A Study Of The Catcher In The Rye From The Perspective Of Urban Culture

The Catcher in the Rye had been popular for more than half a century. It catches people’s attention to the hero’s rebellion and profound themes. In the novel, the city is a hidden existence, but its functions and cultural values exercise an intangible and profound influence on the protagonist’s life. The urban space is not only a necessity for the novel setting, but also a carrier of urban culture reflecting the common characteristics of the time and the society—open and fast changing human interpersonal relations, shallow, superficial and lacking care to human nature, etc., which are the evidence to criticize the negative influence of urban culture. The author merges people’s feeling and experience in the city with objective urban images, such as the street, the red hunting hat, ducks and the carrousel, seeking and asking the truth and value of life in a deeper context. This thesis interprets The Catcher in the Rye from the perspective of urban culture by Simmel’s theory. Through the analysis of the main characters, the description of urban space and image setting, we probe deeply into the modernization of urban life and the influence of its institutional discipline on people’s living conditions and their destiny.The thesis consists of six parts:The first chapter introduces Salinger and his works; presents literature review; explains the purpose and briefs the structure of the thesis.Chapter two is the part that elaborates the theoretical framework. It demonstrates and interprets the institutional discipline of urban culture upon people, the urban space for people’s living and the significance of urban images with Simmel’s theory of urban culture.Chapter three analyzes the main characters in the novel, including the protagonist Holden, his two classmates and two teachers. It mainly interprets the root cause of Holden’s incompatibility with the environment. Through the comparative analysis of his two teachers, Spencer and Antolini, it proves that they are actually the proponents of the institutionalized society, hi the novel, there are two other teenagers who are the victims of institutionalized life. They are Holden’s classmates Ackley and Stradlater.Chapter four focuses on the analysis of the urban landscapes:the hotel, the bar, the museum and the cinema, which represent a sociality, shaping the urban lifestyle and inherent mental paradigm. Holden can wander where he wants in the urban space but can’t get rid of the discipline of urban culture, because urban space is the carrier of urban culture.Chapter five makes an analysis of several important urban images such as the street, the red hunting hat, the ducks in the lagoon and the carrousel. The symbolic meaning of those urban images reveals the theme of the novel, which is about the future of Holden and people’s choice of life in the modern urbanized world.The conclusion further refines and summarizes the whole thesis.