1950s Culture Exposed in The Catcher in the Rye Essay

1950s Culture Exposed in The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salingers The Catcher in the Rye is a remarkable book that gives readers a unique and perhaps gloomy perspective of the 1950s through Holden Caulfield, a cynical and peculiar teenager. Through The Catcher in the Rye Salinger describes important aspects of the 1950s. Salinger emphasizes several key characteristics of the 50s and criticizes them through Holden. In addition, Holden Caulfield is a very interesting character with several traits that put him at odds with society. Holden attacks various weaknesses in the 50s society. He criticizes nearly everything that he observes, and refuses to pull punches. Often Holden uses his brilliant talent of†¦show more content†¦When Holden takes a cab to Ernies in Greenwich Village he has a conversation with the cab driver, Horwitz. Salinger demonstrates the paranoia of the 50s by emphasizing how angry Horwitz is that Holden is asking him so many questions. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye Holden complains that the people around him are all phony. This view probably stems from the extensive trend of conformity that infected the 1950s. The reader can understand Holdens reason for hating these phonies. Holden describes any person that embraces the popular culture as a phony and disdains them for it. This is clear when Holden goes to see The Lunts with Sally Hayes and is absolutely disgusted by the people around him. When Holden meets Sallys acquaintance, George, he immediately recognizes him as a phony, strictly ivy league. Big deal. (p.127) Holden cannot stand people who do not think for themselves. Although Salinger never states his opinion directly, one can assume by Holdens statements that Salinger was also critical of the 50s theme of conformity, or at least aware of it. Holden meets a handful of people in his adventure that he categorizes as pure and sincere. These people include his love, Jane Gallagher, his sister, Phoebe, and two nuns that he meets on the street. Holden recognizes that during the 1950s there were very few people who were true to themselves. Holden never addresses this conformity as a uniqueShow MoreRelatedThe Naivety of Holden Caulfield and America Exposed in The Catcher in the Rye1406 Words   |  6 Pageswisdom and maturity it needed in order for peace to prevail. In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the young character named Holden Caulfield displayed an image of naivety that shadowed the immature lifestyles of 1950’s America and served as a critique towards this nation for the lack of wisdom reflected in the course of our actions. As America slowly began molding into the creases of different values and cultures, so did its literature. One trait that had always been securing itself within theRead MoreThe Movie Pleasantville 1541 Words   |  7 PagesPleasantville is a movie where significant change occurs based on the theories of social change. In the movie, the TV show Pleasantville is set in the 1950’s and everything and everyone in that show is in black and white. And being that they’re set in the 1950’s the have the same outdated morals, values and beliefs that are associated with 1950’s culture. However, the town of Pleasantville slowly but surely turns into colour when they go against their societal norms and beliefs and have sex, read, paintRead MoreThe American Culture of the 1950s Essay1887 Words   |  8 Pages As World War Two came to a close, a new American culture was developing all across the United States. Families were moving away from crowded cities into spacious suburban towns to help create a better life for them during and after the baby boom of the post-war era. Teenagers were starting to become independent by listing to their own music and not wearing the same style of clothing as their parents. Aside from the progress of society that was made during this time period, many people still didRead More Censorship - A Clash of Wills and Morals Essay4147 Words   |  17 Pageswho disapproved of reading about a black character or by a black audience who was upset by the portrayal of blacks, race was undoubtedly the issue. Yet, charges against these novels on racial grounds did not appear in the records until the 1950s when African- Americans began lodging complaints. Until then, many groups tried to suppress the novels on the grounds of â€Å"obscenity.† This is especially the case when it is a novel about blacks that white supremacist groups wish to eliminateRead MoreEssay Writing9260 Words   |  38 Pagesmaintain a sense of your own personality. Do not worry about sounding academic, but avoid sloppiness. The Review A review may be either formal or informal, depending on the context. Its goal is to evaluate a work, which implies that the reviewer s personal opinion plays a significant role in the process. However, a certain objective standard needs to be maintained and, as in a persuasive essay, your assertions need to be proved. The formality of the review will be determined by how much of the