Catcher In The Rye And Generation X: Holden And Andy
In the novel, Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden, has very definite views on sexuality, aggression, and death. He is ambivalent towards sex, loathsome of aggression, and fearsome of death. It's this triangle of sin that demonstrates the conflict occurring within Holden's inner monologue. In the novel, Generation X, the main character, Andy, is grappling with many of the same problems that Holden faced forty years earlier. Even though the more modern society is different than forty years ago, the same general issues still haunt Andy today, with many parallels to Holden's coming-of-age issues.
With such a dead-end vision of the trap of adulthood and marriage, it isn't very ...
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who protects children from the pitfalls of hypocrisy and lies, that Holden seems to think infect the adult world. As a result, Holden is very careful not to use other characters as a means for his own ends. In many ways he is unable to deflect the unexpressed pressures that every teen male feels, to have sex. He is offered the "teenage dream" of sex in a non-responsible situation when Maurice, the elevator operator in his hotel offers to set him up with a hooker. Holden jumps at the chance, but when confronted with the reality of the situation feels horrible, and ends up not touching the hooker.
Pure sex, like many other societal myths, is a romantic place that Holden wants to believe exists, but understands through his cynicism, that is never has, or ever will exist. But his mistrust goes deeper. For Holden, it seemed like sex would somehow integrate him into the world at large, which he despises. Holden does not want to accept any change in his life. He sees sex as a way that ...
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if you want to know the truth."
Although his swing at Stradlater, seem to go against his non-aggressive personality, it is the name of Jane, someone who Holden considers as the model of perfection and innocence. This all comes back to the comment about Jane keeping her kings in the back row. This is interesting because it shows her unwillingness to be aggressive or sexual, which are two of Holden's values, despite the fact she is now involved with Stradlater, who represents (at least to Holden) sex and aggression.
The connection between sex, death, and aggression all come together near the end of the novel when Holden visits his younger sister phoebe, at her elementary school. ...
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Catcher In The Rye And Generation X: Holden And Andy. (2008, February 27). Retrieved April 24, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Catcher-Rye-Generation-X-Holden-Andy/79722
"Catcher In The Rye And Generation X: Holden And Andy." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 27 Feb. 2008. Web. 24 Apr. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Catcher-Rye-Generation-X-Holden-Andy/79722>
"Catcher In The Rye And Generation X: Holden And Andy." Essayworld.com. February 27, 2008. Accessed April 24, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Catcher-Rye-Generation-X-Holden-Andy/79722.
"Catcher In The Rye And Generation X: Holden And Andy." Essayworld.com. February 27, 2008. Accessed April 24, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Catcher-Rye-Generation-X-Holden-Andy/79722.
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