question 4

“The Catcher in the Rye” does not exactly have a huge impact on my American dream but it is evident. In no way shape or form do I want to be like Holden at all I do not want to separate myself from society and just escape and live by myself in the wilderness. I do not like being alone, and I know Holden doesn’t either, but I need to be surrounded by people and meet new people and not just see the same few every single day. I do want to leave my house one day, but not in the manner he does. I want to leave because I do not want to be a 30 year old still dependent on my parents. I want to grow up and take the next steps in my life, and that does not mean move as far away from my family as possible. I love my family. I want to still be somewhat close so holidays are not super expensive and because I do not want to be separated from them. However in a way Holden has affected my American dream because he has showed me that I actually need to work to accomplish things in life. Doing nothing or doing just enough will not be enough to get me by in life.

question 3

I feel that most people have similar American dreams for the most part. I do not think all are identical but for the most part they all have the same basic concept. I think that the basic concept is to grow up and be successful and usually be married. Some people’s American dreams are distorted a bit when it comes to marriage because not everyone wants to be married. People who want to get married might not want to have kids. My American dream is to grow up and be successful or get a job that at least makes me happy. Along with that, I want to get married to someone who I can trust, have kids, and basically live happily ever after. My American dream is not much different than that of people in the 1970’s where the American dream was advertised. The dream back then still had happiness and success and family. This shows that the idea of the American dream is passed down from generation to generation.

question 2

The idea of the American Dream in this story does not portray the typical dream that most during this time period have. Holden once again is not an average kid, and because of that his American Dream is much different than anyone else’s during this time period. Most people during the 1950’s wanted to move to the city, get a job, get married and just live happily ever after. In Holden’s family the idea of the American Dream is almost all there, with his dad having a really good job and making a lot of money, also living in New York City close to everything. However, no one in his family is happy after the death of Allie, Holden’s brother, everything has been falling apart. Holden’s mom is torn with everything and emotionally unstable, and Holden’s brother has detached himself from the family and moved to L.A. His little sister she is just caught in a bad situation with being stuck at home. Holden is afraid to go home to his parents, especially his mother, because he knows she will be torn apart about him being kicked out of another school. Because of this, Holden’s American Dream is to separate himself from everyone and move up into the wilderness to get away from all distractions and be around people who he can have intelligent conversations with so he does not feel lonely.

 

question 1

“The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger displays a different view of the 1950’s time period. Holden is not your average teen; he hates people and almost always finds a flaw to everyone, thus giving him a reason to think they are morons. Since he does not prefer to be around people, his view is rather completely different than most during this time period. It seemed that most people during this era wanted to move to the city, get a job, and just be surrounded by people. However, in Holden’s case he wants the complete opposite. He wants to escape the city, escape all the phonies and move to the wilderness to live in a cabin away from people who do not annoy him. This characteristic of Holden is greatly influenced by the author, J.D. Salinger who moved to Cornish to escape distractions and to avoid people. In this era however, like most teens his age, he is sent off to boarding school. After being kicked out, he spends a weekend in New York City having a blast and seeing all the sites and various attractions. Holden, on the other hand does not have a blast, he goes to a show, walks by Broadway, and tries to drink at about every place he passes by. He does not have a good time because he thinks that the shows and Broadway are all phonies. He spends most of his time just complaining about it and always finding something that annoyed him.  

summary of the author

J.D. Salinger, the author of “The Catcher in the Rye”, was born January 1, 1919 and passed away January 27, 2010. He is widely known for his novel “The Catcher in the Rye”, and his reclusive nature. He much like Holden, the main character in his novel, both strived inattention. However, after publishing his novel, he later admitted that the book was some what autobiographical, saying his adolescent years were much like Holdens. His book brought him a great deal of fame and was the “must read” book during the mid-fifties. His book also received a lot of scrutiny because of the profanity and was banned in several countries and many U.S. Schools banned it as well because of its coarse language. Some teachers who assigned the book were fired or forced to resign. “The Catcher in the Rye” is a unique peace of literature that will always be around, and never forgotten.