Life is the most simple and the most complicated thing throughout the whole universe. Every single day people are looking for meaning in their lives. However, not many people are able to find out what the meaning of their life really is. Some believe that there are multiple meanings for each person’s life. In the following books, each of the main characters are looking for the meaning in their own lives: The Catcher in the Rye, Into the Wild, In Cold Blood, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. These books show that each character have different meanings to their lives and they want to find out what it is. In the book The Catcher in the Rye the main character Holden Caulfield thinks that the meaning of his life is to be the catcher in the …show more content…
All of the character in the book, Dick, Perry, Herb, Nancy, and the rest of the Clutters, are apart of one meaning of life. The meaning of each of their life was to have this book created. This book got people to think about 2 things what make a person kills someone and whether or not people that have mental disabilities that have committed crimes that are this bad should be allowed the death penalty. Perry is a good example of the question whether or not people that have mental disabilities should be given the death penalty. Dick is a perfect example of the question of why would people do this. In the book, you learn that Dick is the mastermind behind everything that happens. Dick does not really have a purpose for doing what he does; however, Perry knows what he does is wrong. Some people think that the question of why they would do this to a family that has done nothing wrong goes to a totally different question. Is the reason that people like Dick and Perry or anyone kills a family or a person because they have a mental disability. The people that the book In Cold Blood is about were brought to this world to help people question where the lines of criminals and the mentally disabled cross and …show more content…
In the following books each of the main characters is looking for the meaning in their own lives: The Catcher in the Rye, Into the Wild, In Cold Blood, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. These books show that each character have different meanings to their lives and they want to find out what it is. Holden Caulfield learned that you might not be able to help every single person in this world but those that you can help or give advice to makes a bigger impact on the world that anyone could imagine. Chris McCandless was brought into this world so people can understand that no matter where you come from, no matter how hard or not your life is, sometimes living life simply is how to get through it. The characters Dick, Perry, Herb, Nancy, and the rest of the Clutters we here so people question where the lines of criminals and the mentally disabled cross and end. The characters of Jim and Huck were created so people can question whether or not some language should be allowed in books and for kids to read them in schools: The book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn still continues to bring up the topic
Catcher in the Rye Rough Draft “The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be” (Oprah Winfrey). The person you are now is not the person you want to be. Life is a journey in which you have to look for the exit towards a more complete you. There are certain objects in your life that will lead you towards the right path.
As this book ends, it questions about if there is life worth living. Mankind today has destroyed the idea of truth their ancestors had created. Without this truth, it becomes harder for people to experience what people went through to find meaning. For example, Dr. King’s legacy would not have influence people today if he had no purpose. His legacy cause today’s people to look at racism as a scar against all races.
‘’I felt so lonesome, all of the sudden. I almost wished I was dead,’’ a quote from the classic novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger which relates to how some teens felt at one point in their life. The novel was published to attract adult readers and has become popular for its themes, motifs, and connections an individual has with the main character, Holden Caulfield. We tend to feel a connection to the struggles of Holden Caulfield as we put ourselves in his shoes and see life through his perspective. The book is still pertinent due to Holden facing challenges such as loneliness and the inability to make a connection to make with a purpose thus the readers see themselves in Holden.
Capote portrays only one of these two seemingly distinct characters (Perry) in a way that the reader feels the need to relate to and even sympathize with him. One can be taken aback by such an attachment to a murderer. This is not surprising as the author uses his compassionate diction to manipulate the reader’s emotions with a use of pathos, the appeal to emotions. At one point Capote goes as far as to write that “Smith’s life had been no bed of roses,” (Capote 245) attempting to have the readers relate to Perry. On the other hand, Capote has Dick say this about himself: “Deal me out, baby, I’m a normal” (Capote 116).
In Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood,” Dick and Perry have murdered the Clutter family and are on their way to Mexico. In this passage, Dick makes an astounding statement. In the passage, Dick claims that he’s “a normal” but that is far from the truth. He is a conniving, manipulative son of a bitch who thinks he’s normal in comparison to Perry.
However, the Clutters have certain aspects which could be considered ‘abnormal’, especially in the case of Bonnie, a depressed and reclusive mother. Perry and Dick are juxtaposed with the Clutters, they are a seemingly abnormal duo, who are antisocial, have a hunger for murder and are even physically disfigured. Both Perry and Dick have attributes that are still somewhat ‘normal’ despite their surface abnormality. Perry is sensitive, creative and sings, Dick has had an upbringing that was completely typical of any American child, that is, he was brought up in a loving and caring environment, with enough money to live comfortably and attend secondary education. Dick also constantly defends himself saying: “I’m a normal”.
