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Example research essay topic: J D Salinger Catcher In The Rye - 1,158 words

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Post World War II America experienced an economic boom never before seen in the United States. Despite this prosperity, discontent and alienation were becoming a common experience for American youth. J. D. Salinger s The Catcher in the Rye portrays its protagonist, Holden Caulfield, as a disenfranchised youth who can no longer function in the world in which he resides. The novel became an instant success among young people.

The Catcher in the Rye s portrayal of a society that had become a moral and spiritual wasteland rang true for many young people. So true for so many that the novel became a popular icon for the youth of the 50 s and 60 s. The Catcher in the Rye shows that sex is another one of life s beautiful things corrupted in this society. Sex in the traditional sense is a physical expression of love by two consenting partners in a monogamous relationship. None of the sexual encounters portrayed in The Catcher in the Rye meets any of these qualifications.

Holden is a virgin, but his virginity is not due to lack opportunity. According to Holden, he has had quite a few opportunities to lose [his] virginity. (pg. 92) Holden wants to have sex but he is unable to abandon his morals, as he remarks, when they tell me to stop, I stop. (pg. 92) Holden s morals are put to the test when he has an opportunity to have sex with a prostitute. When the prostitute undresses, sexy was about the last thing [he] was feeling (pg. 95), so Holden asks to prostitute to leave. Stradlater, Holden's roommate at Pencey Prep, is known for his sexual exploits. When his dates asked him to stop, please (pg. 49), Stradlater would ignore their initial pleas and he would eventually wear them down until they were willing to have sex. Stradlater s actions demonstrate that he perceives sex strictly as a means of physical gratification.

Carl Luce, another friend of Holden s, coldly proclaims his old girlfriend is probably the whore of New Hampshire by this time. (pg. 145) If Carl believed she was a whore for sleeping with him, then it is obvious that he did not perceive any real emotional link between them. It becomes very clear, that no one except Holden has any kind of respect for sex as a spiritual act. School is a place where children are educated and prepared for adult life. However, Holden's school experiences center on greed, cruelty, and mendacity. Holden last school, Pencey Prep, claims that since 1888 [it has] been molding boys into splendid, clear-thinking young men. (Pg. 2) According to Holden, they dont do any more damn molding at Pencey then they do at any other school. (pg. 2) Every Saturday, Pencey Prep served steak which Holden described as hard little dry jobs... that you could hardly cut. (pg. 35) Holden surmised that the reason they did this was that everybody's mother would ask their darling boy what he had for dinner last night and hed say steak.

This gave families a false impression of the quality of care at the school. (pg. 35) J. D Salinger shows that the motivating factor in private education is not the quality of the education or quality of life of its students, rather it is the desire for profit. Holden observers that the more expensive a school is, the more crooks it has (pg. 4), even though quite a few guys came from very wealthy families. (pg. 4) Someone had stolen his camels-hair coat right out of [his] room, with [his] fur lined gloves right in the pocket and all. (pg. 4) People generally steal to get what they cannot afford, but the incident at Pencey proves that the rich are just as capable of stealing and for no reason at all. In the world portrayed by J.

D. Salinger, even religion is corrupt. Greed and sensationalism are replacing spiritual and moral values in all aspects of religious life. Holden claims that he is sort of an atheist (pg. 99), but admits that he: likes Jesus and all, but [he does not] care too much for most of the other stuff in the Bible. Take the Disciples, for instance. They annoy the hell out of [him]They were all right after Jesus was dead and all, but when He was alive, they were about as much use to Him as a hole in the head.

All they did was keep letting Him down. (pg. 99) This passage illustrates how Holden's frustration with religion is traceable back to the Bible itself. Jesus death is caused by greed. Judas, one of the Disciples, betrays Him to the Romans for thirty pieces of Silver. (Matthew 26: 15, New Testament) Before Jesus death, the twelve Disciples, all swear never to deny Jesus, even under threat of death (Matthew 25: 36, New Testament). Eventually they all deny any kinship with Jesus. It is interesting that Holden does like and relate to Jesus. His spiritual and generous side is particularly evident during his encounter with the two nuns.

Holden likes the nuns because they lived what they believed. He later contrasts them to his aunt and Sally Hayes mother. While Holden's aunt is pretty charitable[he] couldnt picture her doing anything for charity if she had to wear black clothes and no lipstick while she was doing it. (p. 114) Sally Hayes mother, on the other hand, would only: go around with a basket collecting dough everybody kissed her ass for her when they made a contribution. If they just dropped their dough in her basket, then walked away without saying anything to her, ignoring her and all, shed quit in about an hour. (p. 114) Both Holden s aunt and Sally s mother do charitable work, not to be generous and kind, but to present and image of caring. At Pencey Prep, Holden lived in the Ossenberger Memorial Wing, which was named after a man who donated large amounts of money to the school. Ossenberger made his fortune by starting these undertaking parlors all over the country [where] you could get members of the family for about five bucks apiece. (pg. 16) Ossenberger amassed his fortune from death.

Greed killed Jesus, and Ossenberger makes his money from the dead. Catcher in the Rye gives a clear representation of an organized religion that is just as greedy and corrupt as any other institution in Holden s society. Salinger shows Holden as the Christ figure, despite his swearing, drinking, smoking, and other superficial crudities. Holden is special. He is spiritual, generous, and protective of the innocent. The society that surrounds Holden is corrupt, immoral and spiritually void, regardless of an individual s place in society.

In this world the immoral, the Ossenberger's and the Stradlater's survive, while Holden cannot. Holden is not equipped with the ability to be immoral, therefore is unable to deal with the reality of his society.


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