The theory of individualism - Essay Example

Individualism. The Catcher In The Rye's protagonist, Holden Caufield, practiced individualism because he disagreed with the culture in his mainstream society. He was successful only in the sense of being able to express his individualism in words and actions. Ultimately, Holden ended up being a loser because neither society nor himself could get along with his extreme expressions. He could not even reconcile with himself to accept his individualism and ended up an outcast, alienated and isolated in a sanatorium. Holden has been made a symbol of American individualism of his time. Salinger used him as a mouthpiece to voice his contemporary society's social issues like the gradual diminishing of the parental control in the family. (Salzman 58). Holden did try to show respect towards his parents. In this aspect, he has accepted what his parents and society expects him to be. He knew that his parents were conservative and would have fits if they thought their privacy was not upheld. However, he voiced his alienation by saying he was bored. He refrained from outright condemnation but his tone showed how different he was from them. Holden began his narration by saying, '"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them."' (Salinger). In a way, Holden told us that his parents are phony because they are so afraid to face up to criticism, and they live in their lies which made that a hypocrisy of their good parental objectives. Holden did not conform to his school's authoritarian rule and thus has been expelled. He has been successful in defending his individualism but at the cost of his schooling. Henriksen's studies on the American culture from 1950s - 1960s tried to explain the the evolution of the post-atomic age. She discussed the contributing factors and their consequence effects on mass popular culture. Henriksen said that because there was insignificant protest against the nuclear arms, America assumed that her people and diverse cultures accepted it. America mistakenly called the passive acceptance as the 'culture of consensus'. The post-atomic bomb age generation experienced anxieties and they showed them by expressions in individualism. People rebelled and the 'culture of dissent' was born. This gave rise to the massive explosion of new forms of expressions in cultural arts and entertainment. (Henriksen 2). Holden was undergoing the natural phase of puberty and some of his reactions could be attributed to hormonal fluctuations while responding to his environment. He was on the verge of coming into manhood. He showed his protectiveness towards the female gender in his interactions with his sister Phoebe and indirect concern over Jane Gallagher, an old friend. Salinger, in a parody fashion over Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, when Pip and Herbert fought over Estella, wrote how Holden challenged Jane's date into a fight because he deemed himself responsible to protect her innocence. This episode illustrated how the American responded to the contemporary threats of their era. On the larger scale, the black humor and ridiculous intention was meant to convey the message of the futility of rebellion. Holden was a symbol of the cultural dissent Henriksen wrote about in her book. However, Salinger has portrayed him as a pawn who showed his individualism but was ineffective in introducing real change into his society. Holden voiced the greater American worry over the loss of innocence of their culture. He wanted to be a savior. He told Phoebe about his desires for his future when he said, '"Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around--nobody big, I mean--except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff--I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going. I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be."' (Salinger). This explains the basis behind the title of the Salinger's novel. Since Holden is supposed to be a savior, just how successful is he in this role We have read that eventually, Holden has not changed. He has been shaped by his parents and no matter how hard he tried to be individualistic and rebelled against the current norms, he has become the image of his parents. One example that illustrates this point is when Holden falsely believed himself to have contracted cancer because he thought he had the symptoms. What he didn't fathom but Salinger has made us understand is that Holden had the cancer of his society. In his world, Holden saw adult hypocrisy, and he felt isolated and alienated. He had to fit in. Nothing really changed with the society and her people. Salinger has meant his book to be the golden volume that readers will uphold as an expression of dissent of America's culture. His opinion was expressed through Holden when Holden said, '"What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though."'. (Salinger). Henriksen's book has said that America was full of innocence and positive optimism. Even in the presence of dissent, the culture absorbed them and evolved to become stronger and a survivor. (Henriksen 7). Indeed, that is what happened to Holden. Briefly, he became a phony during his journey in New York as he wallowed in the experimental indulgences of a irresponsible life style. He faced problems with money, alcohol and sex.. Then, Holden was made to face reality and the consensus of what is the right way of life when he met the good people. We have read how Henriksen has agreed with Salinger's Catcher In The Rye; regarding the consensus about the dissenting individuals who have alienated themselves but were too few in minority to affect the overall American culture. (Henriksen 7). Salinger wanted us to see what happened when Holden rejected the innocent positive embrace of life. Holden initially rejected his parents, school, New York society and then finally, himself. He accused his society of hypocrisy until he realized that he was also a phony who pretended to be better than the phonies he criticized. Salinger showed us that being a hypocrite won't work Holden rejected others because he was not at peace with himself. He could have become embittered while trying to come to grips with the death of his younger brother Allie. Holden should not have become a teen delinquent because he suffered. Henriksen would have told Holden to come to terms with himself, move on and face the future with enthusiasm again. Being a non-conformist and showing individualism did not help Holden. He ended up incarcerated in a sanitarium for the mentally ill. Salinger wanted to tell us what could be the consequences of misguided individualism. Holden has hurt himself swimming against the tide of society's norms. For all his criticism of his peers, he ended up being the broken man. Those whom he thought were broken have instead survived by evolving with the trends of society. It maybe argued that Holden broke himself while trying to fix what he saw as flaws in himself and his surroundings. The Catcher In The Rye is about Holden's coming of age in his society. As such, he questioned himself as well as others in his new maturity. He made a big fuss when there was nothing much to complain about. He has mistakenly refused to pass through his transition from childhood to adulthood because he wanted to hang on to innocence. It is difficult to believe that Holden, who used profanity profusely, would be that shocked to see profanity written on the toilet walls at Phoebe's school. Critics have also questioned the purity of the sibling relationship between Holden and Phoebe. It is difficult to believe that a rather mixed up individual can love his sister more than himself. This can be read as a hint that those who try to be selfless in loving others will feel isolated and rejected so much that sanity is challenged. Holden's mistake was in searching for his self-identity apart from his society. He was a dreamer who refused to accept responsibility for his actions. Salinger had also shown us how not to live the life of Holden Caulfield. The dissent has been the result of personal, individualistic expressions from psychological reactions to one's society and culture. However at the end of it all, this dissent is consumed by the greater consensus that says that you must conform in order to survive. Holden has expressed his individualism and proved Henriksen's theory true because he failed to succeed to live as a free individual; either conforming or nonconforming. The end. Works Cited. Henriksen, Margot. Dr. Strangelove's America: Society / Culture in Atomic Age. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997. Salinger, J.D. The Catcher In The Rye. USA: Bantam Books, 1951. Salzman, Jack. New Essays on the Catcher in the Rye. USA: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Read More