Authors of classic American literature often utilize a character’s development to establish a worldview or opinion. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Great Gatsby, Mark Twain and F. Scott Fitzgerald use their narrators, Huck Finn and Nick Carraway, to suggest an argument about American society. Seeking adventure, both characters embark on a journey, but their encounters with society leave them appalled. While they each have personal motives for abandoning their past, both end up interacting with different cultures that lead them to a similar decision about society and their futures. Ultimately, they stray from the dominant culture in order to escape the influence of society.
Although Perry is responsible for the murder of four innocent people, Perry’s actions do not reflect on who he is as a person because he is easily influenced, therefore; showing how easily people can be pressured into doing something they would not typically do. Dick, a violent, cold-hearted, manipulator, has molded Perry into the person he is today. As Perry is a follower, Dick has taken advantage of that by turning Perry into the cold-blooded killer he is today. Capote displays Dick’s manipulation of Perry through symbolism to make evident that while Perry did pull the trigger on four innocent people, although the fault does not entirely lay on him, as he was taken advantage of by Dick.
He is portrayed as a mastermind in the cold-blooded killing of the Clutters family, a man with little respect for the lives of others, which can be seen through Dick’s expression before the murder of the Clutters when he converses Perry, “We’re gonna go in there and splatter those walls with hair” (Capote 234). This sudden tone shift enables Capote to depict Dick as a cruel and immoral character. Dick’s lack of empathy and concern for other people beside himself allow him to commit crimes without remorse, which is in contrast to Perry’s moral contemplation after each bad actions they committed. Moreover, Dick is represented as the true criminal with evident motives in murdering the Clutters, while Perry is seen as a vulnerable victim who depends on Dick for validation and acceptance, something in which Dick happily provides in order to manipulate Perry, as Capote writes, “Dick became convinced that Perry was that rarity, ‘a natural born killer,’—absolutely sane but conscienceless, and capable of dealing with or without motive, the coldest-blooded deathblows. It was Dick's theory that such a gift could, under his supervision, be profitably exploited” (Capote 205).
In The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath, Esther struggles with the pressures of society while witnessing her own downfall and seeks medical help for the sake of her physical and mental health. Similarly, in The Catcher in the Rye, Holden deals with depression after flunking out of school. Although their situations are quite different, both characters change as a result of their experiences and find ways to cope with life. On the other hand, Holden struggles with the idea and pressures of growing up. He’s flunked out of multiple boarding schools and is constantly depressed.
Mark Twain was a social critic just as much as he was a novelist. He observed a society filled with arrogant, racial hypocrisy. In the beginning of his fictional novel, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” Twain forbids his audience from finding a motive, moral, or plot. In using rhetorical strategies such as satire, irony, and humor he challenges the reader to look for deeper meanings throughout the novel. With the purpose to shed light on the false ideals that society represents as seen through the eyes of young boy.
To reiterate, this movie seems to be leaning toward the audience’s personal views on life and its meaning and purpose. Each individual should decide for him/herself the meaning of life. The ending of the movie seemed very anticlimactic. The presenter explains the meaning of life so casually and with no serious regard or consideration: “Well, it’s nothing special. Try to be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and
J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye displays a true moral that though your actions may seem those of a developed character, the inspiration behind those actions might not be mature. Throughout the novel, Holden Caulfield, the protagonist, defies his youthful innocence by being expelled from school, smoking cigarettes, and being exposed to adultery like female escorts. Salinger includes a quote (originally by Wilhelm Stekel) said by Mr. Antolini, stating, “The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.”
The Catcher In The Rye, Loneliness is the main topic of the book. Holden Caulfield is an outsider from the beginning , which makes it easier for him to feel lonely. The author wanted his readers to somehow connect with the book by making him a young teenage boy who is in a stage in his life where his is lonely. Just like how our youth today goes through stages of loneliness in their
Many people harbour a desire to accomplish something specific in life. Sometimes this desire stems from the background of a person, and sometimes desires are developed over time and with age. “The Catcher in the Rye” narrated by Holden Caulfield, who is an overly disturbed teenager, is about the change from childhood to adulthood. Holden, like many, has a burning desire to protect the innocence of children; this desire is tied to the themes of relationships, intimacy and sexuality which are carried throughout the novel. In a stroke of genius, the author, J.D. Salinger, sums up this desire in the title, which is taken from a poem by Robert Burns: Comin ' thro ' the Rye ( 1796).