The Depiction of Becoming Adult in Fiction - Assignment Example

In the works “The Catcher in the Rye” and “Dune,” by JD Salinger and Frank Herbert respectively, the theme of growing up is treated differently in reality and fantasy. Growing up involves confronting a cold, cruel world that is out to harm the protagonist for the main characters of both books. However, Salinger’s book is ultimately more effective, because it must function in a world familiar to reality, rather than a fantasy world of whimsy. In Frank Herbert’s “Dune,” Paul Atriedes is a young prince whose family moves to a desert planet.

After the death of his father, Paul must join with local freedom fighters to overthrow the Harkonnen spice empire. In the process, Paul becomes a sort of living legend and a combination of Muhammad- and Jesus-figure. He is able to do this because “Dune” is not a world that has to function familiar to the reader’s reality. In Salinger’s book, Holden Caulfield is also a sort of prince; his parents are wealthy, he is white, and he goes to an expensive boarding school. And like Paul, he must overcome his demons and become a man.

But it is much harder for Holden because he is intimately familiar with the crazy world that is close to New York reality (realistic fiction). And instead of earning the respect and women of freedom fighters through knife fighting, Holden is taken advantage of and beat up by a pimp. His story is funnier, and also more human than Paul’s; this is because his story has to function by the rules of reality.