Longing For Nature In Rebellion

The Catcher in the Rye is Jerome David Salinger's first and single novel published in 1951. It enjoyed the immediate popularity in America soon after its publication and has been reprinted again and again. Hence, Salinger became the "spokesman" of the American youth during the 1950s and early 1960s. On the other hand, the novel is also a piece of controversial literary work. In secondary schools, colleges and universities, it may be the most widely read novel and yet it has been banned several times. For such a novel, lots of well-known critics and many other common ones have ever commented on it from different angles. As the protagonist, Holden Caulfield has become the focus for criticism. Among so many voices, this dissertation sets out to try a new path to the interpretation of Holden's path of life from the angle of "longing for nature."One of the most frequently used words by Holden is "phony." In Chapter 2 of this dissertation, by carefully examining and analyzing the surroundings and some characters around Holden, whether inside or outside schools, the writer has found that Holden lives in a phony adult world, a world without love or warmtli and a world of betrayal. Holden is an adolescent full of love and eager for love, but living in this phony world, he has already become contradictory, depressed, frustrated, lonesome, despaired and even has thought of committing suicide.As a 16-year-old adolescent, Holden does not have enough power to rebel directly against the phony world. In Chapter 3, by examining and analyzing a great amount of detailed information from the novel, the writer of this dissertation has discovered Holden's disgust at the educational system, hisobscure behaviors and dressing, his lying and deception, which might be considered to be Holden's indirect rebellion against the phony world. Besides, Holden tells the story in the first person narration from a teenager's point of view. We also find that Holden employs a lot of loose structures and vulgarisms in his narration through our studies of Holden's narrative languages by way of concrete statistics and detailed facts. He is in fact expressing his rebellion against the phony world by breaking away from the conventional languages and structures.No matter what kind of rebellion Holden does, it turns out to be in vain. At a loss, Holden tries five directions for help and advice, but none of them could help him get out of the phony world. Holden also fails in seeking for innocence and pure love. Consequently, he is doomed to be at a loss. How does he get released or "rebirth" from the phony world? In Chapter 4, we analyze some symbolic signs for Holden's ideal and the other world he longs for and his ideal-being the catcher in the rye.After summarizing what we have studied on Holden's path of life, we conclude that in his path of life, Holden is actually longing for "nature"-one is the external natural world, and the other is an innocent world in his fantasy. In his innocent world, through being the catcher in the rye and saving children's innocence and the essences of nature, Holden hopes to save himself, thus getting shelter and released from the phony world. Longing for nature and being the catcher in the rye are a kind of inevitability of Holden's psychological pilgrimage in his path of life. This thematic meaning is one of the reasons that keep the prevalence of The Catcher in the Rye through these years.