger shows us that when Seymour committed suicide he let go of all of the suffering that he had met, thus attaining the happiness he longed for.
It shows liberation as an end to all suffering, thus creating happiness for the character In many of Salinger's works loneliness is used to make a boundary between the characters and evil. Society is portrayed as bad, and for many characters isolation from the society is the only way to achieve happiness. In Catcher in the Rye Holden Caufields entire plot deals with him trying to isolate from society. Holden realizes that society has become bad (even children at Phoebe s school when he saw fuck written on a wall), and wants no part in this terrible life. Society is used as the source of discord in this case to be isolated from.
Holden is shown as just a hermit. at the end of Catcher in the Rye. He only wants to be separated from the society which considers him a misfit. In Salinger's works a source of unhappiness is usually the fact that society feels the characters are misfits. The characters can only become happy if they isolate themselves from this society. Salinger uses loneliness also as a means to change in life.
In Raise the Roof Beam High, Salinger is able to use isolation to change the life of Seymour Glass. Seymour feels that society has become corrupt and must change his lifestyle in order for him to become happy. Seymour sees that society has no more compassion on people, and that he must do something to change it. Salinger shows that Seymour wants nothing of this world and wants to be as far away as possible.
The characters see that society has become bad, and in order for them to become happy they must get away from society, and live their own lives. Salinger uses many lucky symbols in his works to show to fulfill the quest for happiness. In Catcher in the Rye, Salinger refers to ducks in central park. The ducks are in context to a scripture in the Bible, which tells of how the ducks are free, later he explains that Holden will become free as these ducks. In Catcher in the Rye Holden's main purpose was to be free from the suffering The ducks represented how he would feel, being happy.
Salinger also shows his symbolism from other works through the work of Mark Twain. Salinger portrays how Holden in Catcher in the Rye changes to a different man when he is at the water fountain in Central Park, as the case in Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn in which Huck changes when he is on the Mississippi River. In Perfect Day for Banana fish, the bananfish represents a contemporary man who, blinded with his greed, forgets about the essential who are guilty of overeating themselves with meaningless material objects until they become so superficial they are beyond hope of ever attaining spiritual purity. Salinger uses symbolism from other books in his books to convey how the characters in his works will change for a better life. Salinger uses much of the symbolism to show how the life of the characters has become happy or the turning point of the characters lives.
The works of Salinger show the quest for happiness through religion, loneliness, and symbolism. His writings deal with characters fulfilling their quest for happiness. He would have the characters accomplish their quest by going through obstacles, in which they learned about their lives. He employed the religion, loneliness, and symbolism as means for the characters to understand how to obtain happiness in life.
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Research essay sample on J D Salinger Quest For Happiness
