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Catcher In The Rye: Movie Analysis

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At one point or another, many people wish to live in a nicer society than their current situation. Similarly, in the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the protagonist and narrator Holden Caulfield expresses similar desires. Remaining unhappy until the final pages of the story, Holden expresses his desire to live in a carefree, innocent world that never changed. Luckily for him, the town of Pleasantville in the identically titled feature film fulfills many of these requirements that he presents. The utopian society depicted in the movie Pleasantville is a perfect representation of the type of world Holden Caulfield wants to live in. In Catcher in the Rye, the narrator Holden Caulfield grew up with a troubled childhood. The premature death of his brother Allie forced him to grow up at an early age, and he soon developed a very cynical, pessimistic view of the world around him. Accordingly, he adopted a darker, sulky mood, and called many of the people around him for being phony. Holden believes that many people in his world are not showing their true colors, and are actually dark and corrupt behind their happy, joyous exterior. This leads to the conclusion that Holden is looking for a time frozen in the past where childhood innocence is not yet …show more content…

Every citizen displays a carefree, lighthearted attitude. The city seems like it never had to encounter any deeper of a problem than a kitten getting stuck in a tree. While the two main characters in the movie are eventually able to transform it into a more accurate depiction of real life, it was previously happy, and content with never thinking too deep into anything. Pleasantville is an idealized version of the “American Dream” many Americans yearned to live in during the 1950’s. With its white picket fences, neatly trimmed lawns, and overall “cleanliness” of the society, it presents a utopian world to the people residing

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