Catcher In The Rye :: Essays Papers

Catcher In The RyeOh literature, oh the glorious Art, how it preys upon the marrow in our bones. It scoops the salad dressing out of us and chucks us aside (David Herbert Lawrence). Well-written expires of literature have the undeniable ability to kidnap readers, carry them away into the storys notional world, and hold the reader for ransom, away from a world where they may not be anticipating the return. This type of literary escape is scarce in todays fast-paced society. One is submitted into a fantasy, in which opinions and ideas about the characters and situations expand beyond all possibilities. Literature acts as a valuable aid for self-growth it nourishes intellect, cheers one up, or relaxes mind and spirit. Nikki Giovanni asks the question, ever been kidnaped/by a poet (Giovanni 346). If one has not yet been enriched by this feeling, the mystery must be unveiled. To say that I have go through this feeling from only one piece of literature would prove a great inju stice to my literary history. There have been countless moments in my disembodied spirit where I have left time and place to enter a world created by the author, but perfected by my own interpretations and impressions. The literary work that stands out most my mind is The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. This is one of the most absorbing novels I had the privilege to read. The plot of this story concerns a young man, Holden Caulfield, being expelled from one of a long list of schools. The intriguing part of this story is how he perceives and understands his own human condition. He experiences unexplained economic crisis and erratic behavior, which leads to an eventual nervous breakdown in a world he views as invaded by phony adults who corrupt innocent children. The title is reassert when Holden is talking to his little sister. She asks what he wants to be when he grows up. He asks her if shes ever heard the song If a tree trunk catch a body comin through the rye. H e continuesI keep picturing these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and zips around-nobody big, I mean-except me. And Im standing on the edge of some crazy cliff